Virtual team building activity to build trust and engagement

When I began coaching my new client Nikita, as I often do, I asked what her top values were. Nikita indicated that one of her values is a strong work ethic. She gave me examples of how she honours that value—for instance, coming in early, staying late and persisting in finishing complex projects.

We often find values conflicts at work

I asked Nikita to share a story of where she felt that value was being rubbed up against or not followed. Nikita explained she gets quite annoyed when two of the team members, rather than going their separate ways and doing their own work, seem to congregate and work together. 

I could hear Nakita's displeasure as she told me she felt like they just liked to chitchat. In Nikita's mind, chatting while they were supposed to be working on a task impeded their ability to be effective, efficient and follow her view of a strong work ethic.

New perspectives on values conflicts

I asked Nikita what the employee's values are. Nikita chuckled and said; That's a good question. I don't know.

I wondered out loud if, by chance, their values might be connection and teamwork. I offered Nikita a different perspective: Perhaps the way these two staff like working together might be meeting their values. Once again, Nikita chuckled. Perhaps you're right, she said.

Start with getting clear on what your values mean

I encourage Nikita first to get clear on her own values. Then, I suggested to Nikita that to develop her team relationships, she looks at ways to get to know her employees' values. A good starting point for developing trust in the team is talking openly about how they can honour everyone's values.

Values discussions build trust and engagement

It seems harder and harder for some of us to create meaningful teambuilding activities in today's virtual world, yet we long for connection. Connected and engaged teams don't just happen. They are made in meaningful moments. As a leader, it's often your job to create the environment for those meaningful moments.  

Virtual team building activity to build trust and engagement

Here is an activity that you can do virtually or in-person to build stronger team relationships and understand each other. 

The Rationale

The Problem: 

• In organizations, we often have organizational values with definitions attached to them, and occasionally we talk about them. But honestly, we don't really talk about what they mean to each of us in connection to our individual values.

The Solution: 

• Take time to get to know each other's values and what they mean to each of you. Then, talk about your individual values and how they connect to the organizational values, or if they even do.

The Background

The following exercise comes from the Values Verification course inside The Training Library. It is a foundational course that I encourage all members to complete. If you are a member of The Training Library member and have yet to complete the Values Verification course, I would really encourage you to set aside some time to do it.

The Steps

1. Identify your values (See Values Verification for help)
2. Have each of the team members identify their top 3 values.
3. Have each member speak to what that value actually looks like on a day-to-day basis when they live that value and honour it.

The Discussion

I suggest, and again, this is straight from the Values Verification course, that you look at it in the areas of time, energy and money. During the discussion about each person's values, encourage them to talk about how those values show up for them in terms of time, energy and money.

An Example

I value lifelong learning. 

• MONEY - I spend money on books
• TIME - I take time to read and study the books I buy
• ENERGY - I spend a lot of energy teaching you the concepts I learn.

Not every value will have a time, money or energy correlation, but it's a good place to start the discussion. Feel free to add more contexts for the values to show up. And if you do, let me know what you add! I'd love to hear how creative you and your team become with this exercise.

More Help

• For more examples of how values show up check out this quick video
• For an example of how to make a value-based decision, watch this quick video 

How did it go?

Please make sure you hit reply when you've tried this exercise and tell me what you learned about your values, your team's values, and how you will honour them more in your workplace.

A Final Note

Getting clear on your own values is partly an intellectual exercise. However, when you engage in a conversation with someone else, your understanding of your values increases. After completing the exercises in the Values Verification course, or simply identifying and defining your values:

1. Talk to people close to you about what you discovered.
2. Ask them to give examples of where they see your values.
3. Reach out to a friend, coach, mentor and colleagues to discuss your values.

The more you talk about it, the deeper you understand your values and thus live your values!