How connected do you feel to other members of your team these days? If your team is working remotely, connected only by Slack and Zoom, it might be hard to sustain a sense of teamwork. Research shows that workers who have a sense of teamwork are more productive and have greater job satisfaction. But virtual Happy Hours and other "team building" efforts only go so far.
As a leader, how can you reinforce the benefits of working well together?
One of my clients said recently, “When I got promoted, I had no idea how much of my time would involve dealing with people. I just wanted to do the work!”
Does that sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Almost every leader I’ve worked with has had a similar revelation. In fact, another client had a great way of stating this: “I need to go from ‘I get it’ to ‘I get people’.”
Having the awareness is great but it doesn’t automatically translate into action. But I have good news. I’m about to share several of the most potent strategies I know to boost teamwork.
Last week, I wrote about feedback as if it were the interpersonal equivalent of a land mine. If that’s the case, why bother giving feedback at all?
In spite of how challenging it can be, offering constructive feedback plays a valuable role in enhancing teamwork and collaboration, whether it’s at home, at work, or with your friends. Here are some reasons why:
Ever start a meeting and, pressed for time, you launch right into the agenda only to have the meeting dissolve into discord within the first fifteen minutes? There are certain practices whose pay off is far greater than the time invested in them. A quick check in at the beginning of a meeting or conversation is one of those.
How is it possible to form strong teams when the people you’re leading work in different buildings, different parts of the country and even on different continents? Such teams may rarely, if ever, interact with one another physically. Communication may take place, at best, via video-conference and, at worst, merely via email.
We all have stories about the missteps that happen when we can’t pick up on voice tone and body language. Recent neuroscience research reinforces possible consequences of the reduction or elimination of physical interaction among team members.
