What is in store for you today?
Today should be a pretty calm day, compared to yesterday when we had an eight-hour training workshop focusing on work/life balance, energy management at work, general motivation, all combined with G Suite tips and tricks. I’m meeting one of my colleagues today who’s going to the USA for the summer so we need to sort out all the tasks she’s leaving here for other colleagues.
I’m also spending a good few hours on our future goals and strategies today. The Impact Hubs have been in the Czech Republic for seven years so now is the time to think again about the future. And it wouldn’t be a complete day without a few boring tasks.
What does a typical working day look like?
I’m afraid there isn’t a typical working day in the life of Impact Hub! Every single day brings something new – new members, new ideas, new opportunities, new challenges. But yes, there are a few things in common throughout the week – I start the day with a nice cup of coffee, one of two most important things in our building (the other one being the internet, of course). I usually have a few short meetings with our team, discussing everyday tasks, revenue streams, marketing, community growth or basic things like “How was your weekend?”. I have to go through a few dozen e-mails (I’m still trying to reduce the number but it’s hard, isn’t it?) and a bunch of calls. Meeting the Hub community is a huge part of my job and it’s probably the most satisfying one. It takes some time to get to know everyone in the building but it’s definitely worth it!
Sharing our visions, ideas and things we do, that’s a huge part of my job too, so I attend various conferences, workshops or talks. The community changes and grows every day and it’s very inspiring to be a part of that.
Are there any sort of personal rituals or routines that you have to undertake before you start work?
Coffee! I cannot imagine starting the working day without a nice cup of coffee. Since I spend most of the time working from our open space, I find a nice playlist on Spotify, take my headphones, start my pomodoro timer and dig into work!
As a team, do you have any group rituals or events per day or week?
Every Thursday we have a team meeting. We share our successes, failures, current problems and questions. Every week the leader of the meeting changes so each team member can try what it is like to lead such an important event. We are deeply interested and invested in our community so we try to think about their successes, birthdays, important life or work-related events etc. and celebrate with them. Last week, we bought a nice present for one of our members who has just had a baby and we wished all the best to another member on his wedding. We still have a lot to catch up but we love these “extra steps” that make us better and make our Hub a great place to work from.
When your team come together, is it in a digital sense, or is there still a physical meeting up?
We try to use digital tools as much as possible to make our jobs easier (G Suite, Slack, Trello) but the physical meet-up is still irreplaceable. The whole team meets at least once a week, the sub-teams meet more often, depending on the volume of work.
What projects have you currently got on, and what upcoming projects are exciting you?
We are currently working on finding our place in the city/region for the next few years. We are trying to be the “force” in the city/region that helps change things, e.g. we helped our city to host the first open data hackathon. This could help not only the city but everyone in it – citizens, companies, NGOs, universities etc.
As we are a very young, fast growing and energetic company, we are trying to find new people to help us with our visions and daily tasks. That is a challenge as well, given the fact that the unemployment rate is currently the lowest in the whole EU.
How do you measure impact and successes, and how do you celebrate them?
We collect feedback as much as possible – from our members over a cup of coffee, via questionnaires on local, national or international levels. We have a three-day meeting every six months so we can celebrate the previous half-year and plan the next one. We share our instant successes on Slack which helps to spread the “love” to the whole team, even if someone is traveling or working from home.
During our Thursday meeting, every team member awards a virtual trophy for the best act of the week; this can be anything, from someone bringing a cake to work, to someone helping their colleague with their work, or helping with personal matters like family problems.
What gets you through the day? (Any podcasts, activities, thoughts etc?)
Definitely the ‘Hub Spirit’ – a feeling or mood created by all the team members and our amazing community. It’s an atmosphere of creativity, sharing, collaboration, friendship, hard work and trust. You can come in a bad mood, with tons of problems and it only takes a minute until you start smiling, leaving all (well, at least a huge part) your problems behind.
Personally, it’s my family that keeps me motivated, focused and happy. It’s great to be at work (in our Hub), it’s even better to be at home with my family.
What are you currently reading?
Start With Why by Simon Sinek.
What’s your Ethos?
I believe that everything is connected somehow. That’s why I think communities are the future of work and I love working with them, even though it’s sometimes a challenge. My passion is finding interesting ideas, exploring new technologies, moving on and doing more.
And finally, suggest a better title for this feature.
Do what you love, don’t be afraid to share.
