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4 Key Tips For Great Team Work

I work with universities across the country helping train newly elected officers into becoming dynamic creative teams.  Typically this training is done at retreats where new communication skills are learned that are specifically designed to deal with the multitude of special issues facing a university setting.

Even though we all talk and listen to others talk every day, it is important to understand that effective communication especially in a team setting is a skill that can be learned.   

Communication is never about perfection rather  it is about the willingness to keep on learning and trying, with the goal of building better and stronger teams.  Communication is the cornerstone of any successful working environment, and this is especially critical in a team setting where the goals of the organization tends to take precedence over the goal of any particular individual working on the team.

 Here are some quick and easy tips for your new officers to think about with respects to driving powerful communication as they begin a new year.

#1.  Everyone plays nice in the beginning

When a new group is coming together it seems that everyone usually  “plays nice” and puts their best foot forward.   For example we take turns when we are talking, we don’t hog the floor with our pet issue, we listen to what other people have to say, we act interested and if we get frustrated we are more apt to let things roll off our back than to take something personally.  

Even though this is the tendency at the beginning, time tends to change our manner of relating to each other and the initial “niceness” will wear off.  I always recommend at the early stages of the team formulations that  members get to know each other by establishing team guidelines (or team norms) for when the newness wears off and the real personalities start to come out.  

It is almost impossible for people to “play nice” for the entire year.  Your team is going to eventually deal with conflict and the sooner you determine how your team is going to handle it before the conflict happens the better!  This one process issue will have a big impact on whether the team is effective or not.  Remember usually everyone plays nice in the beginning so don’t be fooled. Talk about how your team is going to handle conflict BEFORE it occurs. Working out your Norms at the outset also gives you an idea of the strengths and challenges that the team may encounter when the business issues are actually dealt with.


#2.  Remember the goal is TEAM

When communicating in and out of team setting remember, keep the bigger picture in mind (i.e. what you are trying to accomplish). Your group is working to become a TEAM and to create a team result!  A great tip when communicating; especially when the issues is an emotional one, is to remind yourself as well as everyone else is that you are in this together.  You are a team.  This can sound something like:

“Before we get started I want to remind everyone that I know that this is a sensitive issue but I want us to remember that we are a TEAM and we are in this together.”

Taking time at the beginning of the communication to remind the people that they are on the same team can minimize defensiveness.  Also it is a great statement to come back to if emotions start running high.  This could sound something like:

“I know that people are getting frustrated but I want to again remind you of what I shared before, we are a TEAM so let’s try to keep this in mind as we focus on finding a solution.”

#3.  TEAMS focus on Solutions not Blame

This is such an important difference between groups and teams.  Teams work very hard to keep conversations focused on solutions while many groups can get stuck focusing on blame.  We have all heard the rule, “Attack the problem not the person”.  Great teams take this one step further they attack the problem with the intention of finding a solutions.  If you are ever in a meeting where you see the blame game being played try saying something like:

“Does it seem like we are focusing on blame? Maybe we should try shifting our focus on possible solutions.”

Notice that I phrased this intervention as a question.  When making an intervention it is important to do it in a constructive way, not a judgmental way.  Questions are a great way to make an intervention.  In this example shifting the group to solutions will support you in getting work done.  Nothing gets accomplished when we play the blame game.

#4.  Read Body Language Out Loud

We all know how important our body language is and I have heard so many people say that they are good at reading other peoples body language. I want to know how do you know if you are good at reading body language unless you read it out loud?  Great teams are able to check in with one another.  For example if I am in a meeting and Joe and Joe rolls his eyes while I am talking.  The way I read that is that Joe is board or disagrees with my points.  What I want you to realize is that it is ok to read body language out loud.  So using the example with Joe you might say something like:

“Joe, I noticed you had an interesting reaction. Tell me what you are thinking or feeling?”

For many people this would feel uncomfortable (and rightly so but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it!)  Letting someone know you see them and then getting curious is essential to staying connected to the people on your team.  If you are having a meeting and you are making a decision and someone is visibly upset (arms folded, face flushed, breathing or sighing not participating) and you say nothing then you may not really have his or her buy in.   If you need everyone’s buy in and you see someone displaying some of the characteristics I just described you may say something like:

“Jane, I noticed that you haven’t said much and that your arms are folded.  Your opinion and your buy in are important.  Do you have anything you would like to add?’

Notice that this statement is not judgmental it is letting this member of your team know that you see them and that they are important.  This will feel uncomfortable when you first do it but remember Communication is not about doing what is natural it is about doing what will support the success of the TEAM.

Susan Leahy MA. ABS turns groups into teams through increasing communication, improving meetings and driving results.  Susan conducts keynotes, workshops and full day retreat for her clients across the country.  Visit Susan at www.SusanLeahy.com or www.FreewayGuides.com for more details about how to turn your group into a TEAM!