As part of working remotely, it is essential to maintain constant contact with our customers, and more importantly, with our employees.
During the first six weeks of the pandemic, I had daily calls with all the developers whom I have assigned to me. In all those conversations, we talked about work, but also about life. Some of the questions that I asked were, “How is everything going?” “Do you have enough groceries?” “Are you doing exercises?” “Living alone, how are you managing this new scenario of life?”. I received all kinds of answers, and we supported each other.
Those first weeks were tough emotionally. Uncertainty took a toll on me, but at that point, I did not realize it. For reasons I can’t explain, I felt that one of the developers was lonely. His voice caught my attention.
I never asked him if something was wrong; I just decided that I wanted to make him feel happy. I wanted him to have something that inspires him.
Knowing that he is a musician and that he had not practiced in a long time, I decided to create a project where we could gather the musicians of the company to play a song together. The first one that I contacted was him, and he immediately said yes, and all the other musicians did too. Right at that moment, without knowing it, the Woven Music Jam journey started.
They picked the song in the first meeting, but the challenge was that most of them needed to practice before recording. They worked hard, and they wanted it to be perfect. We had eight planning meetings. They were always right on time to each meeting. In the beginning, it was weird for me. I thought that I did not have any skills to offer to this type project other than setting a schedules and pushing them to deadlines as a project manager does. I did not want to do that. I wanted them to enjoy the journey; to practice just for fun; to release stress; to and to feel happy.
At each meeting, new ideas were added to the project. I was responsible for hiring singers, so I even made a poster, but only a few, including me, accepted the challenge. At this point, the project was not only playing a song; it was an artistic expression. It was a gift from this talented musician to us and a gift to me.
What I did not expect was the effect this project would have on me.
This project is an excellent reminder of how much joy I and others can feel in simple acts. We need so little to feel happiness but I believe that we need a lot of awareness to catch those moments and just be present in the moment. I was very present when I watched the first video. The feeling was overwhelming, and it happens every time I hear them play. They remind me how easy it is to work when you feel inspired. Most importantly, this project shows me how good the act of giving without expecting anything in return feels. They probably helped help me more than they will ever know. Thank you guys!
After you read this, watch the Woven Music Jam video. You may see it from another perspective. Hopefully you will feel joy in a simple way.
