Everything I thought I knew about Work was Wrong: My Eye-Opening CEO Journey

Starting a new role is always filled with equal parts excitement and trepidation. There are so many questions to ask, information to take in, team members to meet, and systems to learn.  

Through my research, while interviewing for the role, I knew that the team were smart and pioneering in the way that they worked at Inventium.  What I didn’t realise, was that working here would flip the way I worked on its head.   

My career has existed in high-dopamine environments where back-to-back meetings, multi-tasking, endless emails, and pings all day were the norm. In fact, being busy was worn as a badge of honour. I didn’t know that there was any other way to work because it was so ingrained in me.  

It’s been six weeks now in the CEO role. I’ve not only been busy learning the role, but I’ve also been busy re-learning ‘how’ to work. It all started with my induction with Inventium’s Founder, Amantha Imber, in Melbourne. She gave me a selection of books in my welcome pack: ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport, ‘Playing to Win’ by Martin Lafley, and ‘Time Wise’ by Amantha herself, to name a few.  One of Inventium’s values is ‘Clever is cool’ and this was my first impression of the business. The team are passionate about learning in all its forms and experimenting and iterating until they’ve found the perfect solution. 

Here are the 3 new skills I’ve learned so far: 

1. Virtual Caves  

It wasn’t long until I was introduced to the ‘Virtual Cave.’ This is a virtual team meeting that’s designed to mimic working alongside each other in an office environment.  

“Why do we need a cave?’ I thought. I was curious and open-minded about this concept but skeptical at the same time. I was asked to bring along one to three pieces of work to focus on and the aim was to complete it in two sets of forty-five-minute sprints. The team explained that virtual caves enhance cohesion by creating a sense of ‘togetherness,’ but they also drive accountability, as everyone shares what they want to achieve during the cave session.  

Inventium runs these every fortnight, and being a remote team, it’s a clever way to stay connected. I felt extremely uncomfortable at first and I found it hard to focus on anything except looking at the six faces on the screen. My mind was racing. It was awkward but they all looked so comfortable. Filling the silence was something I was good at doing but the team didn’t want or need this. I was so used to checking my phone and pings every few minutes and now that wasn’t possible. The cave was so quiet, and the ‘always on’ me was forced to be still and focused. Like a long-distance runner, after the first sprint of climatising to the environment, I got into the flow, and at one point, I was so in the zone that I forgot I was in the cave.   

It’s vastly different to anything I’ve ever experienced, and although it challenged me, I really enjoyed the connection it brought to our remote team, and I did get my forecasting task done in the session. 

2. Asynchronous Communication using Loom 

Asynchronous (i.e. non-live) communication is not new to any of us, with email being the most widely used async tool. Remote and geographically dispersed teams are using async communication increasingly to ensure that they stay agile and coordinated.  

I must admit that I love a good old-school synchronous meeting, but this format is all I’ve known. Like Ken was good at ‘Beach’ in the Barbie movie, I was good at ‘Meetings.’ I liked the feeling of being busy from being in them. However, I think you’ll agree that meetings have spiraled out of control since Covid. I’ve been in so many meetings where I’m left wondering why I was there and how it added value, but I attended due to FOMO and obligation.   

Inventium opened my eyes to a platform called Loom and I love it. It’s a screen recording tool that allows you to make instantly sharable videos. These videos replace the need for a lengthy meeting and instead you can watch them in your own time and to your own schedule. I’m a bit of a night owl chronotype, so I appreciated the flexibility of being able to watch the videos when it suited me.  

My onboarding experience was made easy by searching through a library of videos about the different areas of the business. I could get a feel for the different team members as they shared their screens while explaining how to navigate my new world. You can also view the videos at a faster speed to save a bit of time. Game-changer!   

if you’re concerned that I’ve crossed the async border of no return, don’t worry, I’ll never lose my love of a well-planned synchronous meeting. The old me will be hold on to this one because that’s where connections are fortified, and ideas shared. I see Loom as a new addition to my communication repertoire and I’m enjoying experimenting with it. Finding the balance between sync and async communication is what teams need to strive for in the new world of work. 

3. Monotasking 

I’m guilty of being hyper-connected and addicted to the dopamine hit of the ping and multi-tasking, so learning about monotasking or timeboxing was alien to me. Timeboxing is an effective way to manage your daily workload and it ensures that you don’t spend too long on a task that isn’t worth the effort. This method breaks your day down into set of time-controlled tasks that are placed into your calendar. This concept is exciting, but it has challenged and scared me.  

My diary has always been ruled by meetings that others have scheduled, and it set the pace without me having to think too much about it. Sometimes there have been three meeting requests fighting for the same slot. The ‘busy’ badge of honour was alive and well. I had no control over my time, and the people-pleaser in me would work as fast as I could to accommodate and fit it all in. It was exhausting. I never stopped to think that there could be a better way to work or that I could take the control back. 

I’m so inspired by how the Inventium team manage their calendars in time blocks rather than writing long to-do lists. I’ve noticed how focused and intentional they are about the task they’re completing and how good they are at sticking to it. When I click into their calendars I can see when they are doing “deep work”, when they are preparing for workshops and when they are completing “shallow work”.  

I’m still observing how it works, and I haven’t mastered it yet – I’m still on training wheels. But I’m looking forward to introducing this method to make the most of my day and to feel more empowered about how I spend my time. 

 

I’ve learned more in the past six weeks about how to work than I have in my whole career. It’s made me reflect on how much has changed in the way we work. It’s been fascinating, exposing and challenging all in one. The new communication and productivity methods I’m learning have made me question whether there’s a different way to work. The Inventium team are teaching me every day that there is! As a result, my mind is calmer, and my focus time is longer.  

Am I still uncomfortable? Yes, of course, and that’s understandable after the muscle-memory I’ve built up throughout my career. But I’m inspired to keep learning and flexing new muscles so I can share my experiences and reflections with you as I progress in my CEO journey.