It’s easy to envision the “ideal team”- it’s one that communicates clearly, works well together, collaborates openly, practices often, and is committed to improvement over time. When obstacles appear, this “ideal team” seeks solutions and moves forward in the same direction. When this “ideal team” experiences a win, its members authentically celebrate one another.
When I dig below the surface of this vision, however, I realize that it lives only in my mind. Abstractly, my brain can jump to find a perfectly functioning group achieving outcomes without thinking about how its members learn to work together. In fact, my own “team” experiences as an education professional have rarely played out so smoothly. I’ve been on teams where, in the face of challenge, many of us panicked. Or, in the presence of a win, one person took all the credit. And I’ve been on teams where we frankly didn’t get better at working together over time- teams where members left because they didn’t feel heard or valued.
When I was in high school, it seemed so easy to get my softball teammates and I aligned on our collective purpose: to win every game and bring home the state title at the end of the season. But for a team of adults in the workplace- adults with varying experiences coming in, different lengths of time in the role, different personality types, and potentially different roles within the team- getting aligned on our collective purpose is less clear than winning games.
Building a team of adults who work well together takes time. And creating strong team chemistry is surely an art, not a science. There is not one magical way to make it happen in a single moment, but there are ways to invest in team chemistry continually over time. Here are three ways to strengthen your team’s chemistry:
Establish trust through vulnerability and authenticity - Normalize celebrating big and small wins, sharing struggles, and supporting each other through the inevitable ups and downs that we all experience. As the leader, be “appropriately vulnerable,” to paraphrase Brené Brown. Share questions you’re pondering, potential solutions brewing, and things that feel hard. A window into each other’s thinking followed by space for even brief conversation after builds authentic community and culture.
Strengthen communication - On your team, avoid assigning blame, and instead focus on co-creating solutions. Invite team input and model genuine listening. “What are some glows and grows from this experience?” “What do we need to adjust for the future?” Help the group keep the solutions they generated in mind as the work moves forward, fostering a growth mindset.
Support your people - Be clear that when each staff member is successful, the team as a whole is successful. Find out what each team member needs to execute their role, and share what your support can look like to get them there and name how others on the team are also positioned to assist.
Remember that many adults in the workplace today have learned to survive as individual contributors. A commitment to building a team mentality will take time. A strong leader will recognize unique individuals and connect their strengths to the collective power of the group.
Want to learn more? KJ Consulting facilitates team building workshops and 1:1 coaching sessions using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) and DISC tools as a powerful lens. Contact us at katie@kjconsultinggroup.come to book!