The Empty Cafeteria at Noon
Designing for Connection in a Remote World
Recently, while delivering a keynote at a client’s head office, I walked past their cafeteria and stopped in my tracks.
Massive space.
Beautiful design.
Natural light pouring in.
It was 12:00 p.m.
And it was completely empty.
This organization went remote during the pandemic.
And they never came back.
Let me be clear: I’m not anti-remote. In fact, my own team only meets face-to-face once a month. For some organizations, hybrid or virtual makes perfect sense. For others, being in the same space most days is critical. The right model depends on the nature of the work.
But the empty cafeteria got me thinking.
If connection no longer happens organically, over lunch, in hallways, at the coffee machine, how is it happening intentionally?
In my book Next-Level Teamwork, I talk about a tension every high-performing team must manage well:
Task Focused AND Relationship Focused — getting the work done and deliberately building connection and trust while doing it.
When teams over-focus on Tasks and neglect Relationships:
- People feel isolated and unsupported
- Collaboration and psychological safety decline
- Blame increases when things go wrong
Before the pandemic, relationship-building often happened by accident.
Now, it doesn’t.
If you lead a hybrid or remote team, you can’t rely on “bumping into each other.” You have to design for connection.
Here are three simple rhythms I encourage teams to use:
1. Daily: CONNECTION BEFORE CONTENT
Connection doesn’t require an hour. It requires intention.
Build five intentional minutes of connection into the start of meetings. Ask a simple question:
- What are you excited about this month?
- What are you learning right now?
- What was your first (or worst) job?
Five minutes won’t derail productivity. It will enhance it. Over time, those minutes compound into trust, and trust compounds into performance.
2. Weekly: CELEBRATE WINS
Remote teams often default to problem-solving mode. What gets lost? Celebration.
Each week, create space for people to:
- Share a win
- Recognize a teammate
- Highlight progress
When appreciation becomes normal, morale rises and accountability strengthens.
People work harder for teams where they feel seen.
3. Quarterly: GET IN THE SAME ROOM (IF YOU CAN)
There is still something powerful about shared physical space. But don’t just meet, design the experience with purpose.
If the goal is connection:
- Share a meal
- Tackle an escape room
- Serve lunch at a local shelter
If the goal is alignment:
- Bring in an expert for some learning and development
- Explore strengths (e.g., Working Genius, Myers-Briggs)
- Collaboratively map the next season’s work
The empty cafeteria wasn’t just about remote work.
It was a picture of what happens when Task quietly wins over Relationship.
In a virtual world, relationships don’t happen by chance. They happen by choice.
So here’s the question:
If relationships no longer happen by accident on your team, what are you doing to make sure they happen on purpose?
What can connection look like for a fully-remote organization?
Raise Recruiting brought 70 fully remote professionals together for two days in the Philippines.
Here’s what happened.
They flew in from across the region.
Some had worked together for years — but had never been in the same room.
Over two days, we leaned into:
- Leadership development
- Honest conversations
- Updates from the C-suite
- Frameworks for navigating tension
- And yes… a lot of play
It was energizing. It was clarifying. It was human.
And it strengthened their culture in ways Zoom and MS Teams simply can’t.
As Plato once said, “you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation.”
This retreat proved it.
What resonated most across our group was how his frameworks created space for better communication, stronger collaboration, and more thoughtful decision-making. Teams emerged with a clearer understanding of how to navigate tension productively and take greater ownership.
His practical, real-world tools were inspiring and immediately usable. We’re already hearing his terminology show up in meetings.
From a business standpoint, the session sharpened alignment. From a leadership standpoint, it challenged our thinking in a way that will stick.
We’re grateful for the clarity, challenge, and momentum Tim created for our team.”
Connection doesn’t happen by accident — especially in remote or hybrid environments.
It’s designed.
If you’re thinking about how to elevate trust, alignment, and collaboration inside your own team — whether in-office, hybrid, or fully remote — I’d love to explore what that could look like for you.
