By it’s very nature, teambuilding means an inclusion where a diverse group ensure everyone can take part in company life and thereby increase personal and organizational development. Jim Woods
Workplace collaboration is frequently compared to an orchestra preparing for a concert. Musicians rehearse with their instruments. However, when they perform together, they deliver a remarkable sound surpassing what any individual could do unaided.
Nevertheless, if a single performer breaks out in an improvised solo, the performance is ruined.
In business, collaborative teamwork is essential for organizations to accomplish their aspirations. Along with leaders are the conductors who assist a band of talented individuals to work harmoniously to reach new heights.
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Business is fast and complex. Hence, it is a mistake for workers to think they can do it all by themselves.
Studies show that organizations with efficient collaboration can achieve their objectives, plus improved financial performances. Businesses promoting collaborative work are more than five times more likely to be high-performing than those that aren't.
What Makes This Problematic?
Not many companies take time to train leaders or employees on how to operate collaboratively. As a result, many long-held assumptions concerning teamwork have been proven incorrect by researchers. For instance, it's not enough to place your top performers in a room together. I had an executive give me a tour of their facilities where there was a room with only Asians working on engineering problems. He was proud of their out-of-the-box thinking.
Researchers studied eighteen Google teams finding that what mattered was less about who was on the team and vastly more about how the team worked jointly. Furthermore, it was discovered that the most vital factor was psychological protection.
The businesses doing this well establish a safe place for innovation and open and honest conversations about workplace issues. Where they can freely ask questions, discuss problems or admit mistakes without fear of embarrassment or reprisals.
Although many leaders say they want more collaboration, progress is hindered by conflicting organizational ambitions, bureaucratic silos impeding access to information, and performance systems failing to reward collaboration.
Sometimes we unintentionally set up conflicting urgencies, conflicting objectives, and conflicting measures between dissimilar people or groups working on the same project. For example, we say to the finance people that our goal is increasing revenue. We tell the mission leaders that we need to grow or create next-generation products. Additionally, we also know that it takes money. We can see those two groups immediately conflict.
Leaders must bring everyone together and make sure they assume absolute responsibility for those goals. Show how they're not in conflict and discuss priorities.
Establish Clarity
Encouraging better collaboration requires leaders to help team members build a foundation to work together effectively, resulting in a high trust environment, i.e., inclusive leadership.
These increasingly adept leaders should provide clarity and context for team members. By spending more time clarifying goals, timelines and expectations will allow the team to work productively later.
Teams must do this:
Ally behind a common goal.
Clarify each team member's role.
Agree on the method. What are the hopes? How frequently will team members communicate, and by what approach?
Establish a code of conduct. How will team members treat each other? What will they do? What won't they do?
Everyone has different questions in mind. This means executives, particularly those with influential personalities, may agree to pause for questions before they leap in to solve a problem.
To keep people and projects moving forward, team members should agree to ask for help if they are stuck on a problem for more than thirty minutes.
This can be frightening because we've assumed that our education and experience alone provide us the answers. Unfortunately, that isn't possible as there is a plethora of information available.
Unquestionably, leaders should model the desired behaviors of the team, treating each member respectfully. In addition, leaders and managers should know each team member's strengths and weaknesses when assigning tasks.
To make this step effective, a leader must get in and do the work with them. First, learn the conversations they are having.
Leaders must also observe the team's energy levels to protect against tension. When a team member has a personal issue, give support in whatever way necessary.
In training teams for increased responsibility, many leaders are under the impression they must do more when trust is the big little thing that matters. Instead, you build an inclusive team where everyone has a voice, and no one is demeaned.
Training Helps Volumes
Training employees on collaboration practices can improve teamwork in your organization. Such as, framing an issue helps team members to stay productive. Including carefully constructed descriptions during a meeting, plans are a beginning. Additionally, starting conversations with a question instead of a speech can set a collaborative atmosphere.
To help team members comfortably reveal new ideas and avoid fiery debates, develop an activity-based approach to critical thinking once completed, direct the team to evaluate their performance and each other, so they do a better job of evaluating options.
When a team has completed their project, they want to know their efforts made a difference.
That is inclusive leadership and inclusive teams.
What if your D&I programs could measure more than demographic data, equip more employees to champion inclusive practices, and drive greater insight into how belonging impacts every aspect of the employee journey? We invite you to learn how we can improve your results. Schedule your call to learn more here. Thank you.
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About Jim Woods
Jim Woods has been a global diversity and inclusion expert since 1998. He advocates linking strategic interventions to bottom-line business results. He is a D&I innovator and respected thought leader, having written numerous leadership books and contributed to many publications on the subject of strategic diversity and inclusion and leadership solutions. As President and CEO of Woods Kovalova Group, he has had the privilege of working with clients that include Whirlpool, the U.S. Army, Homeland Security, Deseret Bank, Seimens, and myriad organizations and individuals everywhere.
He has taught fifth-grade math and science along with teaching human resources and leadership on the university level. Mr. Woods holds a bachelors’ degree in business administration and leadership. Including a master’s of science in organizational development and human resources.
He delights crowds as a speaker and is an accomplished children’s book author. Mr. Woods landed his second Fortune 1000 client while homeless living in his car. Work with Jim.