For the past two years, we’ve all been working more or less continuously in a home office. Now it’s all coming down to hybrid forms of working. This means that our teams work together in partially changing groups on different days in the office or remotely in the home office.
This increases the complexity of team collaboration and your management tasks. Processes have to be reorganized. Subgroups, some with new members, have to see themselves as a team (again). Personal sensitivities lead to jealousies, there is resentment at having to give back advantages gained, or the impression arises that you are being treated unequally by your boss.
Two years’ distance does something to us. Of course, we still know each other from “back then” when we sat together in the office every day. We’ve rediscovered each other virtually over the last few years, and through video conferencing we’ve become acquainted with private living spaces. And now, perhaps for the first time, we are face to face again. It’s not the first time you feel like a stranger. It’s almost like visiting relatives you haven’t seen in a long time. You rediscover “your” company, which for so long could only be experienced virtually.
One leadership question in particular stands out now: how do I strengthen togetherness in my hybrid team so that team performance increases?
3 Success Factors for Team Belonging
Google’s team model, which I also use in my team coaching sessions, helps here. In addition to structure, efficiency and reliability, a sustainable psychological security is the foundation to be really successful as a team.
In times of lost closeness and personal bonding in the team, we must therefore focus on stabilizing the foundation and strengthening affiliation and the “we-feeling”.
The following three elements are what your team needs now to strengthen its performance:
Psychological Safety – Strengthening trust foundations by having the team put the past behind them and focus on the future. Compassion – Anchor the superpower of trust and mutual support in the team.
Mental Fitness – Improve positive mindset in the team, such as curiosity, acceptance and commitment, to establish new patterns of success in team interaction. Get the team mentally attuned to the new era so they are more relaxed about working together.
Team Resilience – Introduce seven pillars of resilience to the team to more calmly overcome stressful challenges. This makes it easier to agree and implement new ways of working, processes and agreements in the team.
With “Re-connect Your Team” the right format for your team
My colleague Marte Kamzelas & I have developed suitable formats for the three success factors in Re-Connect Your Team. We pick up your team with our twenty years of experience where they really need the support.
Ideally, your team comes together in-person for two days. We walk through the three success factors together using highly interactive keynote presentations, videos as well as break-out groups and micro-exercises for everyday work. Underpinned by neuroscientific findings from brain and mindfulness research and reflection rounds in the team and with the coaches. The team also agrees on concrete actions for the new way of working together and focuses attention forward.
A hybrid format also works for Re-Connect. And if there’s no other way at the moment, completely virtual. We also distribute Re-Connect over several shorter online modules, because you can’t sit in front of the screen for two days.
Plan the date now, so that your team can look forward to Re-Connect.
We are all looking forward to early summer, which is the ideal time to hold an in-person Re-Connect workshop. Finally sitting together as a team in a room again, sharing ideas, seeing each other and enjoying the atmosphere. It makes the workshop fun.
Because the popular workshop days are in demand, just check the calendar now and block your desired date with us.
Just click on the button and send me an email.
We look forward to seeing you and your team.
