HOW TO CREATE HAPPIER TEAMS!

The two essential components to ensure a happier and hence, more productive team culture are psychological safety + mindfulness.?

If employees feel empowered and valued, their focus will be on their work and not on dealing with the stressful dynamics of an unhealthy culture.?

In my role as a conflict + communication + culture expert, I have facilitated over 500 training workshops for teams across all sectors.

In my Mindful Team Culture sessions, leaders are either reactively seeking assistance to transform a toxic (blame and complain) culture or they are proactive in ensuring the continued health of their team.

The proactive leaders regularly seek facilitated team culture check-ins as they genuinely want to hear + understand + act on staff feedback so that the team continues to strengthen connection, build creativity and increase productivity.

Alternately, I often receive crisis calls from reactive leaders who have procrastinated or inherited unhealthy teams. I then facilitate the ‘tough talks’ needed to move teams from conflict to connection. My role as a facilitator (with a background as a mediator) is to create a constructive + safe space whereby we highlight existing strengths, draw out concerns to identify solutions and create a mutually agreed action plan. (We also have lots of fun which helps to discuss the tough issues and build team rapport).

To build and sustain a happier + healthier culture, it is imperative leaders (employers):

-create a psychologically safe space whereby staff feel comfortable to speak up, ask questions, take educated risks and not fear making mistakes. To read more on Psychological Safety: Amy Edmondson – The Fearless Organisation (2018).

-practice mindfulness which is the ability to be present with staff + also be aware of their presence. To read more on Mindfulness: Eckhart Tolle -The Power of Now (1997).

I have worked with many teams where staff are uncomfortable to bring up issues and the leader is unaware of their impact – both create an unhealthy culture + unhappy employees.?

A tool that is very powerful in helping to create a mindful culture + safe space is the articulation of above/below line behaviours. This is an opportunity to draw out from the staff (+ leaders) what behaviours they want to see + celebrate (above the line) + what behaviours they don’t want to see nor tolerate (below the line). This ensures everyone has ownership and responsibility for what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in the workplace.??

Leaders can ensure happy staff by prioritising team culture and committing to living the team/organisational values + behaviours. It is also essential to invite employee feedback by being open and receptive to change what is not working.?

This commitment to creating a mindful + psychological safe environment will ensure a healthy culture and happy employees!

I can assist you + your team with those facilitated ‘tough talks’ in the following Mindful Team Culture workshop and Psychological Safety for Leaders workshop and Difficult Conversations workshop options:

Mindful Team Culture: Proactive (1-day) - virtual or in-person delivery.

Mindful Team Culture: Transformative (2-day) - virtual or in-person delivery.

Psychological Safety for Leaders (0.5-day) - virtual or in-person delivery.

Difficult Conversations (1-day) - virtual or in-person delivery.

Contact me on LinkedIn or here if you need any details or have any questions.

Until then, enjoy your conflict!