Swim Against the Current
Like many kids in the U.S. in the 1970s, I grew up watching Fred Rogers. Years ago, I visited his office at the WQED studios in Pittsburgh. Seeing it influenced my understanding of leadership and how I coach leaders navigating stress.
The host of one of the longest-running children’s programs of all time, Rogers was known for his ability to help children hold and talk about strong emotions and his gentle way of engaging the camera.
As Johns Hopkins professor Alexandra Klarén writes, Rogers was a master of what calls “parasocial communication.” His style of relating created a sense of connection, even if you were thousands of miles away. He never saw you, but he could leave you feeling seen.
Rogers had passed away only eight years before I visited his office, and the room, as far as I could tell, was just as he had left it. I remember it being smaller than I would have expected someone of his stature to have.
His cozy workspace was set up like a living room. There was a small coffee table, a couch, and a chair. The floor rug looked like it was from the 1980s, maybe earlier. Everything felt organic, humble, lived-in. Safe.
What struck me the most, though, was what wasn’t in the office: a desk. Apparently, Rogers didn’t have one and only used a small typing table in the corner for correspondence.
Learning this was startling to me. To be sure, desks are perfectly ordinary pieces of functional furniture. But desks, especially the desks of leaders, also have significant symbolic value. They often get bigger and more massive the farther up we go. And when we take our place behind them, they come between us and the people we lead.
Rejecting a desk was a countercultural move for Rogers, and it had a profound impact on me. I vowed I would never have a desk. I wanted to lead from the same connected place Rogers did and create a space that invited that connection.
In the years since, I found keeping that vow a lot harder than I wanted it to be. Unlike Rogers, I didn’t have the power to arrange my workspace as I wanted. Creating opportunities for connection sometimes felt like swimming upstream.
And today, amidst all the demands, contradictions, and technological temptations of post-COVID workplaces, seeking authentic connection at work can still feel like swimming upstream. But this connection is vital for helping us process stress, collaborate, and navigate uncertainty.
Is it any wonder we’re feeling stressed, and our stress turns into burnout?
When our workspaces push us apart, we need to move against the current, not only for the people we lead also but for ourselves.
My coaching can help you find the strength to go against the tide and lead from a connected place. Want to learn more? Book your free Discovery Session here.
