When work feels like thin ice

In our weekly team meeting, we like to start with something small and personal. It might be a photo or a quick story. When most of our collaboration happens online, across different countries and time zones, those moments help replace the spontaneous chats we miss from office life.

Last week, a colleague shared a picture of his young cat sitting in front of the television while the Olympic Games played in the background. She often appears in meetings, waving at the webcam or tapping at the keyboard, so by now she feels like part of the team.

If you work in marketing, you will know what happened next. You see a great photo and start connecting dots in your head. Sport, teamwork, focus, a cat as a colleague… the associations start forming before you even realise it. Until my colleague cut in with a perfectly timed line: “Are you going to monetise my cat?” Probably a fair warning.

Still, the image stayed with me. Not because it needed to turn into anything, but because something about it was oddly thought-provoking. On the screen behind the cat was a curling match, and the longer I watched, the more I noticed how much there is going on beneath the surface.

Curling looks slow at first, but it is full of strategy, coordination, and split-second decisions. Sweeping in front of the stone changes how far it travels or how quickly it slows down. A tiny adjustment, made at the right moment, can change the entire outcome. It is a sport built on teamwork and timing.

And that idea felt familiar. In any veterinary practice, the difference between a smooth day and a chaotic one often comes down to those same small, well-timed actions. Someone stepping in to keep things moving. A quick check-in. A subtle adjustment that makes the rest of the day flow better. These moments rarely look dramatic, but they matter.

Communication plays a part, of course. A timely reminder can prevent a missed appointment, and a quick message can keep everyone aligned. But it is only one example of the many invisible nudges that help a team keep its balance, especially when things get busy or unpredictable.

Sometimes it really does feel as if you are working on thin ice. Yet those moments are often the ones that bring the team closer and make the work more rewarding. A little focus, a little teamwork, and the confidence to sweep at exactly the right time can make all the difference.