With blended working our new norm, staying connected with your team has never been more important. Collaborative working when your team is in different places can be tricky. To support you in this new stage, here is a need-to-know guide to help your team stay connected both on and off campus.
Collaborate successfully using our new style of working
The 3P’s can help ensure you and your team get the most from blended working:
Purpose
- Establish your team’s purpose and agreed goal
- Clarify what your expectations are around how you work
- Evaluate your behaviour towards each other and how you lean into the principles of blended working
People
- Assess how inclusive your team is
- Maximise people’s skills and strengths and encourage people to develop
- Be compassionate and supportive of each other
- Examine how you deal with conflict
- Encourage fair treatment for those who are less visible or off campus
Process
- Discuss how work is allocated and monitored within your team - There is a fine line between monitoring and micromanaging, maintaining this balance within your team is key
- Become accountable for your results and encourage responsibility amongst teammates
- Ensure your team have and can access a plan for personal development
- Emphasise inclusion and drive teamwork – It is important to avoid proximity bias or other inequitable practices
Overcoming difficulties within your team
Inevitably issues can arise within any team, how early these are identified will determine how detrimental they are your team’s work performance and connectedness.
The main dysfunctions to look out for in your team are:
- Absence of trust among team members
- Fear of conflict
- Lack of commitment
- Avoidance of accountability
- Inattention to results
Here is a helpful resource on dealing with team dysfunctionality.
Communication is key
- Identify internal communication and information sharing tools – Evaluate whether your current methods and harness these to promote cohesion within your team
- Schedule regular team catch ups – Catch up with your team over coffee by scheduling hybrid meetings. Informal check-ins with your team can ease any work pressure and strengthen relationships
- Be transparent with your team - Communicate where you are, what you are doing and your capacity to help each other
- Organise team away days and team lunches – Create a sense of community within your team and use away days to plan together