5 Ways to Connect With Your Team

Happy FriYay!

One of the scariest stories I ever had was this…?

I was sitting with a client, years and years ago, talking about their team. And they said these words to me, “I don’t pay them to talk about their weekend. I pay them to work.”?

And very quickly I understood what the problem was.?

There was no connection.?

Connecting with each other is in our very nature. Being able to connect with our teams also helps increase happiness and office morale — while productivity increases as a byproduct.?

We are social animals, and feeling connected at work is one of the best signs that a person will stay, and actually LOVE, to work with you. A study by Gallup found that those with a best friend at work are 7x as likely to be engaged in their jobs, are better at engaging customers, produce a higher quality of work, rank higher in well-being, and are less likely to get injured at work.?

So this week I’ll be sharing 5 of my favourite ways to bring connection into the office, so that you have a team that works well together (and wants to stay together), rather than a bunch of individuals forced to work in the same room.

1. Help People Get Vulnerable. One of the quickest ways people bond is by sharing stories, memories or insights with each other, while providing a safe space to do so. You can easily do this at the start of a meeting, or every Monday when you all come back to work, and ask a group question that everyone can answer. These can be fun questions like “What song would describe your weekend?” or something more serious like “What’s one challenge that you overcame recently?”. I usually ask a few questions to ease people into it, and let everyone know it’s a safe space to share.
2. Push Them Outside Of Their Comfort Zone. Studies have shown that when people are put in safe but exhilarating situations, they bond faster with those they share the experience with. Now, while I personally love skydiving it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. A more achievable option could be doing an ice bath workshop, Wim Hoff breathing techniques, a high ropes course — or another slightly uncomfortable, fun experience.
3. Bring Them Into The Process. If you don’t already have a solid set of business virtues as part of your employee onboarding process, then sitting the team down to map out these virtues could be a uniquely bonding process. If your team would like to create a work environment that they’d love to show up for everyday, then these are the virtues that should be shared by all. Which is in itself a great connection activity.?
4. Let Them Outline Their Success. When defining an employee’s position, I always want them to tell me what success looks like to them in the role. This helps them not get boxed in by role descriptions, or other limiting factors. It also allows you as their manager or employer to better understand their long term goals in life and within the company.
5. Team Building Day. If your team isn't responding to any of the above, it may be time for a Total Team Transformation. A whole day dedicated to just ensuring that your company is based on a strong set of virtues, and everyone is happy in their roles, inspired by your mission and ready to tackle your long term goals, as a team. If you would like some help facilitating one of these team building days, flick me a reply with the words “TEAM TRANSFORMATION” and we can chat about your specific needs.?

Let me know which one of these ideas you liked the most!

Be the Ripple - Create Waves of Change

?? Jade