trust Archives -

Navigate change successfully as a team

by Jani J | 1

Just when things seem to be rolling along smoothly for you and your organization – BAM! Something changes. Regardless of your industry or the size of your organization, you can be assured that you and your team will face changes in the months and years ahead. We do not live in a static world and never have. Those that survive and thrive are those who can adapt to changes in their environment and circumstances and turn those changes into advantages.

How does your team respond to change? What do top-performing teams do? Times of change often illuminate team characteristics that lead to success or failure. Several factors that influence the way a team functions, especially when dealing with changing circumstances, include:

the level of trust team members have for one another
how well team members communicate with each other
whether or not each team member is personally aligned with and supportive of the organization’s mission.

Here’s an example that you may have encountered:

A key employee is called away suddenly to deal with a family emergency. How does the team respond to this change? Do they offer support for the employee during what may be a personally challenging time? How do they make decisions in order to fill the gap during the employee’s absence? Are the decisions based on a desire to achieve organizational goals, or is the focus more on individual achievement? Some team members may be tempted to “protect” their own resources in this type of situation. And while this may result in apparent success at an individual level in the short-term, the long-term and organizational outcomes can be incredibly limiting.

Think about any team sport, and those teams that have achieved the highest levels of success. Everyone contributes, right? Along with performing at a high level individually, team member’s support each other, raise each other’s spirits, offer encouragement when times get tough, give feedback for improvement, and help each other stay focused on the goal.

Navigating change successfully begins long before a change actually takes place. As a leader, how can you foster the kind of environment that will allow your team to consistently succeed under changing conditions? Here are five ways:

Include as many voices as possible in looking for solutions.
Clearly focus on the overarching purpose of the team and how to best achieve it.
Communicate with transparency.
Recognize and show that you value the achievements of the group as a whole.
Foster a collaborative rather than competitive environment on a daily basis.

What would you add to this list?

Developing Strong Virtual Teams

by Jani J | 0

How do you develop a sense of team when members are spread out geographically? For many groups the opportunities to get together in the same physical location are rare. But do you have to

accept having a disconnected team, just because everyone doesn’t come to work in the same location every day? People often tell me how difficult it is to build relationships in that kind of situation. I’ve experienced it myself, and I agree – it can be difficult. But fortunately it’s not impossible. I’ve also experienced what it’s like to be part of a strong virtual team, where no goal seemed out of reach. What made the difference? Just like any relationship, intentional effort needs to be made to create and maintain bonds among team members.

If your virtual team is not performing as well as you’d like or you think that the interpersonal bonds between members could be stronger, consider these questions: Do you find that when your group does get together for a meeting, much of the time is spent on activities like reviewing reports and scheduling future meetings? Are these things that really need to be done in a face-to-face setting? Would a conference call work for some things like these instead? Are all team members valued for the unique qualities and strengths they bring to the team?

Here are four ways you can build a stronger team. These apply regardless of your work setting, and are especially applicable in a virtual environment:

1. Make the most of the times you are physically together in the same location to foster trusting relationships among team members.

2. Incorporate focused and purposeful team development activities into your event to accelerate the group-formation process.

3. Carefully consider the content of your face-to-face meetings. What can team members do independently ahead of time? Are there reports that can be read, scheduling that can be planned, or questions that can be shared with the group ahead of time? If so, then the face-to-face meeting time can be devoted to those areas that address more sensitive topics, or require more in-depth discussion or brainstorming.

4. Create an inclusive environment. Ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute and be heard. Allowing everyone to be involved not only helps the team achieve its goals by leveraging each person’s strengths, it also demonstrates that each member is a valued part of the team.

What would you add to this list? What has worked for you?

Friends at work

by Jani J | 2

Yesterday I stopped in at a local chain store to pick up a couple of things. While browsing the shelves, I overheard two employees talking. One of them said, “Remember that question about having a best friend at work – you’re my best friend!” My immediate thought was that they must have recently taken some kind of employee engagement or opinion survey, as one area that’s been shown to influence engagement and job satisfaction is the quality of peer interactions (Harter, Schmidt, Agrawal, & Plowman, 2013; MacLeod & Clarke, 2009).

When paying for my purchase a little while later, I realized what a pleasant experience I’d had shopping at that store. The employees were friendly, helpful, and efficient. No scowling, heavy sighs, or customer-avoidance – those things customers sometimes experience when employees just don’t want to be there. I didn’t give it any more thought at the time, but later connected the dots between these pieces. It’s anecdotal, yes. But here, in a common, everyday interaction, I’d experienced the benefit of doing business with a company that cares about engagement and creates an environment that fosters it.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, research has shown that interpersonal bonds are one of the keys to engagement in the workplace (Fisher, 2013; Tuckman, 1965). While friendships at work have not always been encouraged or even tolerated, those attitudes are (thankfully) changing today. The myth that friendships interfere with getting things done is evaporating – and is rapidly being replaced with a recognition of and appreciation for the value of interpersonal relationships in generating and enhancing group functionality.

Think about a time you’ve been extremely productive at work. How did your interpersonal relationships (dare I say “friendships”?) fit into the picture?

References:

Fisher, D. M. (2013, November 4). Distinguishing between taskwork and teamwork planning in teams: Relations with coordination and interpersonal process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0034625

Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., Agrawal, S., & Plowman, S. K. (2013). The relationship between engagement at work and organizational outcomes (2012 Q12). Retrieved from Gallup website: www.gallup.com

MacLeod, D., & Clarke, N. (2009). Engaging for success: Enhancing performance through employee engagement. Retrieved from Department for business innovation & skills: http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file52215.pdf

Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological bulletin, 63, 384-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0022100

The Speed of Trust

by Jani J | 0

Trust - intuitively, we know it's important. We'd rather live and work in a trusting environment than one of fear, suspicion, and distrust. We have a sense that things seem to go more smoothly when we trust those around us and they trust us. But why is that?

Using real-world examples and personal experiences, Stephen M. R. Covey shows the direct correlation between trust, cost, and speed in The Speed of Trust. When trust is low, it takes longer to get things done and at a higher cost. Increase trust and tasks are completed more quickly with less cost. In his book, Covey shares practical methods for increasing trust in your personal and professional relationships.

If you're looking for more insight into how to make a difference personally and in your organization by creating higher levels of trust, check this out!

To purchase

What’s the big deal about Engagement??

by Jani J | 0

What is the big deal about engagement? It seems everyone is talking about it. It’s at the heart of nearly every conversation about productivity – and for good reason. Companies spend a considerable amount of money surveying their employees each year to determine how engaged those employees are. Why? Because studies show, again and again, that the level of employee engagement impacts the bottom line, and significantly (Harter, Schmidt, Agrawal, & Plowman, 2013; MacLeod & Clarke, 2009).

Studies such as the Gallup Q12 Meta-Analysis and the MacLeod Re port show correlations between employee engagement and outcomes in areas of:

Customer satisfaction and loyalty
Goal achievement
Safety
Turnover
Employee productivity
Improved working lives of employees

The Gallup Q12 showed that businesses measuring the highest levels of engagement show an 80% probability of achieving above-average performance results. In contrast, the cost of disengagement for US companies is estimated at over $300 billion annually. So, clearly engagement matters. But how does an organization go about creating an engaged workforce? Research has shown that two of the things that influence engagement are whether there is an environment of trust and whether group members are able to function together effectively.

In order to be willing to take risks and invest energy in support of the organization’s goals, people need to be able to trust that their actions won’t be perceived negatively (Schneider, Macey, Barbera, & Young, 2010). When we feel psychologically safe, we are more likely to share our opinions, ideas, or concerns. A trusting, psychologically safe, environment encourages the open exchange of ideas and information and allows problems to surface before they become severe. When we are concerned with being judged it’s easy to become distracted and disengaged as we may be focusing more on what others are thinking than on the task at hand (Kahn, 1990).

Groups that function effectively typically have strong interpersonal bonds. Often these groups are characterized as cohesive. Tuckman’s (1965) model describes the process of a team’s development of connectedness and functionality over time, ranging from the initial stages of group formation to later stages where groups exhibit cohesion and are successful at achieving group goals. At Tuckman’s final stage of performing, interpersonal relationships are a key to successful problem-solving and goal achievement. In my own research, I found that when team members know each others’ strengths and interests, and then aligned tasks accordingly, they were more successful at achieving their goals.

What does engagement look like in your workplace? Do you see these factors at work? Is forming personal relationships with members of the workgroup encouraged or discouraged? Is the environment psychologically safe? How do you think the level of engagement could be improved in your organization? Are there things that you’ve tried or have been thinking about trying? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Also, please join me in the coming weeks to explore more ideas about what it takes for individuals and groups to perform at their best. I’ll also be sharing selections from my bookshelf each Thursday.

References:

Gallup Q12. (2013). https://q12.gallup.com/

Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 692-724. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256287

Schneider, B., Macey, W. H., Barbera, K. M., & Young, S. A. (2010). The role of trust in understanding employee engagement. In S. L. Albrecht (Ed.), Handbook of employee engagement: Perspectives, issues, research and practice (pp. 159-173). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.

Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological bulletin, 63, 384-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0022100