Good teams are good teams - regardless of the form of work
It is part of our counselling work to support teams in finding each other again as a trusting team, regardless of their working methods, or to maintain this closeness in the long term.
They found the following: Teams that trust each other and in which clear rules for productive cooperation are practised cope better with working from home than teams that lack certain rules and a basis of trust.
This makes it clear that in most cases the type of work is not decisive for the quality of the team.
Less physical proximity merely makes it clear which strengths and weaknesses are already present in the team. Our analyses have shown that the most common causes of conflict that have an inhibiting effect on trusting teamwork are
- Unclear or unmotivating goals
- Work is not much fun
- Lack of clarity with regard to roles, responsibilities and decision-making competences
- No or little space for formal and informal exchange in the team
- low trust in each other
Team analysis: ascertaining the status quo
To help teams become aware of their strengths and areas for development, we recommend taking a holistic look at the team as a starting point for a joint development process. In the team wheel we have developed, we analyse 18 criteria that provide a very good overview of how trusting the team is, what strengths make up the teamwork and which aspects of the team need to be developed further.
A team analysis via the team wheel, you can conduct it with us and receive a presentation of the results within 2 weeks, including team strengths, areas for development and concrete recommendations for action.
What happens after the team analysis?
Team development explained clearly
Based on the results of the team analysis, we work with you to develop the concept for an initial joint workshop. A 2 - 3 day time frame has proven successful for this.
The first joint team workshop
In an initial joint workshop, we work on both the "hard" team topics such as clarity of objectives and roles, as well as the "soft" topics. The benefits of this integrated approach are
- Get to know and understand each other better
- A common vision that everyone wants to help shape
- More clarity in terms of roles, responsibilities and expectations
- Increased awareness of the diversity of the team and the associated opportunities
- More confidence
Developing a common vision
A target image with which everyone identifies is, besides trust, the "glue" of a team
The key questions we will consider in this workshop are:
- What makes us a team?
- What drives us?
- What is worth getting up for every morning?
Clearly define roles and responsibilities
The greatest friction losses and potential for conflict arise from unclear roles and responsibilities. Therefore, it is a central task of the team to define these clearly. Ideally, they are aligned with the strengths of the respective team member.
- Who takes care of what and with what result?
- Who gets to decide what?
- What does the decision-making process look like? Who is heard? Who is actively involved? Who is informed about the decision taken?
- In what form are work results handed over?
- How are ambiguities and irritations dealt with?
Understanding each other better - valuing diversity
The whole should be more than the sum of its parts. This guiding principle characterises our work with teams.
We therefore look at the values, strengths and talents of the individual team members and consider how these can be most effectively brought into dialogue with each other so that they complement each other.
You can find more information in these articles:
Value diversity in management teams
Team building - the path to trusting cooperation
More confidence
A more open view of the strengths of each individual and greater clarity in terms of goals, roles, expectations and responsibilities increases trust in each other.
It can also make sense to use the workshop to resolve smouldering conflicts and strengthen bilateral trust in the context of "confidence talks".
Elements of the following team development process
Depending on the results of the team analysis and the first workshop, the subsequent process is organised. The following elements have proven to be effective for sustainable team development:
- Executive coaching of the manager
- Quarterly workshops lasting 1.5 - 2 days for the team
- Individual coaching sessions for team members
Trusting cooperation - a prerequisite for productive work
Successful team development is based on various factors that lead to two elementary things: Trust and productivity. A stable basis of trust is always a prerequisite for productive work.
Only if this trusting cooperation is actively given space will collaboration on specific topics and issues work constructively and productively.
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