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When it comes to improving collaborative teamwork, defining what improvement looks like and why teamwork is important is the first step to creating healthy and effective team dynamics.
In part 1 of this 2 part series, I’ll talk about the attributes of a healthy functioning team, including improving communication, building trust, providing constructive feedback, and aligning on values.
We all want teams working together, high functioning, productive, and have increased morale and well-being, which increases profit for the department.
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| Read the Transcript |
| Hey Everybody, how are you doing? This brings us to today’s episode. Team Dynamics. As a former employee, I worked both in large global holding companies and in start-ups. Think about it; we hire people who may share or have complementary skill sets. Then we put them in among a group of people, add 1 pound of pressure, 2 cups of marketplace conditions, 2 cups of a pandemic, and a big scoop of stress, and we have the ingredients for a team who is challenged with accomplishing their goals, and maintaining productivity and morale. Team dynamics seemed to be the thing that took up an inordinate amount of time in my day and my head As we are all trying to figure out our realities in the new normal from Full-time in the office, or full-time WFH, Fixed hybrid or flexible hybrid It’s more challenging to build connected and well-working teams. The people who were employed and working together when COVID drove many of us to WFH had a common language, familiarity with each other, and a way of communicating. But it’s been 2 years, and most of us would agree we are different today based on all we’ve been through. Then let’s think about the people who were hired during the pandemic, and many of them kinda feel like they are in the metaverse. They are learning the culture from a one-dimensional experience. It’s tough. We all want teams working together, high functioning, productive, and have increased morale and well-being, which increases profit for the department. In this 2 part series, We’ll talk about the core pieces of team dynamics, and I’ll share tips for getting the team to work more functionally. Trust. The biggest factor separating high-performing teams from average teams is trust. And the foundation of trust is getting clear on team values. When we are all working in alignment with the same values, things make sense, we know how to prioritize, and we make effective decisions. are all creating a micro-aggression Tension, frequent miscommunication, missed deadlines, and reduced productivity is all signs of a breakdown of trust. -Values building with FxNA -Worked with start-up way pre-covid when all remote team was unheard of. -I worked with the leadership team to create a short list of values. Then we worked together as a broad team to clarify what those values meant to the team, in their own words. We created examples of how a value looked in action and ask each member to think in possibilities as to how they think they would personally uphold the values. -A years later, they were acquired, and while it was bumpy merging the cultures of the two companies (few think about culture when working through the M&A plans) -The smaller company was expected to “fold into” the larger company without any guidelines, conversations or support. it was the larger company that ultimately aligned with the acquired companies’ values. -They brought back to help the two entities shape values for the new entity. It’s a great example of what’s possible. -Alternatively, I am watching another company work through their acquisition of a smaller company, and they are so misaligned that no one has thought through so many aspects of the teams day to day realities. So much so that the two companies, even though they were acting as one entity, HAD DIFFERENT DAYS OFF. I mean, come on, people. -It’s vital to bring in voices from ERG, and HR, and I always recommend an outside neutral facilitator, like myself, to help build the team dynamics there needs to be a blend of all Feedback – 4A’s Aim it Actionable Appreciate it Accept or disregard it Clear communication. EBI -even better it – They know when to call, when to email, when to Slack, when to (and not to) hop on Zoom, and if they’re working together in an office, they are stopping by and dropping in to each other’s work space and office. They also use technology to stay organized and track progress by using project management software or Google Docs to collaborate on a document. -Anonymize HH and comms -Punters – 21 emails and 10 hours to get an answer. |