When Glitches Create Connection

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Last week, I had the chance to help host the RSA US virtual Welcome and Connect event. I’ve been an RSA Fellow for 10 years and am privileged to be part of this community of remarkable changemakers. While our work and interests are wildly different, we all showed up with the same goals: to forge connections with other Fellows and explore how we might amplify our own ideas and each other’s.

In addition to leading The Connectors, I recently joined the small but mighty RSA US team to help foster relationships, connections, and partnerships, and was grateful that my colleagues invited me to emcee the featured Fellows panel.

I always learn something when I connect with RSA Fellows, but I walked away with an even greater lesson than I expected!

Just as I started to introduce the featured guests, a Zoom bomber who registered with seemingly legitimate information seized control of our meeting. They created a fake profile that looked like one of the co-hosts and managed to get around our security measures to share their screen. The images that came up were not something I’d discuss in polite company – or most company for that matter! – and let’s just say that the videos were very explicit in nature.

While it was jarring and brought up all kinds of terrifying concerns, the good news was that we were all good-natured adults who were ready to jump in to help keep the conversation going.

Everyone shared their own horror stories of being Zoom bombed, helped us find the fake profile so we could banish them from the meeting, and got us back on track with a bunch of belly laughs. Most wonderfully, the intruder actually brought us closer together as we bonded over the ridiculousness of the situation and shifted the tone of the conversation. We inherently gave each other license to show up as our real selves instead of putting on our “Zoom faces.”

As our team discussed afterwards, sometimes glitches can truly create connection. While that wasn’t our proudest moment, I was grateful to be in good company with people who care about others, show up without judgment, and see a bigger purpose for our collective work.

(And yes, for those of you wondering, I also walked away with some tangible lessons from Zoom tech support about putting more safeguards in place to prevent it from happening again – who knew there are two different locations in your Zoom profile where settings live?!)

I’ve talked before about navigating curveballs and, as someone who has spent years coaching entrepreneurs, I am well versed in the concept that a glitch can be a feature if you incorporate it properly. Each of us can likely think of “happy accidents” that have led to innovation, but I invite you to go a little deeper and think about the role that those accidents, missteps, or disruptors can play in fostering real, authentic connection with others. It doesn’t matter the group – peers, potential funders, partners, customers, employees, and beyond – sometimes tough moments open the door to our shared humanity and give us an opportunity to create a different kind of bond.

Ready to build more authentic connections to move your ideas or team forward? Check out our coaching opportunities or sign up for one of our upcoming courses on building social capital, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, or unlocking your superpowers. Or just drop me a line at hello@theconnectors.net - I always love to hear from you!