Why Now Isn't the Time to Build Teams
Cynthia Watson
Adventurer & Digital Nomad | Remote Champion | Productivity Expert | Best Selling Forbes Books Author
Hundreds of millions of people are working from home, some for the first time. In these early days, we've seen some disastrous examples of management trying to implement team-building exercises. The worst so far is making all employees eat lunch on camera at the same time. The second worse is compulsory after-hours drinks where everyone pretends they are at the same bar. Why, with people coping with children, spouses and pets sharing a space, and the confusion that creates - would anyone institute these types of virtual mandates right now?
What helps virtually, especially with millions of people who've never worked this way before, is to first reduce confusion and uncertainty through standardized approaches to how to meet online, how to run projects remotely and how to streamline communications. Without this, you can't even begin to start the process to start building teams.
You need to reduce the chaos first.
In the first month of working remotely, you can waste half the time from people not knowing the tools, not having sound, not knowing how to share information. You need to replace email with online collaboration tools. You need to get them competent and organized first.
Only then can you begin the process of team building. Fast track training to build tool subject matter experts and enable buddies and mentors for the weaker users. Build online dashboards and create special interest groups. Share best practices. We just held a contest to see who has the best superpower. We're also running a series on how to keep children occupied.
Build online forms for suggestions to management. Encourage "kudos" to highlight people who deserve special mention. Build team newsletters (and don't send these by email).
Right now, your teams will not be built through personality and EI tests. And they certainly won't be built using silly video-based exercises. The cohesion you need will only be achieved through everyone helping and sharing, pulling together to make one another's' lives better while we work through this crisis. Get this right, your team may just build itself.
Clinical Therapist
4 年We have to have a face to face I am dealing with issues like company name and website
Helping business professionals publish content that builds their profile as thought-leaders
4 年I like the idea of having the technically stronger people mentor the people who are less skilled in this. I remember when social media was becoming a thing, there was talk of "reverse mentoring" in which younger people would help their seniors navigate the ins and outs of using email (there's that word again) and their LinkedIn profile. The senior people were expected to just accept that they needed to learn from someone their kids' or grandkids' ages. A model to continue, do you think?