To Foster Team Connection, Create Space for the Personal

As humans we are biologically wired with a need to connect with others. We spend so much time ‘at work’ and tending to the multi-dimensional aspects of our careers that it’s in our interest to nurture the relationships with the people we work closely with. Countless research finds that social connection in workplace relationships is important for our mental health and wellbeing and impacts our happiness and engagement.

So, how do you cultivate connection and build a more cohesive team? Create space for the personal! Here are 8 easy-to-implement ideas to foster team connection:

1.????Exemplify Gratitude

What are you grateful for? Thankful for? What did you find inspiring this week? Gratitude is an important, yet often overlooked, means of increasing connection amongst teams. Draw attention to those feel-good moments that bring a measure of joy and happiness to your life, be it personal or work-related. Build it into your regular meetings and model how it’s done. All it takes is 5 minutes as a regular agenda item where everyone highlights one thing that they are grateful for. Make it a practice, and model exemplifying gratitude.

2.????Connect to Purpose

Does your team fully understand, and believe in, what they are doing and how their contributions impact the organization’s mission? Are they genuinely engaged in their work? A compelling purpose is a powerful driver of sustainable employee retention, productivity, and overall engagement. Articulate your team’s purpose in a way that connects with your people. Better yet, involve them in defining or refining it! Make sure it’s meaningful, clear, inspiring, and action oriented. Tune in to cues that everyone understands and buys into the purpose.

3.????Recognize Good Work & Celebrate Wins

Do you celebrate wins with your team, no matter how small? Are you purposeful in recognizing a team member’s effort, progress, positive attributes, and success? Openly acknowledging someone for a job well done expresses appreciation and fosters an environment of recognition and respect. Recognize often. Personalize the recognition. Connect it to the organization's core values. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition. A team is not a cohesive team unless it works well together, and peer recognition drives teamwork.

4.????Partake in Socially Responsible Team Activities

What charitable activity could your team engage in that would be fun? What meaningful, purposeful event would give back to others while building camaraderie? Consider people’s interests and request ideas or propose activities, ranging from high to light physical effort. Aim for an inclusive experience, keeping in mind that not all team members have the same level of physical ability or interest. There are many non-profit organizations eager for hands-on support, albeit virtually or in-person. Unsure which activity to choose but know which cause your team would like to support? Impact for Good provides a starter list of activities organized by philanthropic cause.

5.????Share a Meal Together (No Business!)

How often does your team come together for lunch or happy hour? The simple act of sharing a meal together can help people feel more connected. People are also more willing to engage in sharing passions, hobbies, family, or weekend plans over a good meal! Is your team geographically dispersed? Not a problem! Schedule a virtual meetup – and if your budget allows, sponsor their lunch.

6.????Allot 10 Minutes of Regular Team Meetings for Social Interaction

How can team members connect on a personal level before diving into business topics? Don’t power through every single team meeting. Yes, time is precious, but it’s well spent if we’re meaningfully getting to know colleagues. Create the space for people to share and connect. Open up the floor for informal comments before diving into business topics. Check in on people’s wellbeing?or ask a lighthearted conversation starter. Just 10 minutes can do wonders to boost engagement and foster connection.

7.????Schedule Bi-Weekly Team Huddles

Where are the opportunities to bake in social touchpoints with your team? Could people come together (virtually or in-person) to talk about weekend plans, recent experiences or what’s happening in the world? When it comes to social connection, quality is more important than quantity. The goal is to incorporate connection into what’s already happening in their lives. 15-minute huddles are easy to carve into people’s schedules and can cultivate a sense of camaraderie. No agenda. No requirements. Just open conversation. Your team should know that while this is optional, it’s an opportunity to get to know each other better. Model attending the huddles so your team knows it's important to you.

8.????Encourage Ideas & Ownership

In what ways could your team have ownership for co-creating the culture you're striving to build? You don’t have to go it alone. Set the stage and pose the question, encouraging everyone to come up with ideas. Check-in with team members individually and see how they’re doing or what ideas they have. Perhaps team members can rotate as a ‘lead’ for the connection activity. It doesn’t have to be more than a 10-minute icebreaker or discussion topic, and there are countless ideas online requiring minimal preparation.

Approach Connection from a Place of Positive Intent

Increasing team connection and fostering belonging is not difficult if you’re approaching it from a place of positive intent coupled with respect and genuine curiosity. The outcome? A more trusting, open, engaged and connected team. A positive ripple effect. The benefits far outweigh the effort.

How do you foster team connection? What has worked for you and your team? Ideas are welcome!