4 Reasons Your Team Is Not Collaborating Effectively And How Team Building Can Help
There are many reasons why teams might not be collaborating effectively however, the most common one is a lack of communication. Team Building is designed to increase communication and socialization which in turn increases collaboration.
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!
5 Steps To Use Storytelling In Meetings To Boost Your Company Culture
Bad meetings can kill your company culture.
Whether you’re running a massive Fortune 500, or a hip new startup, you’ve probably attended meetings that left you thinking “This should have been an email”.
Most meetings are disruptive time wasters, but they don’t have to be.
Including storytelling in meetings can increase employee engagement, build relationships between colleagues, improve communication, increase productivity and support the development of a successful company culture.
Bad meetings can kill your company culture.
Whether you’re running a massive Fortune 500, or a hip new startup, you’ve probably attended meetings that left you thinking “This should have been an email”.
Most meetings are disruptive time wasters, but they don’t have to be.
photo credit: will bryant studio
Including storytelling in meetings can increase employee engagement, build relationships between colleagues, improve communication, increase productivity and support the development of a successful company culture.
Here are a few tips for how your team can use storytelling to make your next meeting an impactful and worthwhile experience:
1. Start Small
When you begin to use storytelling in your meetings, set a time limit of two to five minutes or less per story to minimize participants' feelings of intimidation or fear of public speaking. In your first meetings including storytelling, it’s best to limit the number of stories told to one to two stories max to avoid “storytelling fatigue” from participants and the audience.
2. Be Completely Inclusive
Storytelling can have the most impact on your company culture when everyone has an opportunity to contribute. In fact, the most impactful and influential stories are usually told by staff who work “in the trenches” face to face with clients and products every day. Inviting employees from every division to share stories every week shows them that you value their experience and knowledge, and that you care about their work. Provide them with guidelines for great storytelling (such as this blog post!), a short timeline (max 5 minutes), and ask them to share a story about an experience that they’ve had at work; about working with your clients or products, or about an experience they’ve had with their colleagues.
3. Get To The Point!
This doesn’t mean that you need to rush through your story, or spoil the punchline. The best stories in meetings are told with intention and with a specific goal in mind. Here’s a chart, with content from “Whoever Tells The Best Story Wins: How To Use Your Own Stories to Communicate With Power and Impact”, by Annette Simmons, to help you speak with intention, and choose the best type of story to achieve your desired outcome.
all Information included in this chart is from "Whoever tells the best story wins: how to use your own stories to communicate with power and impact" by annette simmons.
4. Structure Your Story
Don’t feel pressured to speak “off the cuff”, even the most successful professional speakers take time to craft and rehearse their stories. In “Lead With A Story”, Paul Smith outlines the three elements of a good story: Context, Action, and Result.
Context: Context is the background information that your audience needs to make sense of your story:
a. Where and when does it take place?
b. Who’s the main character?
c. What does he or she want?
d. Who, or what is in the way?
Action: Action includes the ups, downs, setbacks, failures, etc.
Result/ Outcome: At the end of the story reveal the main characters outcomes. This is also when you’ll want to subtly explain what the audience should have learned from this event.
5. Be aggressively authentic!
Don’t be afraid to be YOU! Share stories about past joys, failures, mistakes, and aspects of your personal life (But keep it PG! No need to talk about your last visit to the nudist colony, your most recent trip to the cafe’s in Amsterdam, or anything else that’s going to leave your staff unable to look you in the eye for the rest of their career!). The more “real” you are, the more your audience will connect with you, and your message, and the more you and your team can build the KLT factor within your organization. (Know, Like, Trust Factor)
Whether you’re meeting in person, or online via video conferencing, a well-crafted and well-told story can elevate your meetings to highly impactful experiences that align your team and build your company culture.