The productivity components include the likes of … team leadership … accountability … alignment behind the vision and purpose … goals and strategies … decision making.  These look quite the same whether working under one roof or remotely.  These don’t necessarily require being under one roof to implement and maintain.  They are process related.

The key positivity components include the likes of … communication within and among team members … respect … trust … camaraderie.  These speak to relationships among team members and require an ongoing effort and plan to achieve and maintain.

Having and sustaining the ‘positivity’ is neither easy nor a given when team members are in part or completely working independently and outside of an office environment. Removing the in-person capability of teamwork adds an added challenge of finding creative ways to incorporate these critical elements into team interaction. The workforce today and going forward is bound to be comprised of both in-office and remote members. It becomes critically important that any organization devises ways to hold onto the positive aspects.  Let’s examine how one might enhance these important elements in the new normal work environment of today and beyond.

• TRUST
  The more we know about someone the more likely we are to value and enjoy their presence on the team. Thus,

  

  getting to know them on a more personal level enhance the understanding we have of them. 
  • What is their life comprised of outside of their work?
  • What do they enjoy doing in their ‘away’ time?
  • What are some things they have struggled with and have overcome that gives you a sense of who they are and how they have handled challenges?
  • The more revealing one is to others the more they will be seen for their ‘human’ elements and build the desire sense of trust.

• RESPECT
  Whether remote or in office the things that develop and build a sense of respect among team members is very much the same. The method of communication is similar and perhaps only more challenging when conveying these things remotely.
  • Encourage other team members to share their valuable ideas.
  • Treat people how you want to be treated … with kindness, courtesy and politeness.
  • Actively listen to others input from within the team.
  • Use other people’s ideas often to increase productivity and efficiency.

• COMMUNICATION
  

  

  Effectively communicating within a business or a team has always been a challenge in various ways. Working with a remote team only increases the need to be more sensitive to the critical nature of finding effective ways create this by incorporating these …
  • Showing empathy and remembering members are humans also dealing with added challenges associated with working remotely.
  • Say the often-overlooked niceties … like ‘good morning’ and ‘how was your weekend?
  • Let the team devise ways to make video meetings more effective … is it around frequency? Or is it related to a more well-defined agenda?
  • Encourage and expand the personal connections through ‘fun’ times and activities that allow the team to have that lunch together or share fun things done over the weekend.

• COMARADERIE
  Developing a sense of togetherness and collaborative friendship is not an automatic given. Yet understanding the value of it and how it contributes to team success makes doing these things positive contributors.
  • Create opportunities for ‘group’ chats … sessions designed to discuss ‘whatever’ comes up that is not related to the specific work being done by the group.
  • Create a process for adding a new member to the team … one that introduces the person and allow them the opportunity to tell the group about themselves … professionally and personally.
  • Allow every team member equal time to express their thoughts and provide opinions.
  • Create a virtual breakroom … a place where all are encouraged to share things of personal interest, challenge and accomplishment.

It appears to be a given that the business environment of the immanent future is going to be comprised of people working in an office full-time, those working remotely full-time and those who are doing a combination of the two.  The most effective and productive teams need to have the positivity components identified above.  Thus, it is imperative that organizations make a concentrated effort to devise ways to incorporate them into the ‘remote’ team effort.  Doing so will make it possible for teams to retain both the positive and the productive elements that contributes to the most effective and successful team efforts.
Mike Dorman

I encounter this situation rather frequently when coaching within various businesses.  As participants begin to experience the cracks that appear attributable to the missing or weak foundation, they experience the following:

• Frustration
  Of course enthusiasm and energy run high when launching a new effort. And too often these same positives are blinding to creating the strong foundation on which the effort stands and from which it will grow and prosper.  Determining roles, structure and responsibilities are too often thought to be ‘obvious’ and thus, there appears to be no or little need to spend time defining the ‘obvious’.  Welcome mega-frustration potential.
• Loss of confidence
  If from the start the team is experiencing challenges related to an agreed upon vision, how it will be approached and how it will be achieved, it makes it difficult to stay focused on the goal of the team. Rather, it’s easy to begin to question whether the team is made up of the right players … again a most basic aspect of creating the team in the first place. 

• Wasted dollars
  Time is money and one certainly doesn’t subscribe to wasting it. The wasting it part is so oftensimply because those involved didn’t take the time to discuss and agree to how things were going to progress.  And whereas this is not surmountable, very few efforts budget for wasted dollars … the one unnecessary thing that can derail the best of intentions and effort.

• Missed opportunity
  It’s safe to say that all efforts requiring a team are made with a vision of needed and desired success. And yet, when you consider the very significant failure rate of projects or businesses it becomes apparent that something that would or could have made this a success was missing.  Much research reinforces that the missing ingredient is the lack of that strong foundation upon which all else will be built.  Too many times it appears to be this key ingredient that can be attributed to the lack of success and achievement. 

This experience is very much avoidable.  What it takes is taking the time to build that foundation.  And rather than it being time intensive, it is a matter of being focus intensive.

Here are some of the key things that should be addressed when the team is in its’ formative stages!

• Why have those on this team been included?
  What does each person bring to the effort that when combined with all others will provide a complete circle of knowledge, experience and expertise that success requires?
  • In what ways are the personalities of all involved compatible or challenging and how can you address this to contribute to the success being pursued?
  • What open gaps might exist in terms of the desired knowledge and experience and what is the plan to acquire that needed resource?
  • What needs to be done so that everyone involved in the effort knows and understands what each person will be able to contribute to achieving intended success?
• What do you do to assure that open and clear communication remains at the forefront of the team effort?
  • How will you as a team address differences of opinion or approach? As they are a guarantee, knowing how you will deal with them avoids ramming into a dangerous wall.
  • How often will the team meet and what is the nature of the check-in you want that will make certain that the foundation needed for success avoids or quickly repairs cracks.
  • Who is the person recognized as the leader with the final say on decisions to be made? Or … is the final decision in the hands of the person who oversees the item being addressed?  Co-leaders seem nice however they are also responsible for trouble in operating successfully.  Whereas it seems ‘nice’, it is also responsible for many business or project dooming issues.  Going this route can be a sign that decision-making and confronting real issues is potentially a crack that can undermine all good intentions and desires.
• Why the need to put aspects of the structure and related agreements in writing?
  • As those involved become immersed in the project and working to achieve the intended goals, some of the foundational items fall from memory. When this happens it too often leads todisagreements around what had been agreed to or the process to be followed if needed ‘down the road’.  This reference avoids the need to recall what had been decided and helps to maintain focus on the project or business itself
  • Especially when just getting started those involved either can forget or confuse aspects of structure, decision-making and responsibilities assigned to various individuals through a specific way to address them. The written format provides a fast answer that avoids being side-tracked.

Like any relationship, business relationships need to be cultivated over time. Team participants and/or partners need clear expectations. They need to know they are valued. Building trust over time becomes essential when complications and difficulties arise, and they always do.  All need to realistically understand and accept the challenges that they will potentially encounter as well as how they will be confronted … individually and collectively.  Addressing the foundational aspects of a team effort significantly increases the likelihood of reaching the intended success.
Mike Dorman

I recently heard a story about a sixth-grade teacher and the way in which he launched each new school year.  I believe it has application here.  Get this.  Day one was a pretty normal day spent getting familiar with the room, the grounds, the agenda for the year and the expectations.  However, ‘normal’ ended as the day was almost over when the students were told that the following morning the entire class was going camping for two days.    Huh?  Tax dollars going for a camping trip?  Who ever heard of this as a kickoff for a school year?  And why?

The kids were told to bring certain needed supplies, a sleeping bag and the clothes they would need.  They also heard that they were going to cook and cleanup for all the meals.  And oh yes … they would be doing some school-like learning, however this learning was all about getting to know and collaborate with their new classmates.  Innovative thinking?  Or, is it time for this teacher to go?  His explanation to questioning parents was that he had learned through this kind of investment in the development of the class as a team, the payoff was huge.  The children could actually experience what they could and would accomplish collectively and individually as they embarked on the planned curriculum for the 6^th grade.

This brings me back to all of the ‘teams’ that exist within companies.  The jump in and get going immediately mentality doesn’t mean not caring on how cohesive the members of the team are.  Rather the belief is that over time we’ll all get to know and appreciate one another and in the meantime we have work to do. After all, we’re being paid to be productive and accomplish … right?  Head scratcher for sure and I got very curious.  What would be the added value if every team took the time at the beginning to know and appreciate other teammates and the leader of that team?

I went in search of commentary on this topic and came across an article published in the Harvard Business Review … “What New Team Leaders Should Do First” by Carolyn O’hara.  Some highlights of this article:

• What is the purpose of this team?
  Whether you’re taking over an existing team or starting a new one, it’s critical to devote time and energy to establishing howyou want your team to work, not just what you want them to achieve. The first few weeks are critical as a way to minimize significant problems down the road.
• Who are those on the team?
  As an initial priority getting to know the team through its’ member is extremely valuable in helping the team to gain appreciation for one another on it by actually learning about them aside from the project at hand.
• What does the leader expect and value?
  If you are the leader initial interactions with team members are an opportunity to showcase your values. The leader can explain how she/he goes about making decisions, what the priorities are, and how the team’s performance will be evaluated, individually and collectively.
• Indoctrinate a new addition to the team from the beginning
  When a new team member comes on board, it’s critical that they are indoctrinated into the group culture & norms with a full explanation of how things work and what is expected.  Do not presume that other, older team members will fill them in … completely.
• Set or clarify goals
  Use the full team to establish clearly defined goals.  Having their involvement brings with it their buy-in as they will have had a part in formulating that plan.

Something to be learned from the 6^th grade teacher?  I think so.  Of course we’re being paid to accomplish.   And if this makes just a bit of sense to you, maybe, on the way to running forward we should begin by walking.  The next team you’re on, maybe you’ll be the one to suggest an overnight camping or some form of socialization activity.  The sleeping bag may not be your most comfortable bed, however the team bond that is formed just might payoff in spades.
Mike Dorman