Why do some teams 'just click' and others seem to be such hard work? How do I engage with my team members when they are virtual or disconnected? These questions are very common for us to ask ourselves when we have to work with a group on a project or for an organization. Although the supervisor, or team leader, is ultimately responsible for a team's productivity, the most essential ingredient for progress is each team member's willingness to work towards collective success. This unified body is able to make better decisions due to enhanced perspectives.
A team's ethos, or character, is created through the personalities and background of its members, which is why establishing team norms is so important. Those teams that seem to 'just click' often have unspoken behaviors that become motivating and more often than not produce favorable results.
Essentially the end goal is for each member of the team to relate to each other with mutual respect and a shared motivation for the mission. It is very important to cultivate the productivity of your team by supporting the following: finding creative ways to solve collective problems, enhancing the quality of interpersonal communication, and lastly by increasing engagement.
This learning path is for team members and managers who want to enhance the collective ethos of their group towards a common goal.
Teamwork! Embracing Our Collective Ethos
Do you know what the glue is called that holds the best teams together? Team norms. They are a set of agreed-upon behaviors your team chooses to abide by. Norms typically work best when they are concise, agreed upon by the whole group, and there is a process for consistent check-ins to ensure they are working. The following activities can help you create and develop your team's essential glue.
Collaboration is key! In order to enhance the productivity of your group, you should ensure they have norms in place, and then the focus should be on their ability to communicate and collaborate. The activities below highlight how any group of people can operate at efficient levels by developing their communication skills and increasing their ability to collaborate. The videos and articles provide tangible ways you can quickly improve your group dynamics in simple, easy steps.
In order to maintain the group dynamics of any team, you should ensure the members are engaged. Whether they are in person or virtual, engagement is a critical component of team success. In order to foster virtual engagement, the team leader should be very intentional about creating online spaces where the team can chat and interact throughout their project(s). There are several programs online that can assist with this to help create natural team cohesion in a virtual community. The resources below offer several options and programs for your team to adopt.