Team Chemistry
July 25, 2018
Google spent millions seeking to define what makes the best team. The conclusion reached was what mattered most, more than intelligence, knowledge, or experience was how team members treated each other. Teams that share themselves and are consciously inclusive of all members will trust each other more, and take more risk together. So, how can we help our teammates feel more included, known and appreciated? How can we help new teammates become part of our team more quickly?
TRANSCRIPT
This talk is about how to make your team more effective and how to get the best out of each member of the team. While we all have certain qualities, expertise, and knowledge, Sometimes it's not readily available to us and there's a reason for that. You could call that team chemistry. You could have experienced this yourself when you feel like, wow, I'd really like to contribute more to this team.
I'd like to share my ideas, but you don't feel quite comfortable. The other thing that can happen is new team members come into the team and they haven't really gotten to know you or you haven't gotten to know them. The whole team hasn't really come together. We like to talk about teams as healthy gardens.
Think of it like a garden plot where if you don't tend to that garden and protect it, weed it, give it sun and rain and water, nutrients, then it's not gonna reach its full potential.
So today, we're looking at how to reach the full potential of the team, and that's gonna start really with relationship and building trust, making people feel comfortable. So I wanna give you a couple really, really easy things to do.
Say hello to the new team members and welcome them and take the time to get to know them. Take some time out on your own team meetings to share, you know, fun stuff. Make sure everybody speaks so that this isn't about clicks or people, you know, just getting to know the people that they sit next to or the people that they like. It's a effort that is a conscious effort to help people build trust and relationship. That will go a long way when it comes to dealing with some of the more difficult issues and topics that the team is gonna need to deal with, and it will give a better environment for people to share their ideas.
