The Team in the “New Normal”
Are you now looking to build your team to be successful in the ‘new normal’? Have you detected underlying tensions between those who were furloughed or seconded elsewhere and those who worked through the crisis. Some of those may have worked from home while others travelled to the workplace. Some may have personal commitments and challenges that have had an impact.
The task of rebuilding the team is more complex than simply going back to how things were at the beginning of the year..and would you want to?
Questions to address
While acknowledging that the challenge is multi-facetted, this article looks at some of the questions that you may need to address beyond the need to make the physical workspace safe for employees.
- Has business strategy changed?
- What service or product will the team deliver? Has this changed?
- What skills are required?
- What shape will the team take? Size, location(s), budget?
There will be few teams or workplaces that look the same as they did in early 2020.
Engaging with team members
But there is also the need to engage fully with members of the team to ascertain their preferences and their needs.
Their experiences over recent months may have differed widely. While some will be keen to get back to work, others may have varing degrees of anxiety about doing so and some may wish to work from home as much as possible. Engaging with individuals, listening and trying to understand, can strengthen your relationship and bear dividends in the future. Having gleaned the views of all, you will be able to map those to the needs of the business. If there are aspects that don’t fit there could be a lot to be gained from engaging the full team in how they may be addressed. That in itself can help the cohesiveness of the team.
When the make-up of the team is finalised benefits of team building activities can be realised. International research* into the underlying people factors that determine a team’s success indicate 3 main factors that improve team performance and reduce negative impacts. These are:
- Frequent in-team communication
- Interdependent working
- High quality social exchanges
Teams whose members have a high level of self-awareness and an understanding of their colleagues are better equipped to work well together and to manage potential conflict.
Psychometric emotional intelligence and behavioural assessments help a team leader and team members to understand colleagues’ personality, emotional drives and resilience.
For more information on how we support individuals and teams adapt to the “new normal” please contact viv.walton@deardenassessment.co.uk
*de Jong, J.,Curseu, P., &Leenders, R., When do bad apples not spoil the barrel? Negative relationships in teams, team performance, and buffering mechanisms. Journal of Applied Psychology 99(3), 514-522, in EBW Teams Workbook, on-line 28.7.2020