These days, we’re all exploring ways to support team collaboration. Whether your customer service team is working 100% in different locations, or exploring a hybrid arrangement, you’re seeking ways to make it easier to share ideas, brainstorm, and communicate effectively.
As the business world continues to evolve new ways of bringing teams closer together, from wherever individuals are located, you may be wondering about the best ways to support creative workflow. Here are seven tips to get started and light the fire of peak performance.
Chat Without Scheduling
We all love talking ideas through with peers. But when you’re working in different locations, things get to be much more formal. If you’re fed up with scheduling meetings, get together informally. Chat with your mates and keep the creative juices flowing.
Check-In Frequently
Don’t you just love to bump into a friend in the hallway or brainstorm over coffee? Find ways to check in informally and frequently. Make this a top priority and you’ll notice a huge difference in productivity and efficiency.
Connect As a Human Being
It may seem odd, but we often get into behaving as if we’re on autopilot. We discuss quarterly profits, sales goals, and alignment to strategies. But, when you’re working remotely, it’s essential to connect as a human being. Make connections and caring your main focus—for clients, and your internal team.
Experts in mental health and remote teams suggest making a specific time for personal check-in. In addition to making time for this, also make room to be available on an emotional level. By committing to connecting as a human being, you can build rapport and grow trust with your teammates.
Walk and Talk
Do you have a quick question or want to share a rough idea? Find a way to walk over to your teammate for an impromptu in-person interaction. It’s a lot faster – ten times faster, in fact – than sending a zoom link.
Use Circle Standups
Stand-up meetings are great because they are inclusive and short. Stand in a circle so it’s clear who has the floor. Pull up your favorite apps like Trello or Notion. Share your ideas, take notes, and boost productivity all at once.
There’s something so powerful about standing in a circle. It communicates connection, equality, and being in touch. A circle is so much more inclusive and interwoven than meeting at a square conference table or trying to be productive one person at a time.
Engage Your Team
Whether you’re the team leader or a team member, take the initiative to engage with each other. Share ideas on what would help individuals and subgroups be exceptionally productive.
If you’re a leader, you may feel challenged with all the changes in the workplace, workflow, and team interactions. This is something many leaders have been discussing across industries and countries.
Experts in virtual productivity recommend sharing the challenge with your team. Let people know that you’re open to ideas, input, and suggestions. Be willing to experiment with meetings at different times and for different purposes. Some of the experiments will hit the target more than others.
As you use an iterative approach, you’ll gradually develop a library of practices that work for your team. With this in hand, you can build more ways to engage and invent.
If you’re a team member, you may feel isolated, adrift, and not as productive as you felt in an office setting. The interesting thing is that if you’re feeling this way, it’s likely that so are your teammates. Do a quick poll of your peers. Find out if other people are experiencing the same feelings.
Ask for suggestions and begin to shine some light on the issues. Some of your mates may have found cool ways to stay charged, creative, and productive. By taking the risk to investigate, you can improve workflow for yourself and your entire team.
Support Each Other
Not every conversation, meeting, and project planning session will be the same. That’s why it’s so helpful to support your teammates along the way. Experiment with interactions in different media to engage your peers.
For instance:
- Use video conferencing to explore issues.
- Employ team collaboration software to brainstorm ideas.
- Jump to a whiteboard to sketch a prototype.
- Use spatial audio to walk in and out of conversations around you.
As you find ways to support each other, you’ll see that you’re not just building a great solution for your company or clients. You’re building a rockstar team of collaborators.
