There are many reasons why coworkers and teams might not be collaborating effectively however, the most common is a lack of communication. Team Building is designed to increase communication and socialization which in turn increases collaboration.
What Is Collaboration In The Workplace And The Benefits Of Collaboration?
According to Indeed, the definition of collaboration in the workplace states “Collaboration means working well with someone to complete a task or develop ideas together”. When a team works together to collaborate on tasks or ideas it can allow coworkers to feel heard and encourage them to share ideas and perspectives. The most important part of collaboration is having consistent communication. Communication is key in all departments so coworkers collaborate successfully.
Top 4 reasons your team is not collaborating effectively
Miscommunication - Communication is key to working together, and it is important to have an efficient way to communicate with your team members. When looking to collaborate on tasks or ideas, communication is the primary component of success. Open dialogue allows team members to feel connected and included while completing a task. It can also make the task and responsibilities of those collaborating much more clear and effective.
Unclear priorities - Along with good communication skills come directing roles and priorities. When each team member has a specific role to play in the execution of a task, it welcomes all participants to feel included and crucial for overall success and completion. Having clear priorities and assigning roles also improves the efficiency of the task. Improving in these areas will help with the collaboration of a team.
Directing various personalities - In any workplace environment there will always be different types of personalities and these people can be motivated in different ways. When a team is collaborating, it may be more difficult to manage with different motivations working for different people, but it is not a bad thing. Directing various personalities can be challenging, but knowing the employee and communicating a direction that matches their work style is important. Embracing everyone’s style of work is key when collaborating.
Doubtfulness and uncertainty - A work environment that has a foundation of trust creates a positive work culture and security for employees. When collaborating with a team, trust is essential when there are multiple people and moving parts. An article by Forbes talking on the issue of trust in the workplace states “high levels of trust are necessary for team members to feel safe to speak up, ask questions, or make suggestions without fear of retribution or concern that their comments might damage their relationships or reputation”. Trust is the foundation of a team working together and collaborating well.
““High levels of trust are necessary for team members to feel safe to speak up, ask questions, or make suggestions without fear of retribution or concern that their comments might damage their relationships or reputation”. ”
How Team Building can help increase collaboration
Team building is designed to bring people together and work closely to achieve a goal. Through this work, coworkers have the opportunity to talk openly and express their thoughts during these activities. When socializing to complete a task there is a greater chance that all parties will feel welcome to share their ideas and work productively together. Team Building activities also give coworkers the opportunity to create new friends or acquaintances which allows trusting conversations and more collaboration to be cultivated.
Two Roads Team Building incorporates all these things through interactive, tailor-made, and easy-to-plan workshops. Our experiential online or in-person workshops will help you and your team learn and implement the skills you need to continue to grow and succeed together while building a high-performance company culture. Build your company culture and boost your bottom line, contact us for your free proposal today!