Approaching the Resistant Team Member

Not all team members will appreciate your team building efforts. Some people gravitate toward working as a team and others toward working independently. Here are a few ideas about engaging with a resistant team member.

Consider his/her personality. Some people are just naturally more cautious, private and contemplative. They aren't going to jump into activities right away. Be careful about demanding they participate in all team initiatives with the same enthusiasm your outgoing team members will display.

Use variety. Don't do high energy team building activities or require full participation all the time. Keep some initiatives low-key.

Talk one-on-one. When you can, spend some time with this team member in private and ask his or her advice or feedback on a project.

Avoid praising publicly. Some quieter team members hate to be publicly praised. Find what works for them.

Don't put him on the spot. You might think it is best to ask them, "Drew, what do you think of this?" but this may backfire on you. Again, talk privately, as in, "Drew, I think you may have a good idea about what we talked about at the meeting earlier. What do you think?"

Establish some expectations. While you don't want to alienate these folks, don't let them control your efforts either. From time to time, there will be required events for the entire team and as a leader, you may have to be firm about it.

Be considerate of personal time. Some employees are resistant to activities that cut into "their" time even if most perceive it will be fun. For example, I know of people who didn't care to do an overnight retreat even though it was at a great place and was offered free.  Since you don't know the personal life of all your employees, avoid making "off time" events required. In turn, you may talk with the employee about an agreement that if you don't require them to attend off hours functions, you would like to see their full participation in activities/initiatives that do fall within their normal work time.

Watch work load. Some team building activities/meetings are seen as an interruption to an already heavy work load. Don't add more stress by ill-timed meetings. There are other ways to show appreciation and build team work during especially heavy seasons.

In the end, as the leader, you will have to determine if this employee's resistance is something you can work with or not. Being a team player is important, but having some grace with your employees is, too.

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Integrity in Appreciation

I was listening to a leadership podcast recently. The speaker was sharing ways to show appreciation to your team. Most of the ideas were spot on, but I was concerned about one of them.

This business owner greets his employee's birthdays with a Happy Birthday email. Nice idea, right? Well, he went on to share how the process was automated so that employees automatically get an email from him on their birthday. His assistant reminds him of whose birthday it is so in case they thank him in the hall, he will know what they are talking about.

Ouch.

That struck me as rather impersonal and borderline dishonest. Now, before you challenge me about automated systems, yes, I think there is a place for them. I, for example, do utilize pre-written text for various communications and greetings. And I like how Facebook, for example, has made it easier to put a birthday greeting on several contact walls fairly quickly. I just pause, though, at the thought of greetings going out automatically to team members without my personal awareness that day, particularly if the idea is to sincerely wish them a happy birthday and thank them for service to the company.

So my tip to you today is simple. When designing appreciation strategies, be sure to remember that your team members are real people with real feelings. If I was employed by this company and heard the CEO publicly explain this birthday system, I'm not sure I'd feel all that warmly greeted on my birthday going forward when I got his "personal" email to me.

What do you think? Am I being too sensitive?

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Is Your Timing Off?

"Hi honey. What did the doctor say?"

Innocent question, unless you are asking it at a fast food restaurant, of a man getting ready to serve customers, in front of said customers. Then it is poorly timed and inconsiderate.

This was a true story I observed not long ago. Before you judge this person though, think about the following points regarding your timing when interacting with your team.

Do you allow people to settle in before hitting them with questions? Maybe you don't mind "hitting the ground running" when you get to work, but many people prefer to have time to take off their coats, get their computer booted up, use the restroom, get coffee, insert routine here______ before tackling their tasks. If you've waited this long to get an answer, a few more minutes won't matter.

Do you make comments in front of others who are not involved? In the case mentioned above, none of us at the restaurant (customers or other coworkers) needed to know what Dr. ________ said. My guess is that the woman was worried (I think the coworker was her husband or relative) and as soon as she saw him she wanted to ease her mind. However, she made it awkward for him as he had to turn and say, "I will tell you about it later."  Be careful to have important conversations out of earshot of other employees who aren't part of the problem, solution, or project.

Do you interrupt coworkers who are working on a project? Interruptions occur all day long, and your culture may be accustomed to it. But when you can allow workers extended uninterrupted time to get their work done, you'll help productivity all the way around.

Do you announce information too soon--or worse yet--too late? Workplace communication is a tricky thing. When in doubt, err on the side of giving employees too much info rather than creating a vacuum. Vacuums fill with something...usually rumors.

Consider the ways your approach to conversation, communication, and questions may be just a little off when it comes to timing. Refine your approach, and you will probably see a jump in productivity and effective teamwork.

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Team Building Activity: Are You Puzzled?

What's the point?

This exercise requires cooperation, strategy, and project management. It cannot be completed by just one person, although various employees may spend more time on it than others. The goal is to complete a project using something from everyone, and to celebrate the accomplishment without having to identify the "best" contributor.

What you'll need:

A puzzle made up of enough pieces that you can equally divide among all employees in a particular department. Each employee should have no more than 10 pieces.

What to do: 

Announce that the team will be assembling a puzzle together over the course of a period of time that you select. (I recommend your first puzzle take no longer than two weeks to complete.)

Distribute baggies or envelopes with an equal number of puzzle pieces to employees.

Establish a place where the puzzle is to be assembled, perhaps a table in a break room or workroom.

Tell employees that they are to contribute to the puzzle one time per day. Contributing can be as simple as laying one of their pieces on the table, or spending a couple of minutes trying to fit together pieces that are there. They can only contribute one piece a day each (or whatever works to get the puzzle done in the time period you have established.)

Throughout the time period (for our example, two weeks) you should begin to see the puzzle come together. At first, there will just be loose pieces on the table. However, as the supply grows, there may be some attempts to fit pieces together.

Be sure to encourage along the way and establish some type of reward the whole team can enjoy once the puzzle is completed (i.e. lunch brought in.)

You may wish to frame the puzzle and hang it in the room when it is done.

If you try this at your workplace, please let us know how it went!

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Tangible Improvements to Workplace Culture

There's a lot of talk about culture in workplaces, the atmosphere created by the people who spend time there and the norms that everyone in that particular environment adapts to. Cultures vary widely. You'll find a different culture at Google than you will on Wall Street. Part of that relates to the type of industry, the need (or not) for formality, etc. 

There are several tangible elements to consider as you develop a sense of culture and teamwork unique to your organization. Here are some random but important segments of a workplace culture.

Purpose. Do your employees have a real purpose for working for you other than getting a paycheck? Do you get them excited about the mission of your organization?

Meetings. The type of meetings you have, when you have them, who attends...all those things contribute to a sense of teamwork, or lack thereof. I remember years ago when a new pastor came on board for the church I worked for. I was office manager and had not been included in staff meetings. He changed that and allowed me to come. That type of decision can bridge gaps between departments.

At the same time, if you are making employees attend meetings for which they play no useful role, they may be grateful for you to release them from that obligation.

Fun. Some workplaces have more fun than others. Within reason, can you allow for a bit of play time? Use bright visual aids? Bring in lunch occasionally or a special breakfast treat?

Gifts. I started a new job not long ago, and within 8 weeks I had already found a great tote bag on my desk one day and a Starbucks card the other. These items came from other business opportunities the bosses had been to, but it was great to feel appreciated with these little gestures they could have kept for themselves. Are there product samples you can randomly give out? Treats you can stick in mailboxes?

Compensation. While a sense of purpose is important, most employees work to earn a living too. Review guidelines for average pay in your area for certain types of jobs and make sure you are not being a cheapskate. Consider additional compensation such as profit sharing or benefit perks that help the bottom line be bigger for that employee. This is especially nice when it comes as a surprise. For example, if you have a profit sharing or bonus plan, it can be great fun for employees to see what "extra" will be in their check this week. Talk about motivating!

Personal Workspace. Female workers especially like to feel comfortable in their workspace. Allow employees to decorate their space within reason and show their creativity. Try to provide privacy for those having to share a larger room, either through staggered schedules or room dividers. Make sure their workstation is ergonomically correct. Give them somewhat of a budget to get supplies or equipment they need in order to do their job more comfortably and efficiently.

 

Common workspace. Take pride in the common areas in the workplace. Keep the break room and bathrooms clean. Provide beverages and snacks. Have meeting spaces that are uncluttered. If possible, have some view of the outside, keeping windows clean. Have some agreed upon standards for how the overall office/workplace is kept (i.e. reasonable standards of neatness.) Sometimes, you can assign an employee to maintain a particular common area. One place I worked gave this job to the receptionist and daily, she was sure to keep the workroom straightened up.

Take care of a few of these tangibles and create the productive, welcoming culture you want for your team!

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