Team success is about effective communication. Here’s how to get started.
How is your team doing? Do you get work done? Do people trust each other? Do you have fun at work? Do people go the extra mile when needed? If so, congratulations! You seem to be part of a functioning team and are most probably fulfilled at work. If not, chances are high that you might be leading a team, or are part of a team that would benefit from creating meaningful relationships amongst team members by communicating more effectively.
Many studies have shown that it’s the relationships that make our work meaningful, foster innovation and overall team performance. Not only does good team collaboration have an immediate effect on people’s wellbeing and happiness, it can also be measured in performance outcome.
We all aim for that team, in which trust is given, communication is open and transparent and we enjoy working with each other. But the reality is we are more distracted than ever by technology, trust is threatened by personal agendas and a “team spirit” is often not felt.
A friend of mine recently asked me, what I would suggest if some team members do not feel they are part of a team. What if some team members feel less appreciated than others? What if some have the feeling that they have to compensate for others by taking over their workload? What if there is conflict that isn’t addressed openly?
The answer is: Let’s talk!
A fun team building event is not enough to create effective team collaboration. Even though having a playful experience might help to create team bonds in a first step, we need to go further. We need to create a culture of open conversations, honest feedback and transparency, in which everyone feels safe to share — especially the critical thoughts.
People want to feel heard, understood and appreciated. I have seen many examples, in my work with corporate teams, where the resistance of a single team member could break the morale of the entire team.
Here are some suggestions to start a conversation, that will create the trust and openness you will need if you want to thrive as a team:
As the team leader: Act as an example
In most teams there still is a hierarchical structure in which a team leader is responsible for building and leading the team (some examples of self-managed teams without a leader are starting to develop). The role of the team leader is to provide clarity about goals, roles, how to work together and how to accomplish tasks. Transparency and regular communication are main leadership responsibilities in every organisation and team, especially during times of change. Keeping up that constant communication through whatever channel is appropriate will create the trust and credibility needed.
The team leader needs to be aware of the importance of him/her being a role model. People are watching. Team members will sense, if the leader cares about them in an authentic way or if he/she is driven by ego. The use of “we” versus “I” can be a small, but meaningful indication on how committed a leader is about a team and making achievements a common effort and success.
“Leaders are the ones who run headfirst into the unknown. They rush towards the danger.
They put their own interests aside to protect us or pull us into the future” — Simon Sinek
Often times in my workshops I hear that people trust those leaders who walk the talk, who do the work and show the behaviours they expect from their team members. They trust those leaders who also act as an example in showing integrity and open communication. If we want to create transparency and open communication amongst our team, this of course means, that it is on us as leaders to start.
Create purpose and celebrate success
People want to be part of a bigger picture and work on good stuff. Success and the appreciation that comes with it, is one of the biggest drivers for the success of a team.
I have often times heard from teams that they didn’t even know what “they” (meaning upper management) had defined as a strategy and thus, it was difficult to create commitment and buy-in within the organization. On the contrary teams that are engaged, usually have a clear view on the organizational strategy and vision, how this is broken down in their department and the work they are doing within their team.
“People want to be part of something they’re really proud of, that they will fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.” — Howard Schultz
Creating and communicating purpose is one of the baselines for your team success. Talking about and celebrating success is the second.
Questions to ask are:
- What purpose and vision does our team, department and organisation have?
- How much time do we spend on talking about our jobs, frustrations and aspirations?
Turn to one another
As Margaret J. Wheatley describes it beautifully in the first sentence of her book “Turning to one another. Simple conversations to restore hope to the future.”:
“I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again. Simple, honest human conversation. Not meditation, negotiation, problem-solving, debate, or public meetings. Simple, truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we each listen well.”
We don’t turn often enough to one another these days. Yes, we do interact on a daily basis. But what about the real conversations? The ones, that show the other person that we care. Not the ones about project deliverables, deadlines, workload and resource availabilities. Conversation that involve the questions that matter. Like “Tell me what you care about?”, “What are you dealing with, not only at work, but also in your private life?”, “What was the last thing you have truly been passionate about?”, “What are your fears?”.
By making conversations personal we connect on a deep human level that creates trust and a deep sense of belonging. Taking into consideration the development towards future work places creates true commitment and engagement, specifically for the younger generation’s needs, it seems to be evident that true conversations are a good place to start. Turning to one another is a prerequisite for creating a sense of purpose, belonging and a value-driven culture.
Ask questions and listen attentively
“All people need to know is that they are being heard.” — Justin Lee
Not long ago I was facilitating a workshop with a team, that had a new team leader and went through quite some struggles in their collaboration. One of the participants, a bright and experienced man, who has been in the company for many years, was truly not convinced that this workshop would lead to any result. When I was asking the team members to present themselves at the beginning of the workshop by saying who they were, his answer was: “I am a closed book.” Here it was, resistance. When I responded by asking the question: “So what do I have to do, to open the first page?”, he said: “You need to ask questions.”
His answer was impeccable. Often times leaders and team members tap into the “performance trap”. We want to prove our competence and knowledge and thus, tell everyone what we know to show how smart we are and that we truly deserve to be in our position or even aim for higher. But when we ask questions, we allow ourselves to show weakness. Admit that we might know less than the person we are asking. And often times this is true. This is why we should ask questions instead of pretending we know.
It is a fact that we all depend on the knowledge of others and it is not weakness but rather strength to admit this. Edgar H. Schein calls this the “Humble Inquiry” in his so-called book. He shows the positive effect of acknowledging our dependency of others and how asking — specifically across hierarchical boundaries.
Here are some tips how to listen actively rather than falling into a “telling” mode:
- Don’t talk. Sounds basic, but it is true. If you want to practice your listening skills, the first step lies in turning quiet and focus on what the other person has to say.
- Be aware of your body language. Leaning forward, nodding, smiling and eye contact. Again, some basic rules, but applying them will make all the difference.
- Don’t interrupt.
- Reframe what was said in your words and mirror back the message as you have understood it.
“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” — Bryant H. McGill
Use technology for it’s best
Much has been written and said about the opportunities and risks of an all-time connected world. And yes, technology is helpful in bringing people together. Collaboration across the globe would not be thinkable without the technological possibilities we have created these days. At the same time, one of the challenges I hear most in organizations is that building trust and effective collaboration remotely remains one of the biggest struggles. This is why, specifically at the beginning of a cross-cultural and/or cross-functional project, it is so crucial to at least meet once for a personal kick-off.
“I think technology really increased human ability. But technology cannot produce compassion.” — Dalai Lama
Even in teams that do not face the challenge of physical distance, technology remains the biggest boundary. Have you ever had that conversation with that colleague, who was talking to you, but was checking their phone or computer in parallel? Or have you even been that colleague? It is a matter of respect and true caring to not be distracted when talking to our colleagues. If you are — as many of us are — a victim of constantly being connected, try it out for a day. Leave your devices at your desk and check-in with your team personally. You will be amazed by the difference in quality of your conversations.
Acknowledge emotions
“Let us not look back in anger, or forward with fear, but around in awareness.” — James Thurber
Creating true understanding also means acknowledging emotions. In times of change for example, it is not enough to label “resistance” of a team member as such. What is important for the success of your team is to understand the emotions that lie behind that displayed behaviour. Often times resistance results from fear. Fear of being left out, lacking capabilities for a new task, or sometimes even the fear of losing a job.
I ran into that trap myself a couple of years ago. My boss accused me of being emotional (at least it felt like an accusation to me at that time). My response was immediate: “I am not being emotional, I am being professional!”, I exclaimed in an emotional outbreak. There you go. No matter how I was labelling the situation, I was truly controlled by my emotions.
Daniel Goleman has done some ground-breaking work around emotional intelligence. Acknowledging emotions in ourselves and others and accordingly managing our emotions and those of others, is another way one can have a recognizable impact on your team effectiveness.
Foster conflict
Especially when doing my work across North America, I have observed a common trend: Teams shy away from conflict! They are being professional, polite, and in case there is an issue to discuss, this would be taken offline. People very often have negative associations with conflict, finding it difficult to engage in it, mostly because they fear their relationship is being impacted in a negative way.
Conflict is inescapable. If you know how to handle it and win through it, your team will surpass themselves. Some of the most remarkable results I have seen in team workshops were based on an honest commitment to engage in conflict. To talk about the elephant in the room. And to deal with it in a constructive way. I am not saying that this is always easy, however teams that engage proactively in conflict, will see and feel the benefit of it. Actively diffusing tension and friction in a relaxed and informal atmosphere will definitely do the work.
Depending on the level of conflict it might also be a good idea to have a guided process through discussing the conflict.
An easy, first approach can be found in “The four steps to nonviolent communication” by Marshall B. Rosenberg:
1. Observe without evaluating & recap
2. Describe emotions, not positions
3. Identify needs and take them seriously
4. Make a request
For deeper reading on “How to get what you want by saying what you mean” I recommend the work of Kim Scott in her book “Radical Candor”.
Allow vulnerability
How does your team deal with failure? Is it dealt with as a matter of compliance were the person who has made a mistake gets blamed, or are you willing to learn from failure and grow as a team?
Brené Brown whose work is presented in a Netflix documentary these days (“The Call to Courage” — I strongly recommend watching it!), has made a remarkable contribution to honing vulnerability — not only in our private lives, but also in leadership.
“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” — Brené Brown
In seeing vulnerability as strength rather as weakness we set an example as leaders and team members to share not only the success stories but start to have conversations around our failures and fears, and how we can turn those into valuable learnings for the future.
Create and live an open feedback culture
Research shows that the most effective teams are those who have made providing each other feedback a rule. People will thrive and feel valued when appreciated on a regular basis. Directive or corrective feedback helps team members offers guidance on personal performance but also on how the business is doing. The ideal ratio between praise and criticism lies at 5:1, as a study conducted by Zenger/Folkman shows (https://hbr.org/2013/03/the-ideal-praise-to-criticism). The more team members receive feedback, the more likely they will be engaged.
Here are some rules and practical tips to keep in mind for creating an effective feedback culture within your team:
- Make feedback a regular rule rather than an exception. Give and ask for it on a regular basis.
- Here again, the leader has the role of giving the positive example first.
- Choose the appropriate moment and manner to deliver your feedback.
- Give both, praise and criticism. Making praise a regular habit will help your peers to be open about criticism as well.
- Show people that you care about their growth and personal development same as the performance outcome of their team.
A simple feedback rule to use while delivering feedback is the SBI rule which stand for:
- You should always refer your feedback to a specific Situation…
- … in which you have observed a certain Behaviour…
- … and finally you should describe the Impact that this shown behaviour has had on you.
Applying this rule will help you to stay objective and avoid an attitude of accusing the person you are delivering the feedback to.
Following these recommendations will not assure immediate team success. However, if you want to work on building your team collaboration, starting with these suggestions, will bring you closer to your goal. And staying committed to your team communication will definitely make the difference. After all, successful team communication is a constant effort of all team members. And for those who feel that this sounds like hard work: I am convinced that you will appreciate the fun part of open communication — in which of course humour is important too!
