Leadership Archives

3 Tips to Create a Sense of Belonging in Your Team

Have you ever wondered how to create a sense of belonging for your team?

When employees feel a strong sense of belonging, their well-being, engagement, and performance are all likely to improve. Research from Harvard Business Review (HBR) shows that this creates many bottom-line benefits for a company.

In hybrid workplaces, which are increasingly common, experiencing workplace culture has become more elusive. However, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Here’s an overview of the importance of belonging and three tips for creating a sense of belonging in your workplace.

The Importance of Belonging

In the United States, 40% of employees feel isolated at work. This problem can be exacerbated by remote work since socialization is often more difficult.

A sense of belonging is vital to overcoming this isolation. Especially in hybrid and remote environments, employees who feel that they belong are more likely to feel connected to their team.

Creating a sense of belonging in the workplace reinforces three essential attributes:

Comfort: Feeling respected and treated fairly by team members and leaders.
Contribution: Being a part of positive outcomes and knowing how one’s strengths contribute to those goals.
Connection: Having meaningful relationships with others and a connection to the company’s goals.

Not only does belonging impact employee well-being, it also benefits the organization as a whole.

HBR research demonstrates the value of belonging to a company’s bottom line:

56% improved team performance
50% fewer sick days
75% lower turnover rates

But what steps can leaders take to foster a sense of belonging in their team? Below are three tips.

3 Ways To Create a Sense of Belonging in Your Team

In an article from HBR, practitioners from Spotify and ManpowerGroup identified three challenges that leaders must navigate to foster belonging and help their teams stay connected:

Creating a strong culture with effective DIB (diversity-inclusion-belonging) practices
Retaining the social element of work, even when people work remotely
Having the courage to let the culture evolve

Figure out how to create a sense of belonging and community within organizations where fear, anger, and depression during the pandemic are being replaced by choice, flexibility, and freedom.

Clinging to the old ways of working can harm team culture and performance.

Here’s a deeper dive into overcoming these challenges to create belonging:

1. Hire For Culture “Add-On”

Many companies hire for culture fit. However, to promote belonging, it’s a good idea to take this concept a step further by considering hiring based on who adds something to the culture.

You want to bring in people that work well with the current culture but add something that isn’t already there. This is the best method to ensure culture remains strong but you also have diversity and inclusion practices at work.

Research from Gallup reveals that when companies perceive new ways of thinking or divergent opinions as “countercultural,” the culture is much more likely to fail.

A culture that promotes diversity and inclusion can go a long way in creating a strong sense of belonging. It can also prevent drawbacks like groupthink and stagnation.

2. Retain the Social Element of Work

With more and more businesses operating on a hybrid or remote basis, it can seem challenging to keep the social element alive. Leaders need to be willing to create opportunities for employees to meaningfully engage with each other.

While focusing on how to create a sense of belonging, consider how you can bring people together.

For instance, perhaps the team could participate in a virtual charity event or you could start a gratitude event with e-notes of thanks to colleagues. Consider implementing an employee resource group that brings people together in their shared interests.

Here are some other methods to create remote socialization opportunities:

Come up with creative ways to celebrate holidays and birthdays.
Provide room for workers to chat informally about things other than work.
Add space to meetings for everyone to chat at the end.

Even if your team is in-person, it’s crucial to find ways to prioritize socialization.

Research shows that social activities are one of the top benefits employees list of in-office work. If employees aren’t afforded these opportunities, they’ll be missing out on the top benefit of in-person working arrangements.

Whether your team is remote or in-person, Teamraderie’s live, virtual experiences are perfect for facilitating these kinds of activities.

3. Let the Culture Evolve

It might seem frightening to let the culture evolve at a workplace if it’s been the same for an extended period. However, it’s important to reframe culture changes as positives and opportunities to grow as a company.

Consider the fact that every crisis impacts the world and changes it. Even if a system worked through a crisis, that doesn’t mean change might not be useful.

As you ponder how to create a sense of belonging, think about what changes are needed. Give yourself time to see the benefits before deciding you shouldn’t move forward. Sometimes the best thing you can do is move forward and try new things.

Leveraging Teamraderie to Create Belonging

If you’re still searching for how to create a sense of belonging in your workplace, let employees provide you with feedback and the answers you’re seeking. After all, they’re the ones who know precisely what they need.

Speak to them directly and open conversations about how things can be improved. Brainstorm ideas and consider what will work best to build a workplace where everyone belongs.

Teamraderie’s experiences are great for creating connection and belonging in the workplace. Approximately 90% of teams that leverage our expert-led team experiences experience experience increased connection as a result.

Click here to browse our 60+ team experiences to find the perfect experience for your team.

Click here to learn how Teamraderie can improve employee experience and increase connection by up to 90%

What Is Psychological Safety & Why Is It Important?

There are many situations at work in which bad news needs to be delivered. Whether it’s a failed project, an unforeseen obstacle, or a missed benchmark, it’s always uncomfortable to deliver bad news to a boss.

Employees may be tempted to withhold information to frame it in a more positive light. For example, if there’s an issue with a product that would delay its release date, employees might decide to conceal the issue to avoid any tension.

It’s not difficult to understand why this might be the case—withholding this type of information can feel safer than facing the consequences of being the one who holds up a project.

However, particularly when it comes to consumer safety, this can have severe repercussions for the organization and consumers as well.

To prevent this type of situation from occurring, leaders need to create psychologically safe cultures.

But what does this entail, why is it important, and how can you create psychological safety in your organization?

What Is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety is about creating a workplace where employees don’t feel compelled to keep silent, regardless of any external or internal pressures they may face.

“Psychological safety describes a work environment where people believe that speaking up is feasible,” says Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson in the Leadership Lab event, Creating a Fearless Organization. “Not easy, necessarily, but expected, desired, welcomed.”

In a psychologically safe environment, employees feel that they can safely:

Disagree with the boss
Ask a question
Express a concern
Admit a mistake
Take risks

As Amy Edmondson puts it, it’s the absence of interpersonal fear.

Common Misconceptions About Psychological Safety

There are several common misconceptions about what psychological safety entails. Some of the most common include:

It’s about being nice: Psychological safety isn’t about simply being “nice” to everyone. In an attempt to “treat people nicely,” important discussions are often avoided. Psychological safety is about feeling comfortable having those important discussions without risk of punishment.
It conflicts with accountability: Psychological safety isn’t about creating a permissive culture. It’s about employees feeling safe taking risks and speaking up, but not crossing boundaries and breaking rules. Psychological safety can operate within the parameters of what’s acceptable in the workplace.
It’s just about feeling comfortable: Psychological safety isn’t about being comfortable, but rather about candidly expressing observations without fear of negative consequences such as humiliation or punishment.

Ultimately, psychological safety is about comfort with candor. This can result in uncomfortable situations, but ensuring employees feel safe in the long term is important.

Can You Have Too Much Psychological Safety?

Leaders often worry about creating “too much psychological safety.” In these situations, however, it’s not the amount of psychological safety that’s the issue, but rather the absence of other important factors like accountability.

Don’t worry about crossing an invisible “psychological safety threshold” thus creating a culture of “comfort” and permissibility at the expense of performance. Instead, consider pairing psychological safety with accountability and performance standards.

When employees know the limitations and boundaries they aren’t allowed to cross, they feel safer taking risks within those constraints.

According to Edmondson’s research, problems arise when psychological safety and performance standards are out of balance:

Apathy zone: Low psychological safety, low accountability. Workers tend to be disengaged and reluctant to speak up, resulting in stagnation and low innovation.
Comfort zone: High psychological safety, low accountability. Workers feel comfortable speaking up and taking risks, but there’s a low sense of ownership over outcomes.
Anxiety zone: High accountability, low psychological safety. Employees feel uncomfortable speaking up because they feel they’ll be punished for doing so.
Learning/High-performance zone: High accountability and high psychological safety. Employees feel safe speaking up and taking risks while taking ownership of their actions

The learning zone, where psychological safety and accountability are both high, is what leaders should strive for.

Why Is Psychological Safety Important?

According to research from McKinsey, 89% of business leaders believe it’s important to create a psychologically safe workplace.

Despite this, only 26% of leaders actually create psychological safety in their organizations. This disparity needs to be addressed since it impacts several key factors to organizational success.

According to the World Economic Forum, when a team is psychologically safe, employees are more likely to:

Learn: Feel comfortable asking questions, admitting mistakes, requesting help, and providing or receiving feedback.
Contribute: Speak up with ideas or suggestions, contributing to a culture of innovation.
Challenge: Raise concerns, engage in productive conflict, challenge others, or offer a different perspective.
Feel included: Feel a stronger sense of belonging, and that they’re involved, valued, and connected with their coworkers.

This, in turn, benefits retention. Research from the Boston Consulting Group found that psychological safety reduces employees’ risk of quitting from 12% to 3%.

Ultimately, psychological safety prevents conformity. Employees feel safe candidly expressing differing opinions, disagreements, and concerns without fear of repercussions. This results in increased innovation and fewer catastrophic and preventable failures. It also benefits employees’ sense of well-being.

“Nearly everybody is engaged in work that requires judgment, creativity, and decision-making, and working with others in an open and sometimes vulnerable way,” says Amy Edmondson in Creating a Fearless Organization. “In order to do a good job in workplaces today, we need to be willing to take interpersonal risks. I need to ask for help if I’m in over my head; I need to admit when I’ve done something wrong; I need to question your judgment.”

How To Improve Psychological Safety On Your Team

According to an article written by Amy Edmondson, there are three steps leaders and team members alike can take to cultivate psychological safety in the workplace.

Frame challenges as learning opportunities: Give team members or employees permission to experiment or make small mistakes, providing opportunities to learn.
Invite participation: Ensure that everyone feels comfortable speaking up. Invite participation from those who aren’t as active, and don’t humiliate them for their ideas but give everyone equal respect and consideration.
Respond appropriately: When you receive bad news or negative feedback, express sincere, enthusiastic, and public appreciation, even if you don’t like what you’ve heard. Then act constructively on that feedback.

While everyone has a role in creating a psychologically safe environment, research has shown that managers have the most significant impact on feelings of belonging at work above co-workers, friends, and senior leaders.

Managers should focus on improving four key areas in a business to create a psychologically safe environment.

1. Foster Belonging and Inclusion

The first step to creating a psychologically safe organization is creating one where employees feel that their voices matter.

According to Gallup, an inclusive organization has three requirements:

Everyone feels respected
Employees feel appreciated by management
Leadership acts in an ethical and moral manner

Research shows that team members often hesitate to voice opinions that differ from commonly shared beliefs. This can prevent them from feeling included.

An excellent way to foster an environment of inclusion and belonging is to intentionally welcome diverse opinions.

Instead of differences being a source of frustration and division, explicitly framing them as a source of value can encourage more people to speak up and contribute their unique thoughts and ideas.

2. Cultivate a Willingness to Help

A key component of speaking up is admitting when you need help. If there’s a culture of unwillingness to help, however, those who do need help will be discouraged from requesting it.

Unfortunately, even when team members offer help, their colleagues might not accept it, regardless of whether it’s needed.

Research from Harvard Business Review (HBR) revealed that employees typically refuse help for the following reasons:

They feel it might make them look bad or incapable of completing a task
They don’t want to feel like they owe their coworkers any favors
They believe their coworkers are offering help just to benefit themselves
They don’t feel confident in their coworkers’ abilities

To combat these barriers, leaders need to lead by example. HBR advises that leaders demonstrate faith in their employees by:

Recognizing successful collaborations
Demonstrate a willingness to help—and be helped
Avoid rewarding successes from individual employees more than collaborative efforts

These steps can begin to increase team trust and boost the chances of employees giving and receiving help.

3. Foster Open Communication

Approximately 30% of employees are frustrated with unclear communication from their boss. Unfortunately, when news is bad, the instinct i s often to hide it.

Candor is one of the most critical components of psychological safety. Employees and managers alike need to feel comfortable addressing problems, raising concerns, asking questions, and discussing ideas.

Open communication is critical for this to occur.

Research from HBR and Amy Edmondson shows that employees aren’t as likely to be willing to share issues or information if they don’t perceive the communication channel as safe. For example, if they don’t know that the information they provide will remain confidential, they aren’t as likely to share it.

Giving employees a wide range of communication and feedback channels and ensuring they know all their options is important because employees’ perception of different channels varies. This is dependent on factors such as

Relationships with managers and leaders
Confidence in HR and how supportive they perceive the department
Perception of the effectiveness and responsiveness of anonymous formal channels

Providing options for sharing feedback increases the chances that they will do so, increasing their feelings of psychological safety and job satisfaction.

4. Approach Risk-Taking as a Learning Opportunity

Taking risks is an important part of psychological safety.

Especially in an organizational context, these risks are often interpersonal. Admitting a mistake or disagreeing with a superior often feels like a significant risk.

It’s vital to keep in mind that risk-taking often entails mistakes. Learning from mistakes is vital, and part of what constitutes intelligent failure.

“We will all make mistakes, like it or not,” says Amy Edmondson in Creating a Fearless Organization. “You want people to be aware of the fact that they’re making mistakes, and then of course you want them to be incredibly forthcoming about it so that mistakes can be caught and corrected before something really bad happens.”

Although risk-taking is important, it’s important to remember that psychological safety doesn’t mean freedom to do whatever someone wants. Employees need to remain within the constraints their role provides.

For example, increasing psychological safety in a hospital doesn’t give doctors free rein to ignore HIPAA and take risks with patients’ lives.

Psychological safety is the ability to do your job to the best of your ability without fear of punishment and take appropriate risks. It doesn’t give you the freedom to do your job incorrectly.

Improving Psychological Safety With Teamraderie

If you’re hoping to improve psychological safety on your team, focusing on strengthening each of the above factors that contribute to a psychologically safe workplace is vital.

Employees need to feel a strong sense of belonging and inclusion, and they need to feel comfortable giving and receiving help, speaking up, and taking interpersonal risks.

Our Psychological Safety Team Journey, co-created with Amy Edmondson, is intended to strengthen each component of psychological safety. Consisting of four team experiences, the Journey will help:

Create a psychologically safe culture without sacrificing accountability or performance standards
Improve the authenticity of your team’s leadership capabilities
Increase your team’s comfort with risk-taking
Improve each employee’s sense of belonging and inclusion

Click here to learn more about how this Team Journey can help facilitate a psychologically safe culture at your organization.

Change Management in HR: 5 Best Practices

Every organization needs adaptability. Change is an inevitable part of running a business.
According to research from Gartner, 99% of organizations have recently undergone significant change. Leaders need to be able to manage change effectively to lead their organizations to success.

Unfortunately, there are many obstacles to change. From employee resistance to poor communication, leaders need to ensure they’re prepared to overcome these challenges.

Here’s an overview of what successful change management looks like, as well as five key strategies for managing change effectively.

What Does Successful Change Management Look Like?

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), change management is successful when new processes, products, and strategies are successfully implemented with minimal negative outcomes.

The specific metrics that determine success depend on the type and scale of the change, as well as the specific key performance indicators (KPIs) the change is intended to improve.

However, it’s important to remember that successful change management doesn’t just involve metrics, but employees as well. Resistance to change is a common obstacle that leaders must overcome if they want their organization to change successfully.

Below are five strategies that can help you successfully implement large-scale organizational change.

5 Effective Change Management Strategies

1. Involve Employees

Gartner reports that approximately 80% of organizations take a top-down approach when it comes to change management. This means that senior leadership makes strategy and implementation decisions and rolls them out to the rest of the organization.

Unfortunately, rather than speeding up the process, top-down change management often slows the company down. 66% of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) aren’t content with the speed of their change management processes. Unfortunately, only around 25% of workers feel comfortable changing the way they work when the change is implemented from the top-down.

The same research shows that 64% of employees possess the skills needed to implement the change effectively, and 74% are on board with change initiatives.

Another Gartner report highlights the fact that although 74% of leaders say they include employees in change initiatives, only 42% of employees report being included.

It’s natural to want a degree of control over change management, particularly when it’s on a larger scale. However, Harvard Business Review (HBR) reports that including employees doesn’t mean letting them make all the decisions, or even vote on every change. Rather, it entails finding ways to give your team a voice and ensure that their desires are reflected in the planning process.

2. Adopt a Change Mindset

According to research from HBR, one of the key factors impacting the success of an organizational change is the mindset. Instead of simply focusing on change management, successful leaders should adopt a change mindset.

This means that before leading a change initiative, leaders must learn how to manage themselves, such as fears and anxieties.

HBR advises that, before considering what to do about a situation, leaders consider the following questions:

Are you approaching this situation from a place of hope, or a place of fear?
What are the drivers that are leading you to make this change?
What’s your orientation to this change, and how might it differ from that of your team members?

Ultimately, it’s important to allow your mindset to drive change management, rather than change management influencing your mindset.

3. Communicate Change Effectively

It’s no secret that communication is critical for organizational success. Change management isn’t an exception.

Despite the importance of communication, however, research from Gartner reveals that only 30% of employees report that leadership has effectively communicated the purpose of a given change. Furthermore, only 26% feel that their leaders have effectively communicated how this change affects the employees’ individual responsibilities.

This impacts the ultimate success of the change, since if employees don’t know how to implement the change, they won’t implement it correctly.

A Gallup survey revealed that when employees understand how changes will impact their company in the future, they’re:

More confident in their company’s speed and agility to meet customer and marketplace change
Knowledgeable about what’s expected of them in the process
Engaged and feel like they’re thriving in their work
Less likely to be burned out, stressed, and overwhelmed by their workload

Here are three tips for communicating change effectively.

Don’t Overshare

It may seem counterintuitive to avoid oversharing when it comes to organizational change. However, according to Gartner, rather than adding clarity to a change, this practice adds confusion.

Oversharing typically comes in one of two forms:

Oversharing data: Sharing more information on firm operations than is necessary for employees to implement change successfully.
Overpromising: Attempting to garner employee buy-in by overpromising on the benefits the change will bring, not knowing whether those benefits will actually result.

While highlighting benefits of the change and sharing key information is important, it’s also equally important to recognize that not every employee needs to be provided with every detail of the change.

Chunk Information

According to Gallup, one way to avoid oversharing is to “chunk” your messaging so it’s easier to understand and absorb.

This involves two primary steps:

Start with the big picture: Share the overarching concept of the change, highlighting the general purpose and how it aligns with the organization’s mission and values.
Focus on the next milestone: Shortly after sharing the big picture, follow it up by directing employees’ attention to their short-term expectations of performance and behavior, as well as where they can get help and support during the process.

By dividing the messaging into short-term segments while ensuring that employees know the big picture, they’ll be able to easily absorb the provided information without getting overwhelmed with the sheer volume of data and information the change entails.

Clarify Your Team’s Role in the Change

According to SHRM, while change management doesn’t inherently belong to any particular team in a company, the HR team often has a significant role to play.

However, in larger organizations, other departments such as organizational development or a formal project management office may be responsible for change management.

This means that unless you explicitly define your team’s role in a change, they might be unsure how much they’ll be involved, which can lead to resistance.

4. Create Psychological Safety

Creating a psychologically safe workplace results in a host of benefits. According to research from Gartner, it also benefits the change management process.

According to the report, creating a psychologically safe environment can result in up to a 46% reduction in change fatigue.

During a period of change, psychological safety comprises the following:

Safety to experiment: Employees are comfortable taking risks in order to accomplish their goals, and approach failure as a learning process rather than a deterrent.
Safety to challenge: Employees feel safe challenging existing processes and adding their voice to transformation efforts without fear of negative repercussions.

Creating a psychologically safe culture will not only help improve change management, but also overall team performance.

5. Slow Down Where Necessary

During periods of large-scale organizational change, it’s common to fall into the mindset that speed is vital to success.

According to HBR, however, the idea that successful change management requires speed above all else is a mistake. Instead of striving for maximum speed, leaders should consider how to optimize speed, considering factors such as the employee experience and the implications of the change.

This can require leaders to impose strategic organizational friction in certain areas.

According to Stanford Professor and organizational psychologist Bob Sutton in our webinar, How Great Leaders Fix Things, “Organizational friction is when an individual or a team tries to get something done, and it’s slower, more difficult, and more frustrating than they might hope.”

While this sounds like a negative, it can be leveraged to make the right things easier and the wrong things harder. “Sometimes you’ve got to slow [your team] down to make sure they do it right before they rush off and do something stupid,” explains Sutton.

Optimize Organizational Change With Teamraderie

Managing organizational change is difficult, but can be made easier when your team feels included, connected, and psychologically safe.

Whether you’re hoping to improve psychological safety in your organizational culture, boost team trust, or optimize your organizational speed, Teamraderie offers a host of research-backed experiences that can help.

7 Strategies for Developing Leaders in Your Company

Leadership development is an important component of organizational success. Investing in current and future leaders is an excellent way to build trust, as well as equipping your team with important skills that will benefit your employees and organization alike.

Here’s an overview of seven key strategies for developing leaders in your organization.

The Importance of Human Leadership

Before developing a leadership training program, it’s important to understand what type of leadership you’re searching for in your organization.

According to Gartner, 90% of HR leaders believe that in order for leaders to succeed, they need to approach leadership by focusing on the human aspects.

There’s an increasing emphasis on leaders treating their employees like humans, rather than components of their organization.

Unfortunately, only 29% of employees feel that their leader approaches leadership in this way.

According to Gartner, human leadership comprises the following:

Authenticity: Purposeful and intentional leadership that enables self-expression for yourself and others.
Empathy: Care and compassion for others, and prioritization of others’ well-being.
Adaptability: Provide support for each team member’s unique needs

Respecting team members’ individuality and treating them like humans is more likely to create a psychologically safe environment, which has been shown to increase innovation, team adaptability, and inclusivity.

7 Strategies For Developing Effective Leaders

When it comes to developing effective leaders,

According to a recent article from MIT Sloan, an effective leadership development program has three pillars:

Vision: What skills or qualities does the program foster in participants, and what goals does it seek to achieve?
Method: What’s the curriculum or learning method the program is built with?
Impact: What outcomes does the program expect will be achieved?

If you’re selecting a leadership development program, it’s important to make sure it adheres to each pillar to maximize impact.

Leadership development isn’t just about programs, however. Mentorship and role-modeling are excellent ways to foster the traits you’re hoping to see in future—or current—leaders.

Whether you’re building a leadership development program for your company, or simply want to take steps to foster leadership characteristics in your team, here are seven key strategies for developing successful leaders.

1. Promote Leadership Development at All Levels

Leadership development isn’t just about training future leaders. It’s important to develop leadership at every organizational level, including existing leaders.

That’s because one of the best ways to train others is by demonstrating the leadership qualities you want to see. Especially in a larger organization, developing leadership qualities from the top down and encouraging mentorship is a great way to build leaders.

According to Gallup, managers are responsible for 70% variance in both team engagement and performance. Furthermore, only approximately one-third of managers understand how their individual performance impacts their opportunities to advance in their companies.

Gallup advises that company leadership takes the following steps to develop leadership qualities in managers:

Recognize leadership qualities: Recognize and appreciate managers—and individual employees—for leadership qualities. This can inspire others and reinforce the value of these traits, which is especially important for new managers.
Give new managers leadership opportunities: Give new managers the opportunity to perform key leadership tasks—such as performance reviews, leading product development, or handling customer complaints. Coach them through the process to help them recognize the leadership qualities they’re using, and how to apply them to other situations.

Taking these steps can help ensure that you’re setting your team up for success in the long-term.

2. Take a Holistic Approach to Leadership Development

Developing the technical skills and competencies you want to see in leaders is important for leadership development. However, technical skills are only one component of effective leadership.

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), one of the elements of a successful leadership development program is cultivation of broader characteristics. These include:

Self-awareness
Resilience
Empathy
Adaptability

These traits are applicable to a wide range of situations. Given the unpredictability of business, it’s vital for leaders to be equipped with the skills needed to handle unexpected situations.

Furthermore, these skills are beneficial for leaders to grow personally and professionally. The technical skills required for their position might be replaced as technology advances, but the broad leadership skills can be applied to any position moving forward.

3. Prioritize Psychological Safety

As you’re developing leaders in your organization, consider how your program helps foster a psychologically safe environment.

According to McKinsey, leaders have the biggest influence on creating psychological safety.

In psychologically safe organizations, employees are more likely to:

Innovate
Achieve the benefits of diversity
Adapt effectively
Feel comfortable requesting help
Share suggestions
Challenge unproductive processes

McKinsey reveals that three key leadership behaviors to promote psychological safety include:

Consultative: Leaders request feedback from their team, and give ample consideration to suggestions
Supportive: Leaders treat their employees with respect, and demonstrate concern for their well-being as well as their job performance
Challenging: Leaders encourage their team to challenge existing assumptions and push themselves to reach their potential

Research shows that when organizations invest in leadership development, they’re more likely to experience a psychologically safe work environment. In addition, employees are 64% more likely to perceive senior leadership as inclusive.

4. Help Leaders Overcome Psychological Barriers

Although many leaders seek continuous self-improvement, not everyone is receptive to leadership development.

Research from HBR revealed that people who felt a strong sense of self and were highly conscientious were the least likely to experience positive change due to a leadership development program.

According to HBR, this could be the result of these individuals already exhibiting strong leadership skills and therefore having less need of leadership training, but it could also be the result of overconfidence.

Confidence and self-appreciation are good traits in leaders. However, when they aren’t willing to pursue self-improvement, these psychological barriers can prevent further leadership development.

To combat this, it’s a good idea to personalize your program to meet the objectives of your individual leaders. This can prevent redundant information. It’s also important to manage your team’s expectations in advance to prepare them mentally for leadership training.

5. Model the Behavior You Want to See

As you’re training leaders in your organization, model the behavior you’re hoping to cultivate in them. This helps give your employees a point of reference as they’re developing their own leadership competencies, and helps enhance your credibility.

Research from McKinsey shows that leaders who demonstrate the behaviors they want to see across an organization can foster psychological safety at scale. Not only does it help prospective and current leaders learn, but it also gives your team the benefits of effective leadership.

McKinsey highlights several key skills that are important for senior leaders to model to create a more inclusive environment, including:

Open-dialogue
Fostering team relationships
Situational and cultural awareness

Ultimately, if you don’t demonstrate the leadership skills you’re hoping to develop in others, it’ll negatively impact your team’s confidence in you, and hinder your leadership development efforts.

6. Focus on Key Leadership Skills

According to research from Gallup, there are seven key leadership skills every leader should possess. These include:

Relationship-building: Building team trust and fostering a culture of shared ideas
Employee development: Helping employees become more effective by developing their skill sets
Driving change: Embracing change instead of remaining stagnant, and aligning change with a stated vision
Inspiration: Encouraging employees and boosting their confidence through recognition and positivity
Critical thinking: Making smart decisions based on available information
Clear communication: Ensuring your team is provided with the information they need in a timely and concise manner
Accountability: Holding one’s team and oneself accountable for performance

By prioritizing these skills in leadership development programs, you can ensure that it has the biggest impact on success.

7. Promote Inclusivity

One of the most important components of an effective workplace culture is inclusivity. If your team members don’t feel like they belong, they’re less likely to share ideas, pursue growth in your company, and collaborate effectively with others.

In addition to combating explicit and implicit biases, leadership development programs should help leaders learn inclusive behaviors. As Gartner puts it, inclusive behaviors should feel actionable, not additive.

An excellent way to accomplish this is by safeguarding against potential biases by making the wrong things harder. Adding what Stanford Professor Bob Sutton calls “organizational friction” to non-inclusive practices can help promote inclusivity.

For example, using gender-neutral language in job descriptions, or conducting blind assessments of candidates for jobs or promotions can prevent implicit biases from influencing decisions.

Develop Leadership Skills With Teamraderie

An excellent way to begin equipping your team with the skills they need to be effective leaders is by leveraging Teamraderie’s extensive list of experiences. In addition to instilling valuable skills, these live, virtual, expert-led experiences are excellent for relationship-building.

Consider leveraging our chatbot, TeamraderieGPT, to find which experience would work best based on the outcomes you’re hoping to achieve.

AI in Human Resources: How To Maximize Its Potential

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gaining increasing prominence in the modern business world. Human Resources isn’t an exception. Gartner reports that 76% of HR leaders believe that if their company doesn’t implement AI in the near future, they’ll be less likely to succeed as those that do.

The rapid advancements in these technologies aren’t without concerns, however. Many HR leaders are concerned about factors such as data privacy, bias, and ethical mishaps.

However, despite these concerns, Gartner reports that 52% of HR leaders are exploring generative AI use cases and potential opportunities.

If you’re hoping to capitalize on this technology and lead your HR team to success, you need to learn how to optimize the benefits while mitigating the risks of AI.

Here’s an overview of the pros and cons of AI in HR, and how to maximize its potential.

Benefits of AI in HR

The first step to maximizing the potential of AI in your organization is familiarity with its potential benefits and drawbacks.

Recent research from Zoom shows that 73% of leaders believe that organizations that leverage AI will have a distinct advantage over those that don’t.

There’s no denying that AI has a host of potential benefits when leveraged effectively. Here’s a list of some of those benefits.

Mitigating Bias

A recent Workday report about AI in HR reveals that 36% of HR leaders believe that AI has the potential to mitigate bias in the workplace.

For example, when making hiring or promotion decisions, AI has the capacity to evaluate data and make merit-based decisions without personal feelings getting in the way.

It’s important to remember that since AI is intended to mimic human behavior, it also has the potential to be subject to the same biases.

Learning and Development

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), AI can help foster learning and development in the workplace. Some AI tools can provide personalized learning and development opportunities based on engagement and performance data.

AI can benefit learning and development in the following ways:

Providing personalized learning pathways: Instead of taking a broad, generalized approach to learning and development, AI can leverage employee performance data and suggest areas of improvement.
Real-time updates to training materials: As time progresses and technology advances, training resources might become outdated. Generative AI technologies can continuously update these resources as changes are made, rather than requiring humans to manually check for outdated information.
Real-time feedback: As you’re working on various projects, AI has the potential to offer real-time feedback and suggestions. Chatbot integrations allow you the ability to ask questions about the feedback, fostering learning.

These learning and development opportunities make processes such as onboarding employees easier, since they can help optimize the experience by improving the training process.

Talent Acquisition

One area in which generative AI has immense potential to improve productivity is in the area of talent acquisition.

According to McKinsey, it can help in the following ways:

Identifying skills for a job posting: Generative AI can help you quickly identify job requirements and draft a job description by analyzing which skills are necessary for success in a given position.
Drafting job descriptions: If you’re aware of the skills you’re searching for in a position, it can also simply take your inputs and draft a comprehensive description, saving time.
Flagging biased language: AI can vet a potential job posting for any bias or discriminatory language. For example, it can correct gender-specific language (such as “the ideal candidate should bring his A-game every day”) or age discrimination (such as “the ideal candidate is young and energetic”). It can also promote skills-based hiring, reducing affinity bias.

Gartner reports that HR leaders also expect to leverage generative AI to complete tasks such as composing interview questions and communicating with candidates.

Another area in which AI can improve the talent acquisition process is through job interviews. According to HBR, there are 5 types of interviews when it comes to AI:

Face-to-face: Humans interacting in the same location and at the same time
Video: Humans interacting at the same time but different locations, conversing through a video call
Automated video interview (AVI): Interviewee is prompted to complete a video recording facilitated by technology. Technology isn’t involved in making the final decision.
AVI, AI-assisted: Similar to AVI, except that AI technology can make recommendations based on facial expressions, tone of voice, and other factors, often in the form of a report that a human reviews.
AVI, AI-led: An automated video interview in which technology makes the hiring decision without human intervention, such as passing a candidate through ot the next part of the process.

The specific type of interview your team conducts depends on a variety of factors, such as how large your company is, how many interviews you get, and how much time your team has to dedicate to the interview process.

Many companies incorporate multiple types of automated interviews during different stages of the interview process, increasing the level of human interaction as the interview progresses.

Organizational Improvements

Ultimately, AI is expected to reduce the amount of time dedicated to redundant or mindless activities, allowing more time and mental brainpower to be committed to human-to-human interactions.

A Gartner survey revealed that 84% of HR leaders believe that generative AI will improve the productivity of existing HR activities, and two-thirds expect it to reduce redundant tasks.

According to Workday, many HR leaders expect the following benefits from generative AI:

34%: Higher levels of productivity
33%: Better collaboration
29%: Higher revenues and profits
29%: Improved data-driven decision-making
28%: Better organizational agility
27%: Improved employee experience and engagement
25%: Talent development and upskilling
24%: Decreased costs
20%: Improved environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors

Many HR processes that consume valuable time and resources, such as drafting HR documentation, can be significantly expedited with generative AI.

Performance Management

Because empathy is critical to performance management, many leaders don’t consider incorporating generative AI into the process. However, there are benefits to incorporating generative AI into the process, provided it doesn’t eliminate the human element.

35% of HR leaders believe that AI will help in performance management tasks such as evaluating employee performance and drafting performance reviews.

If effectively utilized, AI can actually increase the amount of human interaction and empathy that’s incorporated into performance management. By saving time and reducing redundant tasks, more time and mental resources can be dedicated to personalizing the experience.

Concerns About AI in HR

Many of the benefits of AI are dependent on its implementation.

Simply adding generative AI to your existing processes without considering how it can uniquely benefit your organization, and proactively addressing the potential downsides, can result in the following concerns.

Diminished Trust

According to Workday, one of the top concerns about generative AI is its trustworthiness, with 47% of HR leaders reporting trust as a concern.

The problem arises when AI is used for decision-making without transparency. If decisions are made without knowledge of how or why, the simple fact that AI was involved in the process isn’t likely to improve trust.

Especially when AI is used for decisions that impact employees’ livelihoods—such as promotions or firing—transparency and intentionality is vital.

For this reason, it’s vital to have open communication about how AI is used, and a willingness to hear feedback from employees.

Potential Bias and Ethical Concerns

While AI can be leveraged to mitigate bias, it can also exacerbate it. Approximately 53% of HR leaders are concerned about bias and ethical concerns of AI.

These concerns aren’t unfounded. For example, since generative AI was trained on human writing, many of the biases transferred over to the various models. While many generative AI models have sought to address these biases, there’s still reason to be concerned.

Stanford Social Innovation Review analyzed 133 biased AI systems from 1988 to 2021, and discovered the following:

44.2% demonstrated gender bias
25.7% demonstrated both gender and racial bias

AI detection tools are another source of potential discrimination. Research from Stanford demonstrated that these tools incorrectly flagged writings from non-native English speakers as AI generated 61.22% of the time.

It may also use language that’s common in business, but might be offensive to individuals of various cultures or countries. For example, terms like “guru” or “powwow” are common, but can have harmful impacts on marginalized groups or individuals from different cultures.

Employee Privacy

Many companies have implemented AI technology to track employee activity. HBR reports that these tools have the potential to erode employee privacy, leading to:

Stress
Burnout
Worsened mental health
Lower sense of agency

These privacy concerns diminish trust in your organization, especially if there isn’t transparency and communication about AI usage.

Legal Risks

In addition to practical concerns regarding AI usage, there are liability risks associated with AI as well.

The American Bar Association reports that if AI tools aren’t properly vetted and monitored, it can discriminate against employees, subjecting employers to legal action.

For this reason, AI implementation needs to be intentional and completed with care.

AI Generated Job Applications

Not all HR-related AI applications come from within an organization. Gartner reports that 69% of HR professionals report that their company has received at least one job application that contains AI-generated writing, and 14% aren’t sure.

Of those who have reported receiving AI-generated applications, over half report that between 25% and 50% of applications contain AI-generated copy.

41% of HR professionals say their company evaluates AI-generated applications separately, with 69% using applicant tracking software to flag these applications.

According to Gartner, the top concerns HR professionals are encountering regarding AI-generated applications include:

56%: Overlooking good candidates
52%: Verifying authenticity of information provided by the applicant
50%: Determining whether or not the applicant used generative AI technology

The Washington Post recently published an article speaking to the challenges of flagging AI-generated content. An estimated 4% of flagged content is incorrectly identified as AI-generated, and as mentioned earlier, this is even more frequent for non-native English speakers.

The fundamental flaw in leveraging these tools to flag AI-generated applications is that generative AI is intended to replicate human writing styles. This means that some peoples’ writing is likely to be flagged as AI-generated simply because of their writing style, and not because they used any particular tool.

Employee Resistance

The final concern with AI-generated applications is employee resistance. Gallup reports that 53% of employees don’t feel adequately prepared to use AI, with 26% saying they’re not prepared in the slightest.

Furthermore, the majority of employees are skeptical about generative AI, with only 30% believing it to be beneficial.

Simply expecting employees to adapt to generative AI without open conversations and training isn’t likely to be successful.

How To Maximize the Potential of AI in HR

The first step to maximizing AI’s potential in your organization is getting your team on board. If your employees are resistant to using generative AI, and aren’t involved in the decision-making, there will likely be significant friction with its adoption.

According to HBR, HR professionals who leverage AI for talent acquisition need to begin by taking the following steps:

Educating potential employees and obtaining their consent to use AI in the hiring process.
Ensuring any AI systems you use are fair, unbiased, and accurate.
If developing your own AI system, making it open-source and conducting routine third-party audits.
Making sure you’re adhering to the same laws and regulations used in traditional hiring practices, including how data is collected and used (such as mental health conditions, or other private information).

An excellent starting point is the STEP framework.

The Step Framework

One of the top concerns about AI in HR is a lack of skills. Workday reports that 32% of HR leaders are concerned that their HR team won’t have the technical skills to implement AI effectively.

31% are also concerned about HR employees becoming overly dependent on AI technology.

Furthermore, 14% of employees are concerned that their jobs will be eliminated by AI, and 72% of fortune 500 CHROs predict that AI will replace jobs in their organization in the next three years.

To address these concerns, it’s important to ensure that AI can be used in a way that doesn’t just benefit the organization as a whole, but your individual employees as well. Effectively leveraging AI can augment your team’s roles, rather than eliminating them.

Developed by Paul Leonadri, the Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara and host of our team experience, Adopting Gen AI, the STEP framework can help your team effectively implement generative AI.

Segmentation: Identify the tasks that AI shouldn’t—or isn’t able to—perform, the tasks that AI can accomplish that augment or enhance your team’s activities, and which tasks can be fully automated by AI.
Transition: Determine how employees’ roles can be deepened or upgraded because of the time AI has freed up.
Education: Equip employees with the knowledge and skills required to effectively leverage AI technology.
Performance: Consider how performance evaluations should evolve given the usage of generative AI.

Each of these factors can be personalized to fit your company’s specific needs.

Integrating Generative AI Into Your Organization

If you’re interested in working with Paul Leonardi to determine how the STEP framework can be leveraged to integrate generative AI into your organization, consider our team experience, Adopting GenAI.

In this experience, Paul will help your team become more adept at integrating AI into your processes, creating value for employees and your organization as a whole.

How to Boost Employee Engagement and Increase Motivation

Employee engagement is a frequently discussed yet often misunderstood concept in the workplace.

Leaders and employees alike often confuse true engagement with other concepts like motivation, satisfaction and effort. Employee engagement goes beyond motivating employees and requires a clear vision from leadership to foster connection and belonging in the workplace.

Motivation is also important, however, and can contribute to engagement.

Here’s an overview of how to improve engagement and motivation in your team.

Employee Engagement vs. Motivation: What’s the Difference?

While similar, there are important distinctions between engagement and motivation that leaders must understand.

Gallup defines employee engagement as employee involvement and enthusiasm in company endeavors.

Engaged employees feel a sense of purpose and belonging, understanding how their work connects to an organization’s broader mission.

Engaged employees go the extra mile because they understand why they have been assigned particular tasks, are provided the tools and resources to complete those tasks, and know how their work directly impacts the organization’s success. They don’t feel like a “cog in the wheel”; they feel like a crucial part of what keeps the wheel moving,

Motivated employees feel the drive and desire to actively contribute. Motivation can be intrinsic to the employee as well as influenced by the employer through various mechanisms such as:

Adequate pay raises
Recognition programs
Employee perks

Both engagement and motivation are important for teams, and leaders should seek to find ways to boost both in their organizations.

Why Is Employee Engagement Important?

Employee engagement has been a widely studied concept in recent years, particularly because it has been demonstrated to have a clear impact on an organization’s bottom line.

According to Gallup’s recent meta-analysis on employee engagement, the most engaged teams experienced the following benefits compared to disengaged teams:

10% higher customer loyalty
23% increased profitability
18% higher sales productivity
18% lower turnover for organizations with more than 40% annual turnover
43% lower turnover for organizations with 40% or lower annual turnover

Unfortunately, despite these benefits, Gallup estimates that in the U.S., only 33% of employees are engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged. This costs companies an estimated $1.9 trillion in lost productivity.

Worldwide, only 23% of employees are engaged. Gartner estimates that 70% of employees believe they aren’t as engaged as they want to be, and don’t feel meaningfully connected to their job.

When employees aren’t motivated or engaged, they tend to quit more frequently. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that other employees will follow suit.

4 Ways To Improve Employee Motivation and Engagement

1. Build Mutual Trust

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), one of the best ways to improve employee engagement is by building mutual trust.

Mutual trust refers to both the trust employees have in the organization and the trust the company has in employees.

This means it’s important to give employees a degree of autonomy, demonstrating confidence in them. By providing this flexibility, you’ll not only improve engagement, but also fuel trust in your company.

2. Recognize and Appreciate Employees

Finding opportunities to regularly recognize employees for their contributions will motivate them to contribute at a high level, while reinforcing connection and allegiance to the organization.

This can be challenging in remote or hybrid environments, since it takes more intentionality to demonstrate appreciation.

One way to demonstrate appreciation and help employees feel valued is by hosting regular virtual opportunities to connect. Teamraderie’s Recognizing Strengths experience will give your team a chance to both give and receive genuine authentic appreciation.

3. Focus on Intrinsic Motivation

One of the best ways to motivate employees is by focusing on intrinsic motivation. The motivation that connects the employee to the work increases their drive to succeed and gets them excited to participate.

Companies often fall into the trap of focusing on external—or extrinsic—motivators such as compensation rewards, advancement opportunities, or employee perks (such as free lunch and gym memberships). Extrinsic motivators are often temporary in nature, meaning the engagement expected as a result will also be temporary.

Consider a time when you rewarded an employee with a significant bonus for working hard on a particularly intense project. The excitement for that bonus and the motivation to continue working hard was likely palpable in the moment and perhaps felt for a few weeks afterward. Eventually, the impact of that bonus wears off, especially if the employee is continuing to spend long hours on that intense project.

Instead, consider combining that bonus with:

Clear communication about the strategic impact of the project on the business
Sharing recognition for this person’s role in the project
Providing additional resources to make the work easier

This maximizes the benefits of external motivators while connecting them to longer-lasting intrinsic factors.

For example, setting up individual performance goals that support the overall business strategy will motivate the employee to achieve their goals while also contributing to the broader business objectives.

4. Act on Feedback

Employee feedback provides an excellent opportunity to improve your team’s engagement. Demonstrating that you’re open to hearing what your employees have to say and act on it can help them feel heard and appreciated.

Gartner reveals that one of the primary factors that negatively affects engagement is employee dissatisfaction with how their leaders respond to feedback. Only one-third of employees believe that their leaders will actually act on feedback, and 46% wish their leaders took feedback more seriously.

To respond to this, consider improving your feedback proficiencies. Our expert-led team experience, Feedback Framework, will help your team leverage the SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) framework to improve feedback.

Improve Motivation and Engagement With Teamraderie

If you’re interested in improving your team’s motivation and engagement, an excellent way to do so is by hosting routine team building experiences.

Teamraderie Enterprise allows your team to seamlessly integrate regular team building experiences into your corporate culture. These experiences help to foster connection, build trust, and improve teamwork.

10 Ways to Show Appreciation to Employees

Everyone wants to feel appreciated for the work they do. Working hard with little appreciation can easily lead to burnout or feeling like your work isn’t valued by leadership.

Despite this, however, many leaders aren’t prioritizing recognition. According to a Gallup and Workhuman report:

81% of leaders don’t consider recognition a strategic priority for their company
73% of senior leaders say their organization doesn’t train managers or other leaders in employee recognition
The majority of leaders—approximately two-thirds—haven’t allocated a budget to recognition

Furthermore, according to research from Gallup, only one in three U.S. employees say they’ve received recognition for doing good work in the past week.

But why are recognition and appreciation so important, and how do you demonstrate it to your team?

Below is an analysis of the importance of appreciation and recognition, and ten steps you can take to show appreciation to your employees.

The Importance of Employee Appreciation

The value of employee appreciation is often understated. It’s easy to forget that something as simple as saying “thank you” or “good work” can make a big difference in someone else’s life.

When it comes to organizational culture, fostering an environment in which employees are regularly recognized and appreciated for their contributions can benefit the employees and the organization alike.

Gallup reports that when employees feel recognized, they’re:

5x more likely to feel connected to their organization
4x more likely to be engaged
3x more likely to feel a strong sense of loyalty to their organization
5x more likely to see themselves at your organization long-term
4x more likely to recommend your organization to others
73% less likely to feel regularly burned out
56% less likely to be keeping an eye open for job opportunities elsewhere
44% more likely to thrive in both your organization and their life outside of work

Creating a culture of appreciation and recognition connects a team to the company’s culture, keeps them engaged, and reduces turnover. All of these benefits will ultimately positively impact the company’s bottom line.

So how do you go about actually showing this appreciation to your team? Below are ten ideas for demonstrating appreciation to employees.

10 Ideas for Showing Employee Appreciation

1. Get to Know Your Employees Personally

One of the most important factors of appreciation is its authenticity. Gallup’s research shows that the most impactful recognition is authentic and personalized.

That’s because everyone is different, and different employees have different recognition needs. For example, one employee might need public recognition, while others might find it embarrassing and prefer smaller gestures of appreciation.

In order to show this individualized appreciation to your employees, it’s important to actually get to know them. According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), there are several questions you should ask to determine your employees’ appreciation needs:

How well do you know the people who report to you?
What are your employees’ individual goals?
What motivates and excites your employees about their work?
What are some of their common challenges?

Demonstrating this individualized attention to your employees helps them feel valued as individuals, as well as appreciated for their contributions.

If you’re a C-level executive or in a similar leadership position and don’t have the capability to get to know every single employee, it’s also a good idea to train your managers to recognize and appreciate their employees. Ask them the above questions and challenge them to provide personalized attention to their team members.

And as always, it’s vital to lead by example.

2. Provide Both Recognition And Appreciation

It’s important to distinguish between employee recognition and appreciation and provide both to your team.

According to HBR, while similar, recognition and appreciation have the following differences:

Recognition: Gratitude and positive feedback provided due to employees’ accomplishments or performance.
Appreciation: Acknowledgement of employees’ inherent worth as colleagues and human beings.

In other words, recognition rewards accomplishments, whereas appreciation acknowledges who people are.

Recognizing employees can often take the form of financial rewards. For many, these incentives are sufficient reward to drive engagement. However, McKinsey data highlights that 55% of employee engagement is a result of non-financial recognition, such as verbal acknowledgment or appreciation.

3. Create a Culture of Recognition

To maximize the effectiveness of recognition and appreciation, it’s important to embed it into your organizational culture. Simply making it a checklist won’t produce lasting results, and won’t feel authentic or genuine.

Gallup recommends the following steps to transform your organizational culture into one that fosters appreciation:

Ground your culture in goals and values that align with your business strategy
Reflect your company’s goals and values in your recognition and appreciation strategy
Continuously review and refine your recognition and appreciation strategy
Promote recognition across your entire organization

Making sure your workplace culture is one that promotes recognition can maximize its benefits to your organization and employees alike.

4. Routinely Demonstrate Appreciation in Small Ways

Appreciation doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. Something as simple as a handwritten thank you note can make a big difference, especially because it’s so unexpected.

HBR research shows that these simple gestures can have tremendous impacts on your employees, despite not being tied to a cash incentive.

Keep a stack of thank you notes handy and whenever you hear of anyone on your team who has achieved a milestone, completed a project or perhaps just shown true effort–write them a quick note. The few minutes spent on this task will garner an incredible amount of goodwill.

In addition, it’s important to take note of small accomplishments as well as big ones. It’s easy to acknowledge major milestones in employees’ careers, but according to Gallup research, 72% of employees who claim to have excellent recognition experiences say that performance for little accomplishments is frequently acknowledged at their organization.

This is especially true considering that different employees’ projects will have different impacts, so only recognizing big accomplishments can result in disparate recognition among employees.

5. Facilitate Social Interactions

A great way to show appreciation is by facilitating social interactions among employees. According to McKinsey research, these interactions are some of the strongest indicators of positive employee experience in an organization.

A separate McKinsey report highlighted that employees are craving human interaction in work, whether in-person or virtual. Interpersonal connections with managers and peers can improve employees’ sense of shared identity and help them feel valued.

Keep in mind that these interactions don’t have to be planned months in advance. While planned parties and events are fun, coordinating an impromptu happy hour at the end of a long week goes a long way.

If your team is virtual, coordinate a zoom meeting and encourage everyone to bring their beverage of choice, or consider sending a meal delivery gift card ahead of time so team members can order themselves lunch.

A shared virtual experience, such as those offered by Teamraderie, is an excellent way to facilitate these interactions.

6. Create a Psychologically Safe Environment

One of the best ways to improve overall employee experience and help them feel appreciated is to create a psychologically safe workplace.

Psychological safety is the belief that you can speak freely without fear of negative repercussions. According to HBR, psychological safety can help employees feel that their input is valuable and welcome, helping them feel appreciated and acknowledged.

By contrast, in a psychologically unsafe environment, employees won’t feel that they’re able to share their thoughts and opinions. This will stifle their creativity and prevent them from having the opportunity to be recognized and appreciated.

7. Give and Receive Balanced Feedback

Praise is important, and a key component of appreciation. However, the most authentic appreciation also acknowledges areas for improvement. If you aren’t proactively helping your employees grow and improve as professionals, your employees might feel that they aren’t truly valued members of your organization.

Worse, if you aren’t providing constructive feedback as well as praise, your employee might be making mistakes without knowing it. This will ultimately need to be addressed, and the longer you wait, the more difficult the feedback will be to hear.

In addition to giving feedback, however, it’s vital to be able to receive feedback openly. This is a key component of creating a psychologically safe work environment.

While it might not be comfortable at first for you or the employee, get deliberate about requesting feedback on your leadership. Be specific. Let employees know that you value their input on a project or that you want to make sure you’re supporting them in ways that are meaningful.

Demonstrating a little vulnerability will humanize the employee-manager relationship and create a meaningful connection between leaders and employees.

8. Empower Employees to Share Their Accomplishments

People like to be recognized for what they’re proud of.

If an employee completes a project that they worked hard on and they’re proud of the result, neglecting to acknowledge this accomplishment will likely result in discouragement.

According to HBR, a great way to prevent this discouragement is to empower your employees to share their accomplishments. Some questions you can ask your employees include:

What projects have you been working on recently?
Is there anything you’ve accomplished that you’re proud of?
Is there something you’re working on that you’re excited about?
What are some of your toughest challenges and how are you handling them?

These conversations can take place at any point and in any location, not just during set meeting times.

Keep in mind that completing projects isn’t the only thing your team should be recognized for. If there are areas of struggle that your employees are working on overcoming, acknowledging small victories in that area can be just as impactful.

9. Invest in Your Employees

While verbal acknowledgement is key to morale and motivation, it’s also important to acknowledge that financial incentives can be excellent sources of motivation as well.

Consider developing a program focused on recognizing employees for professional achievements, such as work anniversaries (one year, five year, ten year, etc.) and promotions.

You might consider tying a monetary award to such milestones or perhaps offering additional time off. Pair this with a note from the CEO, and employees will look forward to achieving these milestones, increasing both retention and productivity.

One of the most strategic ways to show employee appreciation is by offering a competitive benefits package. While compensation is undoubtedly important, having a well-rounded benefit package can both attract and retain great colleagues.

Consider increasing a 401(k) match, adding infertility benefits, or increasing the amount of time off for new parents. Review your benefit offerings each year, and make changes to support the growing needs of your workforce.

Actively communicating and celebrating these changes demonstrates a commitment to the well-being of your workforce.

10. Involve Leadership

While it’s always nice to receive praise from those with whom you work closely, receiving words of appreciation from those outside your immediate orbit have a huge impact.

Data from Gallup reveals that employees list the following sources as the most impactful when it comes to recognition:

28%: An employee’s direct manager or supervisor
24%: A high-level leader, executive, or CEO
12%: An employee’s manager’s manager
10%: A customer or client
9%: Peers and colleagues

If you’re a leader who sees employee appreciation as a retention tool, start by engaging in the practice yourself and getting deliberate about showing appreciation to your own direct reports.

Keep in mind that managers also benefit as recipients of appreciation, and are arguably the least likely to get it.

Facilitate Team Appreciation With Teamraderie

Teamraderie is here to support you in showing your employees how much you appreciate them.

Our Recognizing Strengths experience is an excellent way to begin demonstrating appreciation for your team. In this live, interactive virtual workshop, your team will be given the opportunity to both give and receive positive feedback.

Appreciation is the most impactful when embedded into your company culture. Beyond simply giving your team a virtual experience, Teamraderie Enterprise is a complete approach to achieving and sustaining strong team morale at a global scale.

Show your team how much you appreciate them while building skills and connection for a thriving workplace. Consider booking one of our experiences to demonstrate your commitment to your workforce.

Friction in Business: How To Reduce Barriers to Progress

Friction has a negative connotation in the workplace. When something gets in the way of speed or efficiency, it’s a significant source of frustration.

Leaders often strive to reduce or eliminate friction from their processes. However, in addition to fighting friction, the best leaders seek to leverage it to make the wrong things harder as well as the right things easier.

In our webinar, How Great Leaders Fix Things, Stanford Professor and organizational psychologist Bob Sutton discussed the concept of friction in business, along with Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson, and two prominent business leaders.

Here’s an overview of friction in business, and how it can be fought and leveraged.

What Is Organizational Friction?

Before attempting to fight friction, it’s necessary to understand what it actually means.

“Organizational friction is when an individual or a team tries to get something done, and it’s slower, more difficult, and more frustrating than they might hope,” says Sutton in How Great Leaders Fix Things.

In short, organizational friction is when things are harder and slower than they could be.

For example, when your email inbox is crowded with a plethora of newsletters, promotional offers, and automated updates from tools such as Google Drive, it can be difficult to locate important emails from colleagues. In this case, creating a filter for different email domains and sorting them automatically into labeled folders can reduce this friction.

Is Friction Always a Bad Thing?

As mentioned above, friction typically has a negative connotation. It’s perceived as something that ought to be eliminated in order to improve organizational speed and efficiency.

Sometimes, however, doing the right thing means making the wrong things harder. According to Sutton in How Great Leaders Fix Things, “Sometimes you’ve got to slow [your team] down to make sure they do it right before they rush off and do something stupid.”

Bob Sutton and his co-author, Huggy Rao, recently wrote a book on organizational friction called The Friction Project. According to their book, leaders should aspire to be “friction fixers,” in order to optimize their team’s creativity and prevent burnout.

This requires leaders to be “trustees of others’ time,” optimizing employees’ time instead of filling it with meetings and tasks that don’t contribute meaningfully to their work.

Part of this involves identifying areas where employees should have an easier time completing their tasks quickly, and where they should slow down to ensure they’re doing things the right way. This is where “good friction” comes into play.

The Difference Between “Bad” and “Good Friction”

Bad Friction

Bad friction is something that every organization struggles with to some capacity. Processes that unnecessarily hinder efficiency are fairly common in any company.

In their book The Friction Project, authors Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao highlight some of the biggest friction challenges in an organization.

These include:

Oblivious leaders: Leaders who aren’t aware of the impact their words and actions have on employees.
Addition sickness: Trying to improve processes by finding areas where things can be added, rather than subtracted.
Broken connections: People refuse to give others important information because they’re too busy, or simply don’t like the other person.
Jargon monoxide: Excessive use of complicated jargon and industry-specific terminology that often goes over peoples’ heads.
Fast and frenzied people and teams: Prioritizing speed over all else, or attempting to gain the first-mover advantage without taking time to ensure quality.

This can be especially difficult when companies are scaling. As they hire more employees and increase the number of customers they serve, existing processes are likely to break, and systems that were previously accomplished manually may need to be automated.

Good Friction

As important as efficiency is, it’s also just as important to slow down when necessary.

“Sometimes friction is needed,” says Pat Wadors, Chief People Officer at UKG in How Great Leaders Fix Things. “You’ve got to slow your role a bit to make sure you’re getting the most diverse thoughts and rigor in your thinking before you execute, because it impacts people’s lives.”

If you’re making a decision that impacts others’ lives, or that can’t be easily undone, it’s best to take the extra time to make sure it’s done well, rather than hurrying to just get it done.
According to Amy Edmondson in How Great Leaders Fix Things, “[Good friction] is about pausing to think through what it will take to ensure the coordinated execution in pursuit of performance that we need, rather than ‘let’s just see what happens.’”

Some ways you can implement this type of friction at work include:

False constraints: Put friction in place during brainstorming sessions in the form of false constraints such as money, time, resources, etc. This can help facilitate creativity, helping your team think outside the box.
Using good friction to remove bad friction: If there’s a process that’s wasteful or overused, consider implementing friction to make that process more difficult so that time can be spent on more productive activities.
Being intentional about irreversible decisions: Take time to slow down before making a decision that impacts others’ lives.

“I like putting in constraints—time, resources, budget—to create tension in the room, and to have us think more creatively of solving the problem for the longer term,” says Wadors in How Great Leaders Fix Things. “Through these tension and friction conversations, I can pivot more readily when that real challenge comes into play. And I think that’s a huge gift of tension and friction.”
Identifying Where to Remove—Or Add—Friction

If you’re hoping to become a better friction fixer, it’s important to be able to identify where friction should be added or removed.

Here are five questions that Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao recommend leaders ask to help determine whether friction should be eliminated or leveraged:

How much uncertainty does the task involve? When encountering tasks that involve significant uncertainty, it’s often best to slow down and assess the situation before acting rashly. Is this reversible—a two-way decision—or reversible—a one-way decision?
Is the task routine or creative? Routine work should often be as frictionless as possible, but attempting to expedite or streamline creativity may ultimately hinder it. Successful creativity is often accompanied by a multitude of failures.
Does success require speed or learning from others’ mistakes? Speed isn’t always your friend. Even when launching a new venture, first-movers often aren’t successful if consumers aren’t ready for their product or they haven’t done sufficient market research.
Does your team have the capacity, or are they burnt out? Sometimes, overuse of digital tools intended to improve efficiency can result in frustration and confusion from employees, resulting in burnout.
Do you want relationships to be fast or deep? In some cases, such as commercial airlines or emergency departments, forming quick relationships and working with a team of strangers is necessary. However, the deepest relationships take time and intentionality.

In short, friction fixers should make sure they’re effectively making the right things easier, but also placing constraints and barriers in place to prevent poor or hasty decision-making.

Reduce Barriers to Progress With Teamraderie

According to Bob Sutton in How Great Leaders Fix Things, “Greatness comes from the nuts and bolts of management and organizational design.”

If you’re hoping to improve your leadership, remove friction in your organization, and help your team thrive, consider our Team Journey, Improve Organizational Speed. This Journey, co-created with Bob Sutton, will help your team learn how to make the right things easier and the wrong things harder.

Want to learn more about friction in business? Sign up for Leadership Lab to watch our entire conversation with Bob Sutton and Amy Edmondson, as well as additional webinars with thought-leaders and resources to help you become a better manager.

Join Teamraderie's Leadership Lab and get resources for high-performaing managers

The Importance of Making a Step from Diversity to Inclusion

An increasing number of organizations are recognizing the value of diversity in the workplace. Having people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives in your organization can result in improved decision-making and productivity.

However, diversity alone isn’t enough. In order to maximize the benefits of diversity—to your organization and employees alike—it’s important to create an inclusive culture as well.

Continue reading to learn more about diversity in the workplace, and how to move from diversity to inclusion.

Importance of Diversity in the Workplace

Before understanding the benefits of diversity at work, it’s important to understand what diversity means.

According to McKinsey, diversity includes:

Gender diversity: Representation from different gender groups, including men, women, and nonbinary
Age diversity: Representation from individuals from multiple generations
Ethnic and racial diversity: Representation from different nations, cultures, and races
Physical and neurodiversity: Representation from people with physical and neurological disabilities, both apparent and not

While these forms of diversity are the most common, diversity encompasses a wide range of additional factors. For example, religion, sexual orientation, experience, and even the way people think are all examples of diversity.

There are multiple benefits of a diverse workforce. According to McKinsey, diverse companies are between 15-35% more likely to exceed industry medians in profits. McKinsey also reports that, for every 10% increase in racial and ethnic diversity in leadership, EBIT increases by 0.8%.

In addition to benefits to a company’s bottom-line, diversity can improve employee morale, retention, and productivity. However, these benefits aren’t inherent to a diverse workforce. That’s because diversity alone falls short if it isn’t paired with inclusion.

Why Diversity Alone Isn’t Enough

Unfortunately, even diverse workforces experience biases and struggles. Harvard Business Review (HBR) reports that 31% of AAPI, and 25% of Black and Hispanic employees experience negative stereotypes, biases, and unfair treatment.

Marginalized groups also tend to feel less respected and have more difficulty advancing in their role.

The advantages associated with diversity aren’t automatic. Diverse teams can underperform homogenous teams if they’re not managed actively for differences among members. This is often a sign of tokenism—when leaders hire from marginalized groups for the appearance of diversity, without actually creating an open and inclusive environment.

According to HBR, leaders need to build inclusive teams, rather than simply diverse ones. The differences between diverse and inclusive teams are as follows:

Diverse teams: Diverse knowledge is partially shared among team members
Homogenous teams: Common knowledge is fully shared among team members
Inclusive teams: Diverse knowledge is fully shared among team members

In order for organizations to reap the benefits commonly associated with diversity, they need to focus on the third category—building an inclusive workforce.

How To Improve Inclusion at Your Workplace

Moving beyond a diverse culture to an inclusive one is harder than simply hiring for diversity, but well worth the effort.

Gallup lists three requirements for an inclusive organization:

Everyone is treated with respect
Managers appreciate everyone’s unique characteristics
Leadership acts ethically and morally

Creating a culture in which employees feel like they belong is tricky. According to McKinsey, this process involves:

Employees’ personal experiences at the workplace
How they perceive the company at large

In order to build this culture, take the following steps:

1. Address Biases

The first step to creating an inclusive workplace is identifying and addressing biases—both implicit and explicit.

Explicit biases are obvious, blatant biases that are easily identified
Implicit biases are biases that you might not be aware of, and are harder to recognize in yourself and others

As a leader, it’s important to lead by example in this area. Make sure you address your own biases as well as helping your team address theirs. Keep in mind that even biases as simple as biases towards employees from rival colleges can impact your thinking.

The Harvard Implicit Association Test is a free online tool that allows you to test your implicit biases. While this tool isn’t intended to be a definitive calculator of biases and stereotypes, it can help raise awareness of potential negative associations you might have with different groups of people.

2. Hold Yourself Accountable

It’s important to make sure you’re holding yourself accountable to your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives. If you don’t follow through on your DEI initiatives, your employees will perceive them as empty words.

HBR lists out three ways to hold yourself accountable to your DEI initiatives:

Track how promotions are awarded: Are you awarding promotions indiscriminately, or are you subconsciously awarding promotions to people with similar characteristics?
Take note of any inequities: For example, is there a noticeable pay gap between men and women in your organization? Are your hiring practices equitable?
Proactively and explicitly address them: Don’t assume the problem will simply go away with time. Be proactive in addressing inequities and biases.

By holding yourself accountable, you’ll be able to more effectively hold your team accountable as well.

3. Don’t Neglect Less-Common Forms of Diversity

Many leaders prioritize racial and ethnic diversity, but don’t proactively address other forms of diversity and discrimination.

For example, according to HBR, only 8% of companies include age in their DEI strategies. When organizations do address it, their strategy tends to lean towards denying differences and emphasizing similarities, rather than focusing on how to learn from one another’s differences.

However, when different generations work together effectively, they have:

Improve decision-making
Enhanced collaboration
Greater overall performance

For this reason, it’s important to help different generations in your organization collaborate and leverage differences for improved results, rather than stifling them.

Another form of diversity that’s often neglected is neurodivergence. For example, HBR reports that 85% of U.S. college graduates with autism struggle to find jobs post-graduation. Despite this, most companies don’t have programs pertaining to supporting neurodiversity in hiring and overall success.

Make sure to identify implicit biases surrounding preferences for certain characteristics like charisma or extraversion. Neglecting to do so can result in unintentional discrimination against people with neurological differences.

4. Prioritize Justice in the Workplace

As mentioned above, diversity improves productivity and profits. However, to create an inclusive environment and avoid tokenism, make sure your messaging and goals doesn’t just focus on the business case.

According to HBR, employees from marginalized groups who read messaging that just speaks to the business case of diversity have:

11% lower sense of belonging
16% more concerned they’ll be stereotyped
10% more concerned that they’ll be perceived as interchangeable with other members of their identity group
6% less likely to feel the company’s commitment to diversity is genuine

Instead of simply hiring a diverse workforce for the financial and productivity benefits it can bring, focus on creating justice in the workplace. According to HBR, workplace justice is concerned with the following:

Fairness of organizational procedures and outcomes
Dignity in the treatment of all employees
Sufficient information provided to every employee

HBR recommends Leventhal’s six procedural justice criteria to determine how inclusive your organization is. These include:

Consistency: Procedures are consistently applied across employees
Bias suppression: Biases are addressed and, to the extent possible, eliminated from procedures
Accuracy: Information that’s used for decision-making is accurate
Correctability: If a decision is made that’s inaccurate, mechanisms are in place to correct these decisions
Representativeness: Everyone’s views and opinions are taken into account and factored into decision-making
Ethicality: Decisions conform to ethical and moral standards

It’s important to remember that transparency in procedures and decision-making is critical to promote inclusion, psychological safety, and organizational performance.

5. Be Intentional About How You Provide Feedback

HBR research shows that 94% of employees believe their performance improves when they receive well-presented corrective feedback.

Providing this feedback to a diverse workforce can be challenging, however, since well-presented feedback can look different for different people.

For example, differences in cultural communication styles can impact how others perceive your communication style, and neglecting to account for those differences can result in unintentional hurt feelings or perceiving feedback as an act of hostility.

To account for this, it’s important to:

Improve psychological safety: Most people don’t respond well to criticism unless they feel safe with the person who provides it. Improving psychological safety in your workplace can help employees receive feedback, as well as yielding other benefits such as innovation and wellbeing.
Be open and transparent with employees: If employees feel that you’re being open and vulnerable with them, it’s more likely that they’ll be understanding if you accidentally say something that could be misinterpreted.
Give feedback with empathy and clarity: It’s always vital to remember that you’re interacting with other people, not cogs in a machine. Make sure you’re communicating with empathy, while also clearly expressing your thoughts.

If you’re unsure how to improve your system of giving and receiving feedback, consider our Feedback Framework experience. This live, virtual, workshop, led by Harvard Business School Professor Francesca Gino, will help your team learn the importance of direct, constructive, and empathetic feedback.

6. Proactively Address Pushback

Gartner reports that 42% of workers believe their peers are resentful of DEI initiatives and perceive them as divisive rather than inclusive. This presents a significant challenge for leaders hoping to build inclusive environments.

This pushback typically comes in three forms:

Denial: “It’s not a problem”
Disengagement: “It’s not my problem”
Derailment: “What about other problems?”

In order to address this, Gartner recommends the following:

Communicate openly without invalidating anyone’s feelings or experiences
Focus on building empathy and raising awareness
Invite employees to participate in the company’s DEI efforts

By proactively addressing pushback, and making sure you’re not invalidating anyone’s feelings or experiences, you’ll have a better chance of ensuring that everyone feels a strong sense of belonging, even those who initially might be uncomfortable with DEI endeavors.

7. Make Sure Everyone Feels Valued and Appreciated

Ultimately, building an inclusive environment requires everyone to feel included. If your team feels siloed, or that their thoughts aren’t important, the team’s overall sense of belonging will be hindered.

According to Gallup, only three in 10 employees in the U.S. believe their opinions are important to leadership.

Feeling like thoughts and opinions aren’t important doesn’t just hinder inclusion, however, but can also result in employees neglecting to speak up if they have ideas or concerns. Gallup estimates that if the number of employees who felt their opinions were important increased to six in 10, it could have the following benefits:

27% lower turnover
40% fewer safety incidents
12% increase in productivity

These metrics would be even higher if the number was increased to 10 in 10.

Ensuring that your employees feel that their efforts are acknowledged, appreciated, and valued is critical to fostering an inclusive workplace environment. In a culture of belonging:

Each employee feels appreciated for their individual contributions
Genuine relationships are cultivated between coworkers
Differences are appreciated rather than discouraged

If you’re hoping to find a way to show appreciation to each member of your team, consider our Recognizing Strengths experience. This team building experience will provide an avenue for everyone to demonstrate appreciation for their fellow team members, while also teaching them how to receive positive feedback.

Improve Inclusion and Belonging with Teamraderie

Diverse teams need an inclusive environment to realize their full potential. Team leaders should ask themselves:

Am I maximizing the effects of diversity on our outcomes?
Are my team members comfortable being authentic and sharing their unique points of view?
Are differences in opinions perceived as a positive attribute of our team?

Leaders have an opportunity to leverage virtual experiences to help team members deeply connect with each other and learn the value of novel perspectives.

Teamraderie’s experiences are live, virtual, expert-led workshops intended to help your team connect and feel like they belong.

Two Teamraderie experience that are excellent for improving inclusivity at work are:

Transformative Change: Led by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marcia Chatelain, this experience will help your team learn from the past to promote an inclusive future. It’s an excellent way to begin creating an environment where everyone’s voice is heard, and the entire team feels included.
Whiskey Trailblazer: Led by a food and beverage expert, this experience will take your team on a learning journey by exploring the history of “Nearest” Green—the world’s first known African-American Master Distiller—all while sharing in a whiskey-tasting experience together.

Teamraderie offers over 60 experiences, each intended to help your team connect and build trust together. To find the perfect experience for your team, consider chatting with our chatbot, TeamraderieGPT, to find out which experience fits your team’s specific needs.

Click here to be taken to our experience quiz, where you can find the perfect experience for your team

8 Sales Training Ideas to Take Your Team to the Next Level

Leaders across the world recognize the importance of sales training. Globally, companies spent an estimated $380 billion on learning and development programs in 2023.

If you’re among those hoping to expand your sales training and take your team’s productivity and efficiency to the next level, it’s important to make sure you’re maximizing the effectiveness of your training.

Here’s an overview of why training is so important for sales teams, as well as eight innovative sales training ideas that can take your team to the next level.

The Importance of Sales Training

On-the job training is important, and should be done on a regular basis.

Sales training is intended to boost your team’s skill set. If successful, it’ll benefit both your company and individual employees.

It’s important to build both soft and hard skills, as both are necessary.

Hard skills training: Hard skills are role-specific and pertain to each employee’s responsibilities. They typically require much more individual coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training.
Soft skills training: Soft skills aren’t role-specific, but can be transferred across positions and industries, making them excellent for career development. For sales teams, these skills help them interact with customers on a more personal level.

While hard skills are important, soft skills are critical to helping salespeople close deals, since they need to know how to connect with customers.

8 Sales Team Training Ideas

While a majority of training involves hard skills that are necessary to complete your job, most of this should be conducted on-the-job, since it requires a much more individualized approach.

When it comes to intentionally training your sales team, Harvard Business Review (HBR) advises that approximately 20% of training time should be spent doing social learning, such as team building.

Here are eight tips to help you train your sales team more effectively, each of which is accompanied by a Teamraderie experience you can use to help achieve your desired outcomes. Our experiences are live, virtual workshops with various experts facilitating them—such as professors, thought-leaders, Olympians, and more.

1. Learn How to Effectively Leverage Technology

McKinsey reports that sales teams that outperform others are approximately 62% more effective at leveraging digital technology and tools. Cultivating this skill is an excellent way to ensure that your sales team improves their performance.

The first step is to examine the existing technology your team leverages and ensure that your sales team is proficient at utilizing it. For example, if your team uses a CRM or data analysis tool, make sure your team knows how to maximize its potential.

As technology continues to evolve, however, consider ways that your sales team can leverage it to be more effective at their jobs. For example, with the continuous advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), there are ample opportunities for improvement and growth.

HBR reports that salespeople can use AI to help significantly improve customer relationships. This requires thoughtful application of the technology, however.

Our virtual generative AI experience is an excellent way to maximize AI’s potential in your team. In this experience, professor and AI thought leader Paul Leonardi will help your team brainstorm ways to maximize AI in your organization using the STEP framework he developed.

2. Improve Team Communication

Communication is one of the most important skills to develop in any profession. Sales isn’t an exception. Not only is it important to learn how to communicate effectively with customers, but also with other team members.

Internally, improved communication can accomplish the following:

Improved feelings of camaraderie and connection: Building relationships with colleagues and learning how to communicate with them is vital in sales. It allows you to share strategies, build upon one another’s strengths, and learn from each other’s successes and failures.
Fewer instances of conflict and misunderstanding: Salespeople can waste valuable time and energy due to unnecessary misunderstandings. For instance, when dealing with prospects or customers, they might rely on unspoken rules, leading to avoidable conflicts like one salesperson monopolizing customer interactions.
Improved cross-team collaboration: Learning to communicate more effectively can help your ability to collaborate with other departments such as marketing.

Training your salespeople to communicate better with one another is an excellent way to accomplish these—and other—objectives.

Our LEGO communication experience can help your team build communication while building LEGO sets. Your team members will be given part of the instructions, and will have to collaborate with one another to complete the kit. It’s a great way to build communication and have fun along the way.

3. Boost Your Collaboration Skills

According to HBR, collaboration is one of the top skills salespeople need. The buyer’s journey often touches multiple departments, and even various members of the sales team.

As the customer progresses through the funnel and approaches the decision stage, collaboration with other team members is key to providing a seamless experience from start to finish.

During your next sales training event, consider our NASCAR experience, which is designed to build collaboration skills among your team. In this Teamraderie experience, NASCAR’s first pit crew coach, Andy Papathanassiou, leads your team through a virtual workshop to work together as a team in pursuit of a common goal.

4. Learn to Set Better Goals

In addition to quotas that are set by leadership, individual goal-setting is important for salespeople.

When creating these personal objectives, however, it’s crucial to set goals that are both ambitious and realistic. Setting goals that are easily attainable without much effort won’t allow you to push yourself and improve, whereas setting goals that are overly ambitious can result in over-promising and under-delivering.

If you’re hoping to improve your team’s goal-setting capabilities, teaching them to set better goals for themselves is a great way to use your training time.

Our goal-setting for productivity experience can help your team learn how to be ambitious with their goals, while still meeting them. This experience is led by decorated Paralympic athlete, Tatyana McFadden, and can help boost your team’s energy and motivation while improving their skills.

5. Learn New Ways to Solve Problems

In every industry, there’s a need to solve problems as they arise. Salespeople often encounter difficult objections, or challenges that are difficult to solve.

For example:

What should you do if you’re pitching to a prospective customer who’s an excellent fit, but an unhappy former customer has advised them to avoid doing business with you?
What if you’re dealing with a prospect who’s content with their existing solution that’s inefficient, but cost-effective?
How should you respond if the customer starts to get angry or aggressive?

Training for specific challenges is important, but obstacles often arise that are impossible to predict. These problems require innovative solutions.

In our Design Thinking experience, Professor Anja Svetina Nabergoj of Stanford’s d.design school, will teach your team a framework for igniting innovation. This experience is an excellent option for training your team valuable soft skills that will benefit them and the company alike.

6. Build Team Empathy and Listening

As anyone in sales will tell you, sales is about much more than simply reading a script and expecting the customer to immediately give you their business.

You can give the best pitch in the world, but if the customer isn’t the right fit, it won’t make a difference. Worse—you might end up selling to someone who spreads negative word of mouth because your solution, while costing them money, didn’t solve the problem or made it worse.

For this reason, one of the most important skills in sales is empathy.

According to Gallup, customers need to know you’re not just trying to make money off of them. They must feel cared for, and that you understand their needs and that your solution is the right one for them. In other words, you need to treat customers like people.

For this, you need to know and understand:

What are the prospect’s current pain points?
How does your solution help them address their individual needs?
Is your solution actually a good fit for them?
Are they engaged and genuinely interested?

For this reason, training your team to become more empathetic and better at active listening is a great use of your time.

Our empathy and listening skills experience can help your team connect while deepening their ability to understand customers, as well as one another. This experience is led by Pam McLeod, former director of education and outreach and manager of diversity and inclusion for the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center at Stanford University, who will help your team become more empathetic through interactive improv games.

7. Learn How To Adapt

Flexibility and adaptation is another skill that, according to HBR, is one of the most important for salespeople. Unexpected circumstances can easily throw your team off track if they’re unprepared to adapt quickly.

In addition to adapting to day-to-day challenges, salespeople need to effectively respond to broader changes within the sales landscape. For example, while sales has traditionally been conducted according to a quarterly plan, HBR reports that a more agile approach is becoming commonplace.

Because it’s impossible to predict every challenge your team will face, training efforts that attempt to prepare your team for every possible scenario aren’t going to be effective. Our agility and teamwork experience is intended to help your team prepare for anything, rather than everything. Led by Olympic Gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, this workshop will help your team adopt a flexible learning mindset.

8. Host a Sales Kickoff Event

Sales kickoffs (SKOs) are excellent opportunities to train your sales team. These events, whether held in-person or virtually, can help your team connect and learn more about both the business and each other.

SKOs are gatherings—typically held at the beginning of a new sales year—that bring your team together for a variety of purposes, including:

Celebration: Awarding top performers and recognizing achievements
Connection: Fostering trust and inclusion through team-building and shared activities
Training: Developing new skills or deepening existing ones
Learning: Hearing from experts or company leaders in order to learn more about the industry or company
Motivation: Helping employees start the new year on a positive note and renewing their energy and focus

If you’re hoping to take your team’s performance to the next level, a properly planned and executed SKO is an excellent way to accomplish this. Approximately 60% of salespeople want soft skills training during their SKO, so it’s a great opportunity to help your team expand their skills.

Make Your Next Sales Training Event Memorable

Whether you’re planning your next SKO, or simply searching for innovative ways to train your team, Teamraderie’s list of experiences are perfect for making the most of your social learning time.

If you’re interested in learning more about Teamraderie, consider checking out our experiences using the experience finder—or interacting with our chatbot TeamraderieGPT to find an experience that perfectly fits your needs

Click here to learn how to supercharge your next sales kickoff with Teamraderie

7 Ways To Motivate Your Sales Team

Modern sales teams are struggling with motivation. Gartner recently reported that approximately 89% of sellers are experiencing burnout. This is a significant issue, since sales teams are responsible for a significant amount of company revenue.

There are many factors that contribute to burnout. One way to address it is by finding what motivates your sales team. This can be challenging, and might vary depending on your team. After all, each salesperson is a unique individual with different sources of energy and motivation.

This means that when motivating your team, it’s important to consider their individual needs and specific areas where they feel burnout. Facilitating conversations with your sales team is a great first step, since it can open the door to communication and help your team feel comfortable bringing important matters to your attention.

Here are seven key methods that will help them maximize performance and productivity.

How To Motivate Your Sales Team

1. Find a Compensation Plan That Works

One of the most motivating aspects of any job is the compensation received. Sales teams aren’t any different. It’s critical to make sure you’re providing effective financial incentives for your team to thrive in their role.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) identifies three primary means of paying your sales team:

Base salary: A set hourly or annual rate of pay.
Commission only: The sales team’s income is based solely on their performance
Combination: A set rate plus additional incentives based on performance

Compensation models that are entirely commission-based might work for some teams, since they motivate them to make more sales to make more money. Other salespeople might prefer the stability of a regular salary, or a base salary plus commission. For these employees, a commission structure might be demotivating, especially during periods of time where sales aren’t as strong.

Similarly, capped commissions might decrease high performers’ incentives. In that situation, there’s no incentive to sell more than they have to.

Ultimately, it’s important to find what works best for your team and company alike.

2. Improve Wellbeing

It’s a common practice among leaders to increase pressure on the sales team when quotas aren’t being met. According to HBR, additional stress on sales teams actually decreases performance, since anxiety isn’t good for motivation.

According to the State of Mental Health in Sales Report, 63% of salespeople struggled with their mental health in 2022, up from 58% in 2021. The report identifies five primary needs sales teams have that aren’t being met which are contributing to negative wellbeing:

Vulnerability: The confidence to express themselves and admit mistakes without fear or shame
Boundaries: The ability to set clear boundaries in regards to work and relationships with colleagues
Clear career path: Salespeople knowing their projected career trajectory
Achieving sales targets: When salespeople don’t meet their goals, their mental health is likely to decrease
Meaningful work: Alignment with company values and feeling like they’re making a positive difference

In addition to these factors, working on a sales team often entails a significant amount of rejection. Depending on their role and their specific responsibilities, it can be easy for salespeople to burn out after a day of rejected cold calls.

Focusing on improving your team’s wellbeing can help. The report also highlights the fact that—of salespeople who report positive mental wellbeing—approximately 77% rate their performance as very good or excellent. Conversely, only 29% of those with poor mental health say the same about their performance.

Adequately addressing your team’s mental health involves focusing on adjusting the company culture to become more psychologically safe. In the short-term, however, facilitating conversations about mental health can go a long way in improving your team’s wellbeing.

Our Terrarium Experience is hosted live by a wellness expert who will lead your team through an important discussion about workplace wellness. It’s a great way to give your team a break from the stress of the workday and engage in important conversations that have long-term positive impacts.

3. Increase Psychological Safety

As the State of Mental Health in Sales Report highlighted, vulnerability is one of the primary unmet needs of sales teams. Psychological safety—the ability to speak up in an organization without fear of punishment or humiliation—is an important way to improve wellbeing and overall team motivation.

This can help your team feel comfortable:

Expressing unmet needs
Suggesting innovative ideas
Admitting when they need help
Letting you know when they’ve made mistakes

Our Psychological Safety team journey, created in collaboration with Harvard Business School’s Amy Edmonson, can help dramatically improve your team’s sense of psychological safety.

4. Prioritize Coaching for Performance Improvement

Confidence is key to a successful sales experience. If your team isn’t confident, they’re unlikely to perform as well, which will likely lead to decreased levels of motivation. Part of motivating your sales team, therefore, is working to boost their confidence and sales proficiency.
This process entails much more than simply writing a script and teaching salespeople how to say it—the best salespeople identify and address customers’ needs instead of simply reciting a script to them.

This requires training from leadership to ensure that your team is effective at what they do. A great way to facilitate this training is leveraging one of Teamraderie’s virtual experiences—interactive live workshops intended to improve desired outcomes.

In our Team Energy experience, Tina Patterson, founder of Outcomes Over Hours, helps your team learn how to amplify productivity by harnessing their energy sources.

5. Show Appreciation and Recognition

Gallup and Workhuman recently partnered to produce an employee recognition survey. According to this report, approximately 81% of leaders don’t make recognition a priority in the workplace.

The survey highlights that when employees feel appreciated for their work, they’re 56% less likely to be actively or passively seeking a new job. They also report experiencing:

A stronger sense of engagement
Increased loyalty to their company
Increased likelihood of feeling like their company is a great place to work
A stronger sense of inclusion and belonging
Increased likelihood of feeling like they can grow at their company

The same is true for sales teams. Recognition can go a long way in boosting motivation and wellbeing.

This appreciation can come in the form of:

Financial appreciation: Bonuses, incentives for meeting quotas, etc.
Verbal appreciation: Recognition of individual strengths and appreciation of each employee

According to HBR, employees need both recognition and appreciation. It’s important to reward strong performance, but it’s equally critical to appreciate your employees’ inherent value.

Teamraderie’s Employee Appreciation experience is an excellent way to ensure that each team member feels valued by both their leadership and coworkers. In this live workshop, your team will be given the opportunity to discuss and receive positive feedback from participants. This can improve your team’s empathy as well as overall sense of inclusion and belonging,

6. Have a Clear Career Development Roadmap

The State of Mental Health in Sales Report highlighted the fact that teams need clarity and direction in their long-term career path. It’s important to communicate this with your team to help them remain motivated in their individual role.

This can also help reduce turnover, since if your employees know how their career can grow with your company long-term, they’re more likely to stay with you.

Make sure to clearly communicate the following:

What are some ways their current role will develop skills that will benefit their individual career in or outside your company?
What internal opportunities for growth does your company offer, either lateral or horizontal?
How will compensation in their current role adjust as they progress in your organization?
Is there a clear path to a leadership or management role if they stay with your company?

One way to help your employees feel valued and motivated is to invest in them. Helping them learn a new soft skill, for example, can show them that you’re committed to their individual career development whether or not it’s with your company. It also benefits your organization by growing their skill set while they’re in their current role.

Our Adaptation Through Improvisation experience is an excellent way to help your team bond, as well as learning skills that benefit both your team and your individual employees. This live experience, led by jazz musician and management professor Frank Barrett, will help your team learn how to adapt together and improve your creative problem solving skills.

7. Align Your Team With Company Values

It’s incredibly demotivating for salespeople to feel like their hard work isn’t making a meaningful difference. Worse—salespeople might be confronted with an unhappy customer who claims the product or service impacted their life negatively.

It’s important for your team to understand the value of their work—not just to the company, but to the real world.

The first step to helping your employees understand the impact of their work is ensuring that your products or services make a positive difference. However, it’s equally important to effectively communicate this positive impact to your sales team. This will not only enable them to convey it to customers but also foster a sense of fulfillment in their work.

A great way to accomplish this is to help your leaders effectively communicate your team’s shared values to help your team improve. Our Values-Based Leadership experience, hosted by former Olympic medalist and American sports commentator Summer Sanders, helps managers align on shared values and help others perform better as a result.

Motivate Your Team During Your Next Sales Kickoff

Sales kickoffs (SKOs) are excellent opportunities to motivate your sales team. Whether in-person or remote, SKOs serve as excellent opportunities to show appreciation, build your team’s sense of belonging, and grow your skill set.

Since over 60% of salespeople want hands-on soft skills development and team building opportunities during their SKO, Teamraderie’s extensive list of experiences is perfect for your next SKO.

If you’d like to supercharge your next SKO event, consider taking our brief quiz to learn which experience is perfect for your team. In the meantime, consider checking out our list of 60+ outcomes-based experiences to find the perfect fit for your sales team.

How To Align Your Sales and Marketing Teams

Aligning sales and marketing can be a headache for leaders. Both departments serve a critical role in revenue generation, but have different methods. In order for these processes to align, the teams themselves must learn to communicate effectively and align on goals and objectives.

Marketing and sales both aim to generate revenue, but their roles differ. Marketing focuses on creating awareness and interest in a product or service, setting the stage for a potential sale. On the other hand, sales teams are responsible for closing the deal and converting leads into customers. As a result, the metrics tracked by these teams may vary, despite their shared objective of revenue generation.

Here’s an overview of the importance of sales and marketing alignment, as well as six actionable tips to help your teams achieve it.

The Importance of Sales and Marketing Alignment

When a product or service doesn’t meet expectations, it’s common to seek a solution. Instead of focusing solely on enhancing individual departments, leaders should also consider identifying any possible misalignments between them.

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), companies often invest significant resources into enhancing their sales and marketing teams without realizing that the underlying issue lies in the misalignment between the two.

If sales and marketing aren’t on the same page, the following can occur:

Unclear or conflicting messaging
Unmet customer expectations
Demotivated sales team
Company resources wasted
Unnecessary organizational friction

Aligning your team can help fix these problems, but despite this, approximately 90% of marketing and sales teams report misalignment.

6 Ways to Align Your Sales and Marketing Teams

The intersection of sales and marketing is colloquially referred to as “Smarketing.” If these two teams work in silos, you’re missing out on significant opportunities for revenue growth.

Here are six tips to help these two teams align.

1. Facilitate Conversations

Establishing effective communication between sales and marketing teams is crucial for aligning their efforts. Without accessible interdepartmental communication channels, it becomes challenging for them to synchronize their goals and objectives.

In addition to offering communication channels, it’s crucial for leaders to foster an environment where sales and marketing teams are comfortable communicating with each other. This requires communication skills, as well as a psychologically safe environment.

An excellent way to improve communication between these departments is to facilitate conversations intended to improve their communication skills. Teamraderie’s LEGO experience is designed for this purpose, and is an excellent way to facilitate communication between departments.

Another important step of communication is learning how to ask better questions. Another Teamraderie experience, Asking Questions for Better Communication, can help your team learn how to accomplish this.

2. Build Connection and Trust

Communication is only one component of Smarketing—building trust is key.

A foundation of connection and trust can go a long way in ensuring the teams don’t just align, but stay aligned. Getting them on the same page is important, but if there’s no process in place to establish trust and open communication channels, they’re unlikely to stay aligned.

Teamraderie hosts a wide range of virtual experiences intended to build trust. For example, our beer tasting experience can provide a virtual happy hour for your teams, which is an excellent way for them to connect with one another.

3. Align on Goals and Metrics

Sales and marketing have similar end goals, but they use different metrics to measure their objectives. For example, while sales is primarily focused on revenue generation, marketing considers additional metrics such as attribution.

In order to enhance their effectiveness, it’s crucial for both teams to be aware of the metrics being tracked by the other department. For example, it’s often difficult to track the return on investment (ROI) of multichannel marketing, since many of these involve monitoring vanity metrics such as likes and shares.

These metrics hold significant value for marketing teams as they highlight word-of-mouth opportunities and the buyer’s journey. However, sales teams may not fully recognize their significance as their primary focus is on the final sale.

Our goal-setting experience, led by decorated Paralympic athlete Tatyana McFadden, is intended to help your team align on objective and set purposeful goals together. It’s a great way to bring these two teams together and align on the metrics that are most important to track.

4. Prioritize Content and Messaging

Content and messaging misalignment is a common issue faced by around 97% of marketing and sales teams. One instance of this is when marketing creates content without involving the sales team, while the sales team may create content that is overly focused on sales and fails to address customer needs.

Some of the common channels used by marketing include:

Blog posts
Advertisements
Social media posts
Emails

Whereas sales channels often include:

Cold calls
Emails
Product demonstrations
Conventions

Sales and marketing teams must prioritize maintaining consistent and cohesive communication with customers to avoid any confusion or inconsistency. It’s crucial for customers to perceive the company’s communication as seamless throughout their entire journey, from the initial contact to the final purchase.

Our NASCAR experience, led by NASCAR’s first pit crew coach, can help your team learn important collaboration skills and adopt flexibility mindsets. By applying the knowledge and insights gained from this experience, your team can ensure consistent and effective customer communication across various channels.

5. Align on Company Values

A great way to facilitate alignment is by identifying the areas in which your teams are already aligned. Company values are a great place to start. Your team likely already agrees with the company values—and if they don’t, they might not be the best fit for your organization to begin with.

Consider your company vision and mission statements. These preexisting areas of alignment can serve as a starting point for discussions about messaging, metrics, and other key areas of alignment.

If you’re hoping to improve your team’s performance, our values-based leadership experience is a great place to start. This specialized workshop caters to managers and leaders, equipping them with the knowledge to foster team improvement through shared values. It offers marketing and sales leaders an opportunity to enhance collaboration skills and identify common ground to drive team performance.

6: Emphasize Alignment During Your Next SKO

Sales kickoff events (SKOs) are excellent opportunities to make sure your sales and marketing teams are on the same page. These events provide opportunities to:

Build team connection
Learn new soft skills
Brainstorm and innovate
Bring your teams into alignment
And more

A great way to facilitate this alignment is by prioritizing team building during your next SKO. The right experience can maximize the value of your gathering, while ensuring that your team grows closer together.

Bring Your Teams Into Alignment With Teamraderie

Team building is an excellent way to build bridges between sales and marketing.

Our extensive list of team building experiences provides a wide range of options to boost specific outcomes such as:

Connection
Collaboration
Alignment
Skills development
Education
And more

If you’re interested in learning more about how Teamraderie can help you improve your team’s performance or supercharge your next sales kickoff, consider checking out our 60+ experiences to find the one that works best for your team.

9 Ways to Build Meaningful Customer Relationships

For B2B sellers, building meaningful customer relationships can be challenging. According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), building virtual relationships adds an additional challenge. In today’s increasingly virtual world, however, learning how to foster positive relationships over long distances is crucial.

The problem is that traditional sales tactics often don’t work when it comes to digital B2B selling. Modern B2B buyers typically only spend 17% of their time interacting with potential suppliers, and the rest is spent conducting research, meeting internally, or other similar activities. This means that touch points with customers need to be meaningful and impactful since they occur less frequently than before.

The good news is that there are several ways this can be accomplished. Teamraderie’s experiences, for example, can facilitate important conversations with stakeholders and make your interactions more meaningful.

The experiences are led by notable people and are highly-engaging and research-based. Overall, they’ve resulted in:

35% more executive engagement
50% more stakeholder engagement
20% higher pipeline win rate

Here’s an overview of nine ways to build impactful relationships with customers, as well as some specific strategies you can use to engage buyers virtually.

9 Ways to Build Meaningful Customer Relationships

According to insights gleaned from Nick Mehta, Dan Steinman, and Lincoln Murphy’s book, “Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue,” there are several steps leaders can take to build meaningful relationships with their customers.

These steps include:

Defining your customers
Setting clear expectations
Measuring your successes
Taking purposeful action based on the data
Personalizing the experience
Proactively checking in with your customers
Getting to know your customers personally
Going above and beyond
Prioritizing employee experience

Here’s an overview of each of these steps in more detail.

1. Clearly Define Your Customer

The first step to building a meaningful customer relationship is to understand them. Treating every customer the same way isn’t going to be effective, since everyone is different.

Make sure you begin your customer relationship by defining and understanding the following:

Customer needs
Pain points
Goals
Challenges

If you have existing relationships with customers, interacting with them can provide valuable insights into potential future buyers.

Hosting an experience through Teamraderie can open the door to these types of conversations. Teamraderie experiences are virtual or hybrid gatherings where you invite one or multiple customers in order to achieve a specific goal:

Deepen relationships/trust with existing stakeholders
Get to know new contacts
Celebrate moments
And more

Our snack journey around the world, for example, is a great way to connect with buyers and get to know them better. This will help you better define your ideal customer, and set up potential renewals for success.

2. Set Clear Expectations

Setting clear expectations is an important part of building a relationship with your customers, since it serves as the foundation for your connection with them. Upfront honesty increases feelings of trust and keeps you on the same page.

Make sure your customers understand the following:

What they can expect from you
What you need from them
How you’re going to deliver value to them

By providing a clear roadmap, you can build feelings of connection through transparency, and continue to improve your relationship as you meet and exceed those expectations.

3. Measure Success

Quantitative data is a valuable tool for determining what’s going right, and what areas can be improved.

According to HBR, some of the metrics you should consider measuring include:

Efficiency
Speed
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Customer surveys
Recurring revenue
Churn rate
Account health

These metrics include a combination of both internal and external factors. It’s important to make sure you’re continuously improving your internal processes, but it’s also crucial to track customer satisfaction.

4. Act on Data

Once you’ve collected the results of your quantitative analysis, it’s important to take actionable steps to improve your customer experience (CX), which is everything your company does to prioritize the customer and ensure their needs are met.

Use the data you collected to identify customers who are at risk of churning. Then take steps to intervene and prevent this churn.

For example, partnering with Teamraderie to facilitate an experience can help you deliver an impactful account touch in a short time. Our virtual ice cream experience can help you demonstrate appreciation in a unique way, providing a moment of joy in their day.

5. Personalize Your Interactions

In a study of B2B customers, the majority would gladly trade time for connection. In other words, they’d prefer connecting with humans over getting their problem solved quickly.

For this reason, it’s critical to make your CX as personalized as possible. Seek to understand your customers’ individual needs and preferences and facilitate opportunities to connect on an individual level.

Our virtual Tartine Bakery experience can help you connect with customers through a shared tasting experience. If you want an experience that focuses on goal-setting and planning, our “Sleigh Your Goals” experience—led by Olympian Simidele Adeagbo—is a great choice.

Each of our experiences is designed to improve connection and offer a unique means of interacting with customers in a personal, memorable, and impactful way.

6. Proactively Check In

Proactive customer service is becoming increasingly important to B2B buyers. For this reason, approximately 75% of organizations view it as extremely important to successful customer service, and 52% are increasing their budget to provide this level of proactive service.

Don’t wait for customers to come to you with problems. Instead, routinely check in with them to see how they’re doing and if there’s anything they need. Listening is a crucial skill here.

Teamraderie’s experiences create a structured way to engage with people at the account and can help you identify areas where you can be of assistance.

7. Get to Know Them Personally

Metrics like NPS and churn rate are important to track, and can provide valuable insights into your CX. However, quantitative data ultimately falls short when it comes to truly understanding your customers.

According to Gallup, becoming a trusted partner requires human-to-human interaction.

One of the best ways to personalize your CX is to get to know your customers personally. Forming this kind of connection can increase trust, and recognize the value you provide.

Taking customers out to dinner or drinks is a common way to connect with them. This can be costly when working with people who live far away, however.

The right virtual experience can facilitate these positive interactions while also decreasing the time it takes to close deals. As was previously mentioned, sellers who partner with Teamraderie to connect with their buyers on average experience a 20% increase in their pipeline win rate.

8. Go Above and Beyond

An excellent way to show your customers that you value and appreciate them is to go above and beyond in providing excellent customer service.

Your first priority should be to meet their needs. However, taking the extra step and providing additional value will go a long way in strengthening your positive relationship with them.

An excellent way to accomplish this is by engaging your accounts with distinctive experiences from Teamraderie.

Share coffee or tea while having conversations that move the deal closer to closing, or develop your creativity together by learning how to think outside the box. Each of our experiences offers unique benefits that you can share with your customers to increase engagement and connection.

9. Prioritize Your Employees

Employee experience (EX) is your employees’ interactions with your organization, and how those interactions impact their well-being, role, and satisfaction.

Treating CX and EX as two completely different things is a common mistake leaders make. According to HBR, factors like employee burnout and frustration can result in poor CX, since your customers will likely interact with your team.

If you’re hoping to make your CX as positive as possible, it’s important not to neglect your team.

Teamraderie has a variety of experiences designed to improve various outcomes in your organization, from connection and inclusion to innovation and communication.

Building Meaningful Customer Connections With Teamraderie

Partnering with Teamraderie to deliver experiences to customers is an excellent way to foster meaningful relationships with your them.

For example, a leading SaaS organization with more than 100 customers partnered with Teamraderie and discovered that 85% of their customers rated them as a more engaging and effective partner as a result.

If you’re interested in learning more, click here to learn more about how Teamraderie can help you engage with your customers and deepen your relationships with them. If you’re ready to take the next steps, browse our experiences to find one that fits your needs.

Click here to learn more about how to build better and more meaningful customers with Teamraderie

7 Ways To Rapidly Improve Team Productivity

Today’s workers are struggling with productivity. In 2023, overall worker productivity increased at a rate of only 1.1%, which is the slowest growth since 1981. This is largely due to decreased workforce participation.

Leaders need to ensure they’re optimizing their workforce. Unfortunately, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to force productivity through micromanagement. This method isn’t effective.

If you’re trying to achieve organizational success, prioritizing team productivity is more effective than hyper-focusing on underperforming individuals.

Here’s an overview of the importance of team productivity and seven ways you can quickly and effectively improve it.

The Importance of Team Productivity

Most people don’t work in isolation—they’re typically part of a larger team. While offering encouragement to individual employees is important, when employees aren’t productive, it’s often a symptom of a bigger problem.

These problems can include:

Lack of connection with their team
Struggles with collaboration and communication
High levels of stress and burnout
Low morale and motivation
Lack of inclusion and belonging

Creating a positive work environment that emphasizes well-being, connection, trust, and commitment can not only improve individual productivity, but team productivity as well.

7 Ways To Improve Team Productivity

1. Prioritize Team Well-being

There’s a strong correlation between well-being and productivity. Gallup estimates that teams that aren’t thriving have:

61% increased chances of burnout
66% more likely to worry regularly
48% more likelihood of daily stress

Despite these metrics, only a quarter of employees agree that their organization cares about their well-being. Furthermore, approximately 40% of employees have stated that their job has negatively impacted their mental health.

An excellent first step is facilitating an experience aimed at enhancing well-being, such as our virtual terrarium workshop. In addition to creating a terrarium, your team will be led in a conversation with a well-being expert to discuss self-care and personal growth.

2. Encourage Physical Activity

Physical activity has been demonstrated to improve job performance. When employees take breaks throughout the day to exercise, they experience benefits such as:

Improved sleep
Higher levels of vigor the next day
Better focus the next day

A recent study demonstrated that micro workouts—multiple small short exercises throughout the day—can help to prevent 12.8% of long-term sickness absences.

Our live virtual experience, Brains, Bones, and Body Booster for Better Performance, equips your team to engage in routine resistance training throughout the workday. Led by fitness expert and celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza, this experience provides the tools and insights to effectively engage in physical activity and improve team performance.

3. Facilitate Intentional Breaks

Despite the importance of taking breaks throughout the day, many employees avoid breaks and also work overtime.

According to HBR, a great way for teams to take a break is by connecting with one another—particularly if they’re distributed. A Teamraderie experience can help facilitate this connection.

For example, our Tartine Bakery and French Press Coffee & Tea Experience is a great way to help your team bond over a shared tasting experience, increasing feelings of inclusion and belonging.

4. Create a Flexible Work Environment

Today’s employees want flexibility. A large number work from home at least part-time, and many have autonomy over their work hours. According to Gartner, when employees are given flexibility, the number of high-performing workers increases by approximately 40%.

Gartner recommends three ways to increase flexibility in a way that maximizes productivity:

Give employees the option to select when and where they complete their work
Analyze each role’s activities and identify which ones can be flexible
Encourage managers and team members to share best practices for flexibility with each other

In order to maximize productivity in a flexible environment, it’s important for leaders to help their team work smarter rather than harder. In our experience, Amplify Productivity: Harness your Team’s Energy, Tina Paterson, founder and CEO of Outcomes Over Hours, leads your team in a conversation to accomplish tangible results while working from anywhere.

5. Leverage Generative AI

An HBR article reports that generative AI could increase global productivity by 7% between 2023 and 2033. Companies that don’t take advantage of this advancement in technology are likely to get left behind.

Likewise, however, organizations shouldn’t overuse generative AI or rely too heavily on it.

While some companies are reducing their workforce and replacing them with AI, others are leveraging AI to create value for employees and the organization alike.

Wondering how your company can utilize AI to create value? In our generative AI experience, leadership and AI professor Paul Leonardi walks your team through the STEP framework he developed to help companies leverage AI effectively.

6. Show Recognition and Appreciation

One way to bolster productivity is through appreciation. Employees that feel recognized and appreciated tend to have less absenteeism, more engagement, and stay longer at their company.

This translates to increased productivity. Appreciation (a genuine thank you) improves the chances of employees putting in extra effort by approximately 69%.

Despite this, only 23% of employees say they’re recognized for the amount of work they complete.

If your employees are among the 77% who don’t feel recognized, showing them that you appreciate them could be a great way to quickly improve your team’s productivity. Our digital card game to show appreciation is an excellent starting point.

In this experience, your team will assign cards with various traits and characteristics to team members, and everyone will have the chance to both recognize and be recognized by colleagues.

7. Invest in Employee Experience

One of the most important factors of company success is employee experience. If your employees don’t enjoy working at your company, they aren’t likely to be productive.

Employee experience includes things like:

Well-being
Employee satisfaction
Job fit
Good relationships with coworkers
Career advancement opportunities
Purposeful work
And more

Employee experience can also be thought of as human experience. In essence, the idea that employees aren’t cogs in a machine, but are individuals with valid thoughts and feelings. This is a key component of psychological safety.

According to Gallup, twice as many employees leave because of engagement and culture rather than wages and benefits. This means that a great first step to improving your employee experience is by helping your team connect with each other. Taking the time to unify your employees will go a long way in improving their overall experience.

Improving Productivity With Teamraderie

If you’re hoping to improve your team’s productivity, consider trying out Teamraderie’s pilot program.

This is a great way to increase your team’s performance quickly. Over 90% of Teamraderie pilot customers experienced at least 18% boost in productivity & performance, and most had a 30% increase in productivity in just 90 days.

A simple Teamraderie pilot program involves:

Baseline: Use an employee experience survey to determine where your team stands on key issues you want to improve
Effective action: Each team and their managers will complete two Teamraderie experiences
Productivity & performance: The teams will complete a survey to gauge team dynamics data impacting productivity
Measurement: An EX survey will be used to measure EX scores relative to non-enrolled teams.

Whether your company has 10k or 100k employees, Teamraderie helps you through the entire process from start to finish.

Want to rapidly improve your team’s productivity? Consider trying the Teamraderie Pilot Program and experience tangible results in as little as three months. If you’re searching for an individual experience, check out our selection of over 60 outcomes-based experiences.

Click here to learn more about the Teamraderie Pilot Program and how it can improve team productivity in as little as 3 months

From Urgency to Resilience: Leading Through Ambiguity in Turbulent Times

If there is one thing that is troublesome for both employees and leaders alike, it’s uncertainty. As humans, we experienced one of the most uncertain periods in history as we navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, never quite knowing what was or wasn’t safe, when it would end, or whether normalcy would ever return. Even today, as the pandemic is no longer a global emergency, we continue to experience ambiguity, and the importance of leading through uncertainty has become a core leadership competency. As Harvard Business Review authors Amy Edmonson and Michaela Kerrissey explain, “We have shifted from the sudden crisis of the pandemic’s arrival to what we call a sustained crisis — a period of ongoing intense difficulty and uncertainty” (HBR).

It might be hard to believe, but navigating a sustained crisis can pose even more challenges for leaders than a sudden crisis. During a sustained crisis, we lose the “benefit of the doubt” that handling a sudden crisis on a global scale often affords us. In a sustained crisis, we are now simply expected to know what to do. Today, our workforces are still dealing with the effects of the pandemic, even if we may not be in the midst of it. Whether it’s managing a hybrid workforce, asking people to return to an office, or battling the ongoing effects of the mental health crises Covid exposed, leaders in today’s workforce “must help their teams make sense of the contrast between a sudden and a sustained crisis to cultivate the right mindset for succeeding in this new terrain” (HBR).

The challenges experienced during a sustained crisis are often more subtle and less urgent. They require a level of resilience within a team and comfort with ambiguity that can be difficult for leaders and employees to master. While stressful, sometimes the instant reward of making quick decisions and taking decisive action can be empowering for a leader and engender a sense of awe and inspiration in the workforce. In a sustained crisis, decision-making must be more intentional and proactive and can require a willingness to experiment – and a willingness to fail.

In sustained crises, a workforce may be less likely to forgive failed actions, and perhaps judge more harshly – which is why it’s incredibly important to acknowledge the moment your workforce is in. Let your team know that you’re consciously making a shift from the chaos of the pandemic to truly learning how to exist in the post-pandemic world. Focus on communication and transparency to ensure people know that you’ve moved from a reactive “survival-mode” environment to one that requires deliberate thought and intentional action.

Leaders should also ensure they purposefully slow down their teams and allow them to catch their breath. Unlike the pandemic, the urgency to move quickly is no longer required, and the opportunity to experiment has returned. Yet breaking the “urgency response” takes some real effort as “urgency can become habitual, leaving many teams breathlessly rushing through agenda items in a way that inhibits questions and consideration long after the emergency has faded. Leaders play a vital role in breaking these habits” (HBR). Rather than move from one decision or task to another, take time to discuss these things with your teams, get feedback, and take the opportunity to test hypotheses to ensure you’re making the best decisions instead of the fastest ones.

It takes skilled and resilient leaders to successfully lead through uncertainty. While we are incredibly grateful to have the height of the COVID pandemic behind us, the challenges those years of uncertainty caused will continue to surface, and it will be increasingly important for leaders and employees alike to overcome these challenges. Teamraderie offers a unique opportunity for teams to tackle this head-on. Navigate and conquer uncertainty by taking a Psychological Safety Journey together. Reach out to us today to create an environment where teams thrive, resilience abounds, and ambiguity is not feared – but welcomed!

Does a Positive Work Environment Create a More Productive Team?

We spend a lot of time at work. Heck, even when we’re not physically at work, mentally, we’re often there. Over the past several decades, work has gone from a job to a career to one of the most important and defining aspects of our lives. Work can influence our moods, our families, and our overall well-being – financial and otherwise.

This changing work dynamic puts a new emphasis on the work environment, and the importance of the workplace being perceived as a positive place to be. The appeal of the cut-throat, up-or-out culture is diminishing, and more often than not, people want the workplace to be one that is fulfilling and collaborative.

Michigan State University has written about the importance of positive work environments and defines them as “workplaces where there is trust, cooperation, safety, risk-taking support, accountability, and equity.” Employees want to know that their colleagues and their managers have their backs, that toxic behavior will not be tolerated, and that they can safely express ideas and opinions without backlash. In many ways, the positive workplace mimics an ideal family dynamic. One that is supportive, is fair, and is caring.

It may seem like fluff to some executives, but data tells us that the benefits of a positive work environment are real. Leaders who think their workers will perform their best when under pressure and stress are in fact costing their organizations more money. According to HBR, healthcare expenditures increased by almost 50% in high-stress work environments. HBR notes research from The American Psychological Association which “estimates that more than $500 billion is siphoned off from the U.S. economy because of workplace stress, and 550 million workdays are lost each year due to stress on the job. Sixty percent to 80% of workplace accidents are attributed to stress, and it’s estimated that more than 80% of doctor visits are due to stress. Workplace stress has been linked to health problems ranging from metabolic syndrome to cardiovascular disease and mortality.” Making a deliberate effort to change the culture can positively impact the costs of healthcare – arguably one of the most exorbitant expenses US organizations face.

In addition to healthcare, employee turnover is also directly impacted by workplace culture. According to Forbes, “96% of employees believe showing empathy is an important way to advance employee retention.” We hear a lot about empathy these days, but what is it exactly? According to the Center for Creative Leadership, “empathy is the ability to perceive and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experiences of others. Those with high levels of empathy are skilled at understanding a situation from another person’s perspective and reacting with compassion.” As a leader, being able to accept and understand the emotions and experiences of others is a key component of success. Rather than disregard someone’s experience as a “one-off”, leaders should accept and consider those experiences, and allow them to influence how s/he leads. This will greatly impact engagement, retention, as well as employee happiness.

And let’s face it – it feels good to be happy! Cultivating a positive working environment will yield happier employees. This matters! It doesn’t only impact your employees, but customers as well. “Employee happiness is even more important to a business that requires client-facing roles, whether in person, over the phone or via email, as customers form opinions about a company based on their interactions with workers. Walk into a store full of happy staff members, and your experience is bound to be more pleasant, for example” (EU Business School). Focus on employee happiness and watch the ripple effects across your organization – and beyond.

Making a concerted effort to create a positive work environment protects your organization’s most valuable asset – its people! Organizations with a people-focused approach will reap the benefits of cost savings, happy customers, and loyal employees. Get started today.

Why Professional Growth Requires Learning From Failure

The fear of failure is real. As humans, we fear failure from an early age and in many settings, be it on the ball field or at the workplace. Failure stings and often elicits feelings of humiliation and shame. But what if we told you failure is in fact a good thing? Or that it’s one of the only things that can encourage true growth? Yes, we’ve all heard of the trendy new term “growth mindset” which infers that without failure, we have no growth. Yet, while your HR department and leadership team might say it in company meetings, we must actually believe it, because while “success may increase confidence, [it] rarely, if ever, builds wisdom. Only failure can do that, and only if we let it” (Forbes).

Turn Failure into Wisdom

Allowing failure to build wisdom is the trick. Too often, because of either pride or embarrassment, we humans want to gloss over failures as quickly as possible. Sometimes, we look for opportunities to place blame on something – or worse – on someone. As shared by Amy Edmondson for HBR, “Failure and fault are virtually inseparable in most households, organizations, and cultures. Every child learns at some point that admitting failure means taking the blame. That is why so few organizations have shifted to a culture of psychological safety in which the rewards of learning from failure can be fully realized.” The “blame game” is a toxic trait of employees and managers alike, and organizations who do not embrace failure will experience the negative effects of this toxicity.

In the workplace, it’s critical to accept failure as a possibility, as well as to do the work to learn from that failure truly. This will not only encourage innovation, but it will reduce the fear of “owning up” to a failure or mistake. Organizations must encourage the pursuit of accountability, and in doing so, celebrate those who accept accountability and truly learn from their mistakes. Edmonson writes that leaders “should insist that their organizations develop a clear understanding of what happened—not of “who did it”—when things go wrong.”

A failure is an important learning opportunity for organizations, and without ownership of a failure, those benefits will rarely be reaped. Accept failure as a fact of doing important work, and then develop processes for collaboratively learning from those failures. When employees realize that failure is simply part of the work, they will feel safer taking more calculated risks that may benefit the organization and willingly accepting responsibility when things don’t go as planned.

Now, that’s not to say organizations should encourage reckless behavior. Let’s be honest: organizations want success more than they want failure. However, more often than not, success only comes after failure (and sometimes a lot of it! It’s said to have taken Thomas Edison 10,000 attempts to master the invention of the lightbulb). So, find opportunities to collaborate on new and exciting work. Build a culture of awareness – one that encourages thoughtful, cooperative, and calculated risks infused with empathy, accountability, and ownership. Own the failures as you would own the wins: when you fail together, you win together.

Learning to accept and embrace failure is the start of a psychological safety journey for organizations. This is arguably one of the most critical journeys on which an organization can embark. It is the foundation of creating an innovative, communicative, and accountable work environment where toxicity is not tolerated and teamwork is prioritized.

Is your organization ready to think big, fail gracefully, and innovate fearlessly? Bring your team on a psychological safety journey co-created with Amy Edmondson today!

Unlocking Employee Potential: The Power of Career Development Opportunities

In today’s fast-moving, highly-scrutinized business environment, attracting and retaining top talent is essential for organizations to remain competitive. Employees, current and future, care deeply about how an organization is going to support them – both as employees and as people. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate that support is by providing career development opportunities that unlock the full potential of employees.

While career development can come in a variety of forms, it encompasses professional training, mentorship, and education coordinated by an employer to help employees advance their skills, and in turn, their careers. This might consist of offering employees on-the-job training, higher education reimbursement, a professional coach, or even opportunities to attend conferences. And don’t be mistaken – these opportunities don’t necessarily have to always signal upward mobility. In some cases, this might mean training to do an existing job more efficiently or exposure to a different area of a business.

Give the People What They Want!

You heard it here – employees in today’s workforce crave professional development. This isn’t the workforce of the mid-1900s. Work is no longer just a job – it’s a career. For many Americans (for better or worse!), it’s where we spend most of our time and where we seek ultimate fulfillment. For many of us, there’s no better place to continuously learn, grow and expand than at work.

The exposure to new opportunities that dedicated career development provides is unmatched. Consider a young professional within your organization. Creating her own opportunities can be challenging, especially if she’s at the bottom of the leadership ladder. However, having a company that has invested in her development opens doors. She can network with others in her organization through a mentorship program; she can learn more about her industry by attending a conference or event; she can expand her skillset by getting on-the-job training from a more seasoned colleague. These opportunities are meaningful for both her and the organization – but they require organized investment and dedication from the company to make them viable.
And when it comes down to it – for many employees, more skills means more money. Ideally, employees will grow their skillset and become more marketable in their own organization. With carefully crafted development plans, creating an environment that not only provides opportunity but that also provides support, empathy, and communication is a recipe for increased engagement and job satisfaction. In some cases, employees might gain enough skills that they find employment elsewhere. Rather than view this as a risk, consider it the benefit of growing a new industry leader – and you never know, the boomerang employee is a real concept!

Benefits for the Company

Research from Monster in the Fall of 2021 suggested that “45 percent of surveyed employees said they would be more likely to stay at their current jobs if they were offered more training. Develop your employees’ careers, and they’ll reward you with improved performance and higher retention” (Builtin.com). When employees feel valued and see a clear path for their career growth, they become more engaged in their work. This translates to increased productivity, higher quality work, and a more positive work environment.

Career development can also greatly improve team performance. Providing regular opportunities for an entire team or subset of the workforce will not only keep them on top of industry trends and advancements but will equip them to more effectively and efficiently fulfill their responsibilities. It also encourages a culture of continuous learning, so that even without company-defined development opportunities, employees are seeking ways to improve their skills. This can lead to improved job performance and a more skilled workforce overall. A win-win!

While you’re at it, take the opportunity to promote career development – both internally and externally! Celebrating career development opportunities can greatly enhance your employer brand. Encourage colleagues who attend a conference or take a course to share about it on professional networks. Companies that invest in employee development are seen as more attractive employers. This can help attract top talent and increase the organization’s brand reputation.

Implementing a Meaningful Career Development Plan

It’s easy to discuss the benefits of coordinated career development, but actually implementing it can be overwhelming. It is ultimately the role of the employer to define what career development will look like, and how to structure the program to benefit the employee and the organization.

To start, organizations should evaluate the business benefits of a structured career program. As shared by HRSG, “While self-guided career development is about empowering employees to take greater responsibility for shaping their careers, the framework of development options needs to align with the needs and priorities of the organization. If the business goal is to retain employees, the development opportunities on offer may be very different than if the goal is to boost profitability, or to reinforce organizational culture.” Ensuring the career development plans align with business goals will not only help the business achieve those goals, but it will increase employee engagement by tying their career development to a broader organizational purpose. Contributing to the advancement of the business by developing one’s own skills is a powerful concept.

Organizations will also be well served to meet with employees and understand what types of career development they’re looking for. This could be accomplished through 1:1 conversations with employees, but perhaps more easily achieved by sending out an employee survey. This will give anonymous, honest feedback that allows a business to understand what employees are most interested in. You might learn that employees are looking for a dedicated mentor, or that they want to advance in their role. Perhaps, they want more exposure to other departments within the business. This is meaningful data that requires analysis and consideration prior to launching.

Finally, be sure to promote the career development program. Train your managers on the power of career development, and ensure they are encouraging their teams to participate. Recognize employees who are taking advantage of the career development program and celebrate when they have success! Promoting the program by celebrating successes will not only engage those already involved but pique the interest of those who are not.

Demonstrated investment in career development is a consummate win-win for the entire workforce – leadership and employees alike. By providing opportunities for learning and growth, companies can create a culture of engagement and continuous learning that fosters a skilled workforce equipped to meet the challenges of today’s evolving business environments.

Winning Hearts and Minds: 5 Strategies for Overcoming Employee Resistance to Change

Change may be the only constant in life but knowing that doesn’t make accepting it any easier. Change can be especially problematic at work as employees are known to resist change. Not only because it’s scary, but because it can make people feel exposed and unsure. “People have trouble developing a vision of what life will look like on the other side of change. Therefore, they tend to cling to the known rather than embrace the unknown” (Ohio State University).

As organizations introduce change, it’s important to prepare for this resistance and to roll out plans for change in a thoughtful, strategic, and empathetic way. Continue reading for five strategies organizations should consider when undergoing a critical change.

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate!

When introducing change to an organization, there is arguably nothing more important than developing a clear communication plan for all stages of the change. This is reinforced by BetterUp: “It is important to cultivate a culture of transparency whenever feasible and to share information as often as possible with employees, especially when trying to navigate a change. Without it, employees can become defensive, lack trust in leadership, and not have adequate time to process the information, which leads to further pushback.” There is no quicker way to erode trust than to withhold information or share it haphazardly. For example, if the change being implemented could raise concerns about job security, get ahead of that by communicating accordingly. Make sure you are anticipating any potential concerns and addressing them during your communication strategy. Ideally, you’ll be providing answers to questions before they’re even asked!

2. Get your Leaders on Board

Involve your leaders, specifically people managers, in decisions about change early and often. Your leadership teams are most often the people representing decisions, and it will behoove an organization greatly to ensure those leaders understand what’s coming, why decisions were made, and their role in communicating any information. Leaders can also provide valuable input on potential roadblocks, allowing you to plan how to address potential challenges, instead of simply reacting to them.

Furthermore, your leaders are often managing teams, and will typically be the first to field questions from their employees. Ensure your leaders are equipped with the information they need to answer questions, support the change, and allay concerns.

3. Engage Employees in the Change Process

Much like your leaders, identifying key employees who could serve as ambassadors for change can be hugely beneficial. While it may not be logical to invite all employees into the conversation before the change is made, inviting a select group of employees to do so is a tactic worth considering. This will strategically equip key employees with information and exposure to the change ahead of time, allowing them to help their peers manage it. It also demonstrates a level of trust in those key employees, engaging them at a level they may not have been previously. This will go a long way in gaining their buy-in.

Once the change is rolled out, consider surveying all employees for their feedback. A willingness to listen once the change has been communicated demonstrates your commitment to your employees as part of the process. You may also gain some valuable insight from this feedback that could present opportunities to continuously refine the changes you initiated.

4. Provide Support during the Change

One of the biggest drivers of anxiety when it comes to change is fear of the unknown. Make sure your employees know that they’ll be adequately supported during this period of transition. For example, if the change being implemented involves a new process, technology, or tool, provide appropriate training and access to resources in order to set employees up for success. Check-in with employees regularly throughout the transition period to make sure they have what they need, and if not, find ways to mitigate this.

5. Celebrate Successes!

Change isn’t easy, so take the time to celebrate the wins – even when they are small! Celebrating success can help reinforce the benefits of the change, build momentum, and increase employee morale. Celebrations can take many forms, including recognition programs, team outings, or public acknowledgments. “Recognizing both privately and publicly those that are helping facilitate the change or adapting to it, even in small ways, can further create employee satisfaction with the changes” (BetterUp).

Resistance to change is a common challenge that organizations must overcome to support business growth in this competitive landscape. Effective communication, involving leaders and employees in the change process, providing training and support, and celebrating success are all strategies that can help to overcome employee resistance to change. By implementing these strategies, organizations can ensure that change is embraced, not feared and that their employees are invested in the success the change will bring.

Leadership is Vital in Successful Organizational Transformation

Effective leadership is the cornerstone of any successful organization but is no more vital than during times of organizational transformation. When an organization is in the midst of change, the workforce is looking to their leadership for guidance, as the “word ‘leader’ correctly implies that there is a ‘follower.’ In the business world, leaders influence or motivate others in the group to pursue business objectives, which often includes accepting change” (Modus).

Prior to undergoing major organizational transformation, the executive leadership team should be completely aware and aligned with what these changes will entail. It’s of critical importance that your executive team is equipped with the language to describe the change, encourage people to accept the change, and lead through this change. Leaders should be expected to disseminate information to their teams and to create a compelling vision that will inspire and motivate employees. Without this alignment on vision and communication, your leadership will look fractured, and you will quickly risk disengaging your workforce. As Modus shares, “Poor communication and lack of confidence in a silent management team can spawn rumors of worst-case scenarios. In times of transition, therefore, the role of motivating leadership becomes critical for providing credible and trusted communication to positively influence an organization’s reaction to change.”

Leaders should also be expected to model the behavior they want to see. If your leaders were to say one thing but do another, it would completely demotivate others from getting on board. For example, if your organizational transformation requires the adoption of a new process, make sure your leaders are leading the way in adopting these systems. Were your leaders to promote the new processes publicly, but privately still adhere to outdated ways of doing things, they will disenfranchise those being required to do so. Your leaders need to pave the path forward, and that means that they must embody the behaviors and adhere to the conditions required by the change.

In addition to your leaders representing the change effectively, building support for the change effort will require clear and consistent communication. This means there should be a communication plan that determines who will be notified of the change and when. It should ensure transparency throughout all communications. Don’t leave people guessing about how the change will affect them, but instead, share what is expected to happen and when. Having a point person on your leadership team to manage internal communications and guide this effort will be hugely important, especially during times of major organizational transformation.

It’s equally important to own it if the transformation you envisioned falls short of expectations. Demonstrate that it’s ok to take risks and to iterate as needed in the name of innovation. Present your organization as a company that embraces transformation, not as an organization that fears it. This will encourage others to view change as a positive, rather than as something to be feared because the organization’s leadership accepts failure as a possible outcome and charges ahead anyway.

Without effective leadership, the possibility of transforming your organization will go unrealized. Your leaders are the key to unlocking the benefits of change, and to ensuring your workforce embraces and adopts it. Empower your leaders with the knowledge, clear expectations, and a communication plan, and prepare to transform!

5 Tips for Giving Effective Feedback

Why Timely and Effective Feedback is Vital to Team Success

As humans, we thrive on reinforcement. We want to know that our efforts are recognized and that our contributions are meaningful. This is no more apparent than in the workplace. Consider some of your worst jobs. What made them so bad? We’d venture to guess that some of those experiences were tainted by poorly delivered feedback or a lack of communication altogether. As a leader, finding ways to give better feedback in a more meaningful, productive way will directly impact your team’s engagement and can make or break the employee experience.

And it’s not just committing to delivering feedback – it’s getting good at it. Gallup found that “67% of employees whose managers focused on their strengths were fully engaged in their work, as compared to only 31% of employees whose managers focused on their weaknesses” (HBR). Delivering only constructive feedback – even if helpful! – will over time erode an employee’s confidence, increasing disengagement and reducing productivity. Instead, choosing to emphasize what’s going well will encourage that behavior even further.

Follow along for five tips on how to give effective feedback to your team!

1. Be Specific and Timely

Many of us have been in circumstances where we’re receiving a performance review and – out of nowhere! – a piece of feedback is given that you’ve never heard before. When that feedback is negative, it not only confuses the employee, but it has robbed them of an opportunity to act on that feedback and change behavior. At worst, it can feel petty and mean. Let’s say it loud and clear: Performance Reviews are not the time to discuss performance issues that have never been addressed before. This not only undermines the process, but it undermines you as a leader.

Instead, feedback should be delivered regularly throughout an employee’s tenure. It should be given in a timely manner and should include examples of exactly what did (or did not!) go well. When something has gone well, let an employee know exactly what they did that was so important, as this will encourage that same behavior moving forward. Alternatively, if something didn’t go well, address it as quickly as possible, and share what could have been done differently. Engage the employee in the discussion so it feels like a true learning opportunity, and not just a moment of criticism.

2. Be Conscious of Where Feedback is Delivered

While delivering timely feedback is necessary – it’s equally important to be aware of where you’re delivering feedback. As noted by 15five, “Feedback isn’t just uncomfortable for the receiver, it can be uncomfortable for the giver as well. By moving the location to a more informal area, you can help to alleviate some of the underlying pressure.” Even more important is to deliver feedback in a 1:1 setting. Constructive feedback will hit poorly if it is delivered in front of others. This can leave an employee feeling defensive and embarrassed. It also limits the opportunity for conversation on how to learn from the feedback.

Alternatively, if you’re sharing positive feedback, it can be a great opportunity to share that feedback publicly – assuming the employee is comfortable. This not only sets an example for others, but also ensures other leaders are tuned into the successes of employees across an organization.

A general rule of thumb? If it’s constructive, keep it private. If it’s positive, consider opportunities for sharing public praise.

3. Accept as Much Feedback as You Give

As a leader, it’s critical to embrace feedback as a regular practice, and that includes gracefully accepting feedback given to you. Whether feedback is provided by your own manager, or upward feedback from a member of your team, receive feedback in the way you hope others will receive feedback from you. When you do receive feedback, especially from a direct report, thank them for their candor and their willingness to address it with you. Demonstrate putting that feedback into practice. As this becomes second nature for your team, get deliberate about asking for feedback. If you’ve completed a big project, ask your teams directly how things went, and whether they’d have preferred you to manage things differently. As teams become more comfortable delivering and receiving feedback, it will feel like a natural part of the workday, instead of an uncomfortable interaction.

4. Provide Purposeful Feedback

The nature of delivering feedback is to enact a change in behavior, and in turn, requires that feedback to be actionable. When providing feedback, be careful not to engage in character assassination. Instead, “focus on an employee’s behaviors (what they do) rather than on their personality traits (what they’re like)” (15five). While an employee can change a behavior, they can’t always change a core personality trait. Help them understand why a change in certain behaviors would serve them better and give them examples of what success looks like.

5. Ensure Feedback is Ongoing

Once you deliver feedback, follow up! If you’ve noticed that an employee has implemented your feedback, let them know you’ve noticed and praise them for their efforts. If the employee hasn’t responded to the feedback, follow up and ask them how you can support them in affecting change. Better yet – set up regular check-ins with your employees so the opportunity to give (and receive!) feedback is scheduled. This will create a rhythm for following up, making adjustments, and celebrating successes.

Feedback is truly an art. Committing to feedback as an ongoing leadership practice will remove the fear and discomfort of only giving it at specific times of the year. Your teams will embrace it, and engagement will soar!

Techniques and Best Practices for Managing Conflict in a Team

Managing team conflict can send shudders down the spine of even the most seasoned managers. Conflict can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In many cases, effectively managing conflict within a team can lead to greater learning and discovery.

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Conflict

We’ve all been a part of a conflict that we’d consider unhealthy. This often involves disrespectful debate, rude commentary, and an unwillingness to see the perspective of others. On the other hand, healthy conflict involves constructive commentary, productive discussion around why something should or shouldn’t happen, and usually results in people finding a middle ground. While both sides of a conflict can feel uncomfortable in the moment, healthy conflict will usually lead to some form of resolution, whereas unhealthy conflict will likely lead to resentment and tarnished egos.

As a leader, it’s important to have a grasp on when conflict can be productive, and when it’s getting out of hand. Yet, shutting down any conflict can be counterproductive. As shared by HBR, “Conflict engages. If people have no opinions, no objections, and no emotions, it usually means they don’t care.” Encouraging constructive, productive disagreement can be very beneficial. A disagreement can get people to pay attention, engage on the topic at hand, and may result in some new learning that you may not have had otherwise.

How to Turn Conflict into Positive Change

Despite the potential benefit of conflict, it can still feel very uncomfortable if not properly managed. Managing conflict effectively, especially as a leader, requires some skill. The first step in managing conflict is accepting it – get comfortable with it as a natural part of leading teams. Resist the instinct to shy away from conflict and instead embrace it as an opportunity for learning.

However, accepting conflict as a natural part of leadership doesn’t mean that you should be unprepared. If you are leading a team, especially a larger or more senior team, consider having conflict management resolutions in place. These might include developing team norms like:

Keep conversation respectful. In other words: no name-calling, lead with “I” and not “We” and avoid interruptions.
Identify a moderator. This role often naturally falls to the team leader. If things are getting too heated, know when to call it off and suggest another meeting when cooler heads prevail. The leader can also moderate the discussion to ensure all opinions are heard.
Avoid the “meeting after the meeting”. Commit to having conversations as a team and avoid continuing those conversations afterward without everyone involved. This can often lead to gossip and miscommunication, neither of which are productive forms of resolving conflict.

In addition, when discussions get heated, leaders should always anchor back to the team’s purpose. Remind the team that everyone is working toward the same outcome. Any conflict the team is experiencing is a result of that passion, and in pursuit of the best outcome possible. Sometimes just resetting the tone and anchoring back to the purpose will calm tensions by reminding the team of their common goal.

Managing Conflict Among Team Members

In some cases, the conflict may not be resolved in a team meeting, and this can cause some tension. As a leader, work to discern when it’s time to take a break and consider whether it’s appropriate to follow up with the respective team members individually. This will give a leader the opportunity to gain trust and build empathy with each colleague individually and allow them to feel heard in a less stressful setting. “Conflict often carries with it a heavy dose of emotion. One or both of your colleagues may be seriously angry. One or both may feel intimidated by the other. Meeting with each separately will give the angry colleague an opportunity to vent, give you a chance to reassure the intimidated colleague that you will listen, and may surface information ultimately useful to resolving the conflict – information that colleagues either haven’t shared with each other or haven’t heard if shared” (HBR). Playing the position of mediator can feel a little uncomfortable, but will ultimately ensure people feel heard, and allow you to drive to a resolution with a full understanding of everyone’s positions.

Conflict is guaranteed in work settings, but it’s not all bad! Successful leaders will navigate conflict in a way that not only leads to resolution, but that builds trust and empathy within teams. This trust will create a foundation of understanding and allow for healthy conflict and continuous learning.

Effective communication is a vital part of conflict resolution. If your team needs guidance and tools to improve communication skills, our Communication Journey is just what you need. Co-created with Francesca Gino, in this journey, your team will participate in four curated experiences to improve communication.

5 Tips to Improve Employee Experience

We shared in an earlier article that the employee experience is as follows: “The employee experience is the journey an employee takes with your organization.” It starts as early as attracting employees to the organization and follows the employee through their departure. It likely goes without saying that the better the employee experience, the higher an organization performs!

People and Engagement teams are putting a laser focus on the employee experience because of this direct impact on organizational success. Understandably, employees want to have a positive experience at work given the amount of time spent in the work environment. Organizations who invest in this experience will not only garner loyalty but build an employment brand that will attract employees to the organizations and – most importantly – retain them once they join.

Consider these five opportunities for improving your organization’s employee experience.

1. Invest Time in Understanding the Employee Journey

The employee experience is dependent on understanding what their journey is within your organization. Consider the different points of impact and engagement an employee experiences. Gallup describes a typical journey as:

Are all of these points of engagement operating with maximum effectiveness? Your organization might conduct an employee survey to understand where employees feel well-supported on this journey, and where they’d like to see improvement. Understanding where your gaps are can help you determine where to invest the most time and resources.

2. Request and ACT on Feedback!

Assuming your organization does choose to conduct a survey, it’s critical that survey feedback is reviewed, discussed, and acted upon. There is no easier way to disengage a workforce than to conduct a survey, only to continue on with the status quo. Understand where the pain points are, put together committees to discuss opportunities to improve and communicate how you’re using the survey data to make changes. Your actions will let your employees know you are listening!

3. Invest in Onboarding

Perhaps one of the most defining moments in shaping the employee experience is that of onboarding. Companies who invest in onboarding by ensuring their employees are provided the tools and resources they need to succeed, that they understand their role and broader purpose in the organization, and that they are properly introduced to those with whom they’ll interact will feel a sense of belonging and support from the get-go. Alternatively, employees who are left to their own devices with no dedicated onboarding plan are set up to feel disconnected, disengaged, and confused. Consider our tips for Creating a Successful Onboarding Experience for more ideas!

4. Define and Live Company Values

Many companies have values. Yet, too many of these companies simply allow them to exist as posters on a wall or mantras shared in company meetings. What does it mean to truly live into a company’s values? It means that the values are not only clearly defined, but that are incorporated into the company culture. Leadership and employees alike are held to the standards the values define. Values are screened for during the hiring process. They influence every aspect of decision-making at the leadership level. Employees can feel it when values are a part of the work-life – and they certainly notice when they’re spoken but not lived.

5. Offer Growth Opportunities

One of the most common reasons employees will give when leaving an organization is that they had “nowhere to go”. In other words, their career growth was stalled and they had limited opportunities for advancement both developmentally and financially. Research has found that “only 43% of employees feel that their employers offer good opportunities for growth and development.” Growth can mean many different things and doesn’t always have to mean upward mobility. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to work in a similar role in a different area, receive on-the-job training, or receive compensation opportunities recognizing good work and not just more responsibility. Companies may need to get creative, but growth will need to be a part of the culture to positively impact the employee experience.

The importance of the employee experience will be discussed for years to come. Organizations that choose to improve the lives of their employees deliberately and thoughtfully will undoubtedly reap the benefits of that work. It’s a true win-win – get started today!

The Worst Possible Time to Cut Investment in Your Employees

The Great Resignation Is Over

Voluntary turnover slowed sharply in late 2022 as layoffs mounted, particularly in tech. As interest rates rose and financial markets shook, employees began to cling to job security at the highest rate in years.

However, Sentiment Remains Low

Anonymous Worker Surveys Show Declining Trends

Pew research shows two negative forces. First, employee engagement declining – dropping nearly 10% since 2020. Second, their data shows the share of employees actively disengaged with work has risen by 50%.

The Current Situation Is Unstable

“The Waters Are Calm” – Your Data Suggests Everything is O.K.

In most companies, the December 2022 employee surveys showed leveling-out. Qualtrics’ 2023 engagement survey of 300,000 workers showed stabilization in engagement – particularly among tech workers.

But Discontent Remains Below the Surface

While the macro-economy is changing survey answers– the decline in quits may belie actual employee attitudes.

The same Qualtrics survey shows a surge in employees’ intent to leave their job. While engagement rose in late 2022, intent to leave rose even faster.

“When my EX survey tells me everything is ok, I simply don’t believe it,” one CHRO told us.

Avoid Another Miscalculation

2022-23 Layoffs Involved Mis-Reading the Data

Layoffs announced at tech companies were often done with CEOs issuing a mea culpa.

From Salesforce’s Marc Benioff to Stripe’s Alex Collison, CEOs who laid-off workers in late 2022 and early 2023 stated they read too much into surging demand. As economies reopened and demand surged, many executives misinterpreted demand data.

Tens of thousands of new workers were hired in 2021 and 2022 – only to be laid off in 2023 as demand reverted to baseline levels.

Could your company be making similar misjudgments when it looks at improving trends in employee experience data?

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen recently asked, “Are we looking around the corner adequately?”

Employees Are Hunkering-Down

Two-thirds of Americans believe we are in a recession or will soon be in one. A similar share report fearing job loss. Massive job cuts are happening at both trendy tech startups as well as bellwether companies such as Amazon and Salesforce.

Employees are hunkering down as they sense there are fewer external options than before. It makes more sense to ride it out where they are. It makes less sense to take a risk.

This workplace-as-bunker mentality may be particularly acute in particular sectors – like tech and financial services – that are interest rate sensitive or recession exposed.

“Constrained Rational Commitment” in 1H’23

Uber’s former head of People Analytics, RJ Milnor, said: “It helps to think about the different ways people show commitment to an organization.”

Employees Are Struggling with Fundamental Issues

Workplaces Are Struggling With “Trust”

The world of work was disrupted in 2020. While offices have reopened and new operating cadences are established, peoples’ attitudes towards the shift are unstable.

The Microsoft Work Trend Index showed 87% of employees report that they are productive at work, and productivity signals (as measured by activity in Microsoft applications) continue to climb. At the same time, 85% of leaders say that the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are being productive.

Microsoft describes the phenomenon as “Productivity Paranoia”. It shows there is a fundamentally different perspective on the same activity. Workers’ perception that bosses regard them as less than fully productive is leading to a decline in trust.

Workplaces Are Struggling with “Connection”

The Gallup Global Workplace Report found 79% of workers feel distant from their teams. The level of distance is not a pandemic-related phenomenon – the survey shows a lack of workplace connection has been in effect for several years.

Workplaces Are Characterized by More Anxiety and Stress

So what’s different? Employees are reporting higher levels of stress, anxiety, and concern in nearly every survey.

An Important Time to Be Productive

Productivity Has Not Risen Materially

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, growth in productivity since the pandemic hit now stands at about 1 percent annually, in line with the meager rate since 2010 — and far below the last stretch of robust improvement, from 1996 to 2004, when productivity grew more than 3 percent a year.

CEOs Are Pledging Productivity Increases in 2023

Investors have ratcheted-up pressure on CEOs to show productivity gains. In January 2023, Morgan Stanley recited the productivity lift expected from firms that either pledged to shed employees or change work practices to boost near-term cash flows.

Period Calling for “Rethinking”, Not Just “Scaling-Up”

Companies achieved growth in recent years by aggressively hiring – adding bodies to pursue lift in revenues. As the cost of capital has returned to baseline levels, many growth strategies need to be rethought.

“Scaling-up” operations is no longer the vaunted imperative that it was in 2015-2022.

It’s the Wrong Time to Think ‘Capital vs. Labor’ and ‘Management vs. Employees’

As companies need to identify productive ways forward and do more with less, it’s a vital time for workplaces to become more trusting and connected.

Industry thought leader Josh Bersin said, “For growth to work, everyone needs to be in it together.”

A Bad Time to Be Out of Touch

Despite Challenging Climate, It’s Time to Invest

Accomplishing a productivity lift will require CEOs to address – not ignore – the trust, connection, and anxiety levels in the workforce.

Smart Companies Are Looking Beyond EX Scores

Microsoft recently revised its approach to measuring how employees are faring. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, the company’s head of People analytics wrote, “Despite employee engagement scores that would seem to indicate that things were going well, it became clear that employees were struggling when we dived deeper into the responses.”

“We also sought to define a new, higher bar that went beyond engagement only,” she wrote. Today, Microsoft has broken-down employee fulfillment into five components and claims to have recalibrated listening systems to measure progress toward employees not feeling merely engaged – but feeling a sense of purpose.

Signals Suggest There is Work to be Done

Work Is Done by Teams – Not Individuals

In knowledge work, progress is made by teams – rather than individuals. Few challenges are sufficiently simple to be addressable by a single person or even function.

Instead, progress requires diverse skillsets to collaborate – driven by purpose and empowered by connection.

Team Productivity May Be In Decline

The way employees feel at work has an impact on productivity. An important piece of research by Michael Arena suggests social capital is eroding.

The research makes two major points using network data:

Formal interactions (such as with functional teams) have remained in-tact; these represent 75-85% of our interactions and these have trended upwards
Informal interactions (between functional teams or members) have reduced; these can be associated with random brainstorms or sidebar exchanges

Intentionality Trumps Proximity

The implication is that organizations may need to consider investing in intentionality – creating connections between workers. “An organization is likely to lose 50% of its innovation capacity,” the study concludes, “if it doesn’t rethink how to engage remote employees in informal interactions

Connections Between People Necessary for Connections Between Ideas

Team cohesion and effectiveness may become more important when teams are distributed.

Conventional thinking has emphasized the importance of managers in employee experience. But with distributed work – where each employee has fewer interactions with coworkers – there may be a rising role for colleagues.

Are You Going to Be Ready for Better Times?

Times Are Dark Now

Most surveys suggest the climate for growth will become more challenging in the coming months. In January the Conference Board 90%+ of CEOs expect a recession this year.

Recessions are generally associated with not only a decline in output but ensuing (or concomitant) job losses. Many experts asset the Federal Reserve will not be in a position to stop raising interest rates until labor markets capitulate – which will only happen with job loss.

But Things Will Get Better

In the United States, most economic slowdowns last a matter of months. Capital Group concludes recessions have persisted for an average of 10 months.

For those facing declining sales or business closures, that can feel like an eternity. But CEOs need to take a long-term view.

More important is to consider the magnitude of “bad times” versus that of “good times”. Capital Group further concluded that growth cycles lead to 25% rises in GDP while recessions average a decline of just 2.5%.

The implication is that recessions tend to be shallow and short – and precede boom cycles that are significant and long.

Do You Stick by Your Employees When Times Are Tough?

Many leaders are turning to the familiar recession playbook of belt-tightening.

The top target for cuts are discretionary programs – such as environmental sustainability initiatives or employee programs – which can provide temporary relief against some profit pressures.

CNBC reports 59% of executives planning to pause or reconsider spending, over 50% plan to fire employees.

Yet at the same time, 92% of the same CEOs believe their headcounts will expand over the next three years.

During the 2020 recession – which lasted less than one quarter – restaurants, airlines, and hospitality firms shed employees only to find they could not re-hire them at the same wages.

By one estimate, the leisure sector incurred a 12% rise in the cost of labor among workers fired and then rehired.

Preventing a Costly Retooling in 2024

Teamraderie developed a proprietary economic model to help customers evaluate how much to invest in employee experience today in order to avoid unwanted employee attrition.

Customers using Teamraderie – which builds connection and trust within workplaces – have measured:

30% reduction in unwanted attrition
20%+ lift in manager ratings
25%+ increase in reported feelings of trust between employees

Describe the Model

The Teamraderie ROI Calculator considers over 100 factors – including industry-level attrition rates and salaries, role-level productivity ramps, average cost-to-hire, time-t0-hire, and the cost of (dis)engagement.

The model lets CEOs understand the benefits of Teamraderie programs by looking at the impact on:

Candidate Acquisition
Onboarding
Productivity
Turnover

Impact on 250-Person Engineering Organization

The chart below shows the impact of Teamraderie programs on an org of 250 engineers. Due to the high cost of replacement and the long time to replace, Teamraderie programs can save $1.3M per year.

Impact on 10,000-Person Enterprise

Due to interaction effects and the codependency of knowledge work, impact is even greater for larger companies. A 10,000-person enterprise might gain $50M+ per year from a Teamraderie program that protects employee morale, productivity, and retention.

It’s Easy to Forecast “The Great Reinvestment of 2024”

It’s not hard to imagine what the end of 2023 or early 2024 might look like.

The U.S. economy – after suffering a mild recession that starts sometime in Q2’23 – begins to show signs of growth again. Employees place help wanted signs out again after a year that began with layoffs and retrenchment. And those who “hunkered down” to make it through a tough 2023 see greener pastures.

Some CHROs have estimated quit rates will not only rise to the levels seen during the “Great Resignation” – they may go higher after being held artificially low with economic uncertainty.

Helping You Protect What Matters Most

Teamraderie remains committed to helping its customers to put programs in place that build connected, committed, and productive workplaces. Along with our customers, we believe investing in cohesion is particularly important during challenging times – and that inspired employees are what will lead your company to emerge stronger from any upcoming recession.

Earning Your Team’s Trust: How to Build Trust in the Workplace

Trust matters in every aspect of our lives, including in the workplace. Consider your most troublesome work experiences. If you dig into where those problems began, it’s a likely bet that they were either rooted in distrust or perhaps created distrust. When distrust permeates a workplace, it creates tension, reduced productivity, and in many cases, dysfunction. Building trust in the workplace is critical.

Workplaces grounded in trust are workplaces that promote clear, honest communication. They consist of teams that work cohesively and rely on each other without question, as they know that everyone will collaborate and pitch in if things go off track. Trusting work environments allow employees to feel secure in raising new ideas and creating confident new leaders. Ultimately, organizations built on a foundation of trust are organizations destined for success.

How Trust Develops in the Workplace

Like most things, building trust starts at the top. These days, people don’t inherently trust one another, as genuine trust is earned, not awarded. Building trust takes time, and can be fostered through working together, team-building and aligning to core values. Take your company values, for example. These may be displayed proudly on your marketing collateral or even featured in your office space. However, if these values are not practiced and demonstrated by leadership, there will be little trust that those values mean anything. Ensure your company values are taken into account in all of your decision-making, and that these are a part of daily work life.

Trust can also be earned – or quickly lost – in challenging times. Observing how an organization navigates challenges, be they layoffs, mergers, acquisitions, or even scandals, can solidify how much an employee trusts that organization moving forward. If leadership chooses to ignore, skirt, or obscure the truth, employees will rarely find it in themselves to trust what leadership shares moving forward. If leaders own the issue, communicate honestly and openly, and share plans for how they are moving forward, employees are far more likely to trust that their leaders are authentic and well-intentioned.

Four Ways to Build Trust Within Your Team Now!

1. Build Connection. One of the easiest ways for leaders to earn the trust of their teams is to demonstrate an interest in them as a person. This often starts by ensuring your team members know about you too. Do you have kids at home or a new puppy? Share that with your team and allow them to share common experiences. If you have an employee who is getting married or going through a loss, be sure to check in and make sure they know you’re aware and supportive. Building connections begins with sharing more of yourself and ensuring your teams know that you understand they’re more than just their work.

2. Promote Transparency and Accountability. As a leader, promoting honesty and transparency at all levels of an organization is paramount to building trust. This can be as simple as owning up to a mistake or sharing how you wish you had done something differently. Be vulnerable – show your teams that you understand that you’re not perfect and that you recognize failures as an opportunity for growth. This will ensure your team will not only be comfortable owning up to mistakes, but also ensuring they know that making mistakes is a natural part of the process. Failure is a learning opportunity, and it’s expected now and again.

Transparency is even more important in the face of extreme adversity. Focus on accountability and communication during challenging times, and your employees will be more willing to accept the results. As wisely shared by HBR, “Share as much as you can about the current health and future goals of the company. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself constantly battling the rumor mill.”

3. Be a Cheerleader! Providing your team with support and encouragement will not only be appreciated but it will also be reciprocated. You will earn the trust of your staff when you focus on recognizing their contributions. In turn, staff will become comfortable with celebrating the success of others, and supporting their leadership as well. Supporting your team during the successes and the challenges will ensure they know that you have their backs as a leader, and they’ll be equally willing to do the same for you.

4. Give Credit When Credit is Due. A quick way to erode trust within your team is to assume credit for the work of others or allow contributions to be inappropriately attributed. If you’re given praise for an idea that isn’t yours, actively ensure your team member is given the credit. This will reflect positively on you as a leader of a team producing good ideas, and ensure your teams understand that you want their contributions recognized. Doing the opposite will not only erode trust but prevent team members from sharing ideas out of fear of that idea being misappropriated.

Trust can be eroded far more quickly than it will be earned. Start from a position of strength by humanizing yourself as a leader – be vulnerable, be honest, and be accountable. Your teams and your work will benefit!

Teamraderie offers curated experience journeys to help your team achieve its fullest potential. Learn more about our Trust Journey and how your team can improve trust and appreciation in the workplace.

New Year’s Resolutions for Your Team

New year, new you! It’s that time of year again when we are feeling motivated, excited, and committed to making a change. We’re considering ways to be more physically fit, mentally sound, or even financially stable. Unfortunately, more often than not, the energy around these goals tends to fade as we move through January. In fact, “25% of people who make a New Year’s resolution give up by January 7.” What if we told you there were professional resolutions that would be easy to introduce and form as habits? Stay with us.

Resolutions vs. Goals

Let’s first get clear – a resolution and a goal are not one and the same. A resolution is a decision to do or not do something starting immediately. A goal is an end toward which your effort is directed; something you start working on now with the desire to achieve at a later date. When you make a resolution, you are resolving to do something now and in turn, you’ll experience an immediate impact.

How Are New Year’s Resolutions Applicable at Work?

Whether your resolution is personal or professional, the new year is a perfect time to set an intention for the upcoming year. Companies do this all the time – they set their earnings goals, sales goals, and hiring targets, and resolve to achieve these goals with specific actions. Niche down even further and consider what you’d like to start doing with your own team right now to contribute to the success of your direct reports as well as the broader success of your company!

Ideas for Team Resolutions

Consider implementing easily achievable resolutions that you can start with minimum effort and maximum impact:

Improve cross-team communication: Is your team often working in siloes, especially when remote? Consider implementing a team meeting where everyone shares status updates, or perhaps an online tool that allows for interactive communication on projects.
Implement ways to support a better work/life balance: Take stock of your team’s time off and set regular reminders to check in on PTO balances. Do you have people who are not planning time off? Address this and better yet – model that behavior yourself. Support time off by identifying “backup” support so people feel like they can truly disconnect while they’re out.
Celebrate successes: Whether it’s regular written recognition for individual achievements or taking the team out for a team win, be sure to celebrate! Don’t let the next objective overshadow an achievement. Take time to celebrate the wins and motivate the team for the next task.
Share feedback more frequently: Rather than wait for performance review time, share real-time feedback. Did a direct report handle a meeting particularly well? Call them after the meeting and let them know. Did a team member struggle to meet a deadline? Set up a meeting to discuss how this can be improved in the future.
Work toward a more psychologically-safe environment: Create an environment where team members don’t think twice about disagreeing or sharing feedback, where mistakes are discussed openly and not behind others’ backs, and where there are no barriers to sharing information. Evaluate your role as a manager in creating psychological safety, and lead with transparency, self-awareness, and with a growth mindset. Need some support? Consider a Teamraderie experience to reinforce your commitment to psychological safety.

How to Ensure Your Resolution is Successful

Now is the time to combine goals and resolutions. Set actionable milestones to ensure your resolutions are successful. For example, set up that team meeting to improve cross-team communication. Perhaps send a reminder to your team to start thinking about 2023 PTO plans. Where applicable, involve your team in the process! Incentivize them with rewards – using the examples above, consider asking your team to identify their “backup” person and plans for when they’re out on vacation. The first person who can successfully put together their plan gets a gift from the company store (you get the idea!). Everything you start and repeat will become a habit. Your team will appreciate your leadership and will get used to the “new normal” quickly!

You can do this! Use professional resolutions to your advantage and that of your team. It will pay dividends in the long run, and the short-term immediate results will show initiative and have an impact. Resolve to make 2023 your best professional year yet!

Three Tips to Improve Employee Retention During Challenging Times

The final quarter of 2022 has been a tumultuous period for many employers. There have been numerous high-profile layoffs, including Amazon’s 10,000-person layoff, and Meta’s 11,000-person reduction in November 2022 alone. Companies have undergone hiring freezes as inflation has continued to rise. It’s been a challenging time for companies and individuals alike.

The reality is our economy ebbs and flows. This cyclical nature, while not always reassuring at the moment, is a fact of professional life, and managing effectively through challenging times is of critical importance to maintain stability. Following a layoff or otherwise monumental business shift, retaining and engaging the workforce that IS still with the company should be at the top of every executive’s list. Consider the following strategies to keep your remaining workforce engaged and motivated during tough times.

Lead with Transparency

High-profile business changes such as layoffs are cause for anxiety across a business, even for those who remain on board. The worst thing leadership can do is fail to communicate what’s happened and why. We live in a world where social media will control the narrative unless leaders take proactive measures. Lead with a sense of empathy but be direct. If the layoffs were a result of poor company performance, be honest and don’t sugarcoat. Embrace transparency and get ahead of the questions – don’t let your employees speculate and feed the rumor mill. If employees will be responsible for assuming more work – let them know. If you’re confident this will be the only round of layoffs let them know, but if you’re not sure – be honest. This is a time for humility, transparency, and respect.

Of equal importance is ensuring management at all levels is communicating the same message. “Companies should consider devoting a day or two to training and discussion sessions to help managers build their confidence in delivering empathetic and consistent messaging around layoffs”, notes HBR. Managers might be struggling too, so acknowledging their anxiety while adequately preparing them for how to communicate will reduce the risk of inconsistent or inappropriate messaging.

Offer support

Studies have shown that Americans spend nearly one-third of their lives at work. People become connected to their coworkers, and work is a community. When that community is disrupted, this can be both painful and shocking. It’s critical to acknowledge the impact layoffs can have on existing employees, and even more important to offer support. Leaders should actively facilitate conversation to ensure voices are heard. As Randstad Risesmart suggests, “Recovery from a layoff is faster and easier if managers and employees are allowed to speak their minds freely about what’s happened. Hold focus groups and employee meetings to help facilitate employee conversations.” It’s ok to ask employees to behave according to company policies and values but stifling all discussion about the layoffs will have a far more negative impact than allowing people to express their concerns.

Align on a shared sense of purpose

The path forward likely looks different after layoffs than it did before. Let people know what – if anything – has changed and get clear on everyone’s part in it. Layoffs aren’t done without significant reason, and ensuring remaining employees understand the “why” is important. As HBR shares, “When employees understand that management is reshaping the company for future stability and growth while treating people with dignity and keeping opportunities open when possible, they will be more likely to respond with their best efforts.” Treat people like adults, and they will generally respond like adults.

Retaining employees is important in all facets of business, but especially so when a business has undergone significant change. Leading from a position of honesty and not from a position of fear will go far to ingratiate the remaining employees to the company. Consider external support during tough times as well. Teamraderie can provide support through experiences that focus on trust, transformation, and bonding, allowing your team to refocus after a difficult experience. Demonstrate you care about your people and your business, even in challenging times, and engender confidence in your path forward!

Does Your Team Feel Out of Place at Work?

Feeling out of place at work has been a growing sentiment among employees, especially as remote work has become normalized. HBR shares that “in the wake of the pandemic and the vast shift to flexible work from anywhere policies, 65% of workers say they feel less connected to their coworkers.” And if connection is challenging for existing employees, companies are now regularly onboarding brand new employees without ever meeting them face-to-face. Fostering employee connection, especially in a remote environment, requires deliberate action from an organization and will contribute a great deal to the engagement of remote workers.

Why is Feeling Connected at Work So Important?

The need for love, connection, and belonging has long been considered a basic human need, as identified by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s critical to our survival in everyday life and is equally important in the workplace. The Institute of Leadership and Management conducted research that found “relationships with colleagues were considered one of the most important factors in determining job satisfaction by 77% of respondents.” Feeling out of place at work can be a significant contributor to employee disengagement and worse, employee turnover.

How to Identify Employees Who Feel Out of Place

It’s important for leaders to develop relationships with all of their employees, but disconnection at work appears to be strongest in Gen Z and Millennial workers. In a poll by Engine Insights, 95% of Gen Z and 93% of millennial workers reported feeling less connected with their coworkers and struggling with remote work. In addition, new hires who are joining a remote organization are immediately at a disadvantage. Without a dedicated and deliberate onboarding plan, new hires risk floundering from day one. Check in on these employees regularly, and create space for asking questions, sharing struggles, and celebrating success.

Five Tips for Leaders on How to Engage and Connect with Your Teams

When onboarding new employees, assign them a “buddy.” Ensure the buddy schedules an introductory check-in on the new hire’s first day of employment, and then several times per week during their first four weeks. This will provide the new hire a friendly resource to whom they can ask questions in a safe space. This will create an automatic connection for an employee who may otherwise not know anyone.
Schedule regular check-ins with each of your team members. Prior to jumping into work items, take the opportunity to get to know your team members, and share a bit more about yourself too. Have kids or pets at home? Invite them to say hello! Humanizing yourself as a leader will create opportunities to find common interests and foster connection on a personal level.
Create opportunities for cross-functional collaboration. Connecting your own team often happens naturally but seeking opportunities to connect your team to other functions in the organization can be incredibly helpful. Consider inviting another business leader or team into your team meeting to share about the work they are doing and opportunities for collaboration.
Schedule monthly “lunch and learns.” These can be virtual meetings held during the lunch hour on any topic! Consider inviting employees to share about recent travel experiences, or perhaps about their hobbies. While work topics can certainly be covered, finding ways to connect colleagues personally can create common ground and conversation.
Encourage the development of and participation in Employee Resource Groups. Employee Resource Groups (commonly known as ERGs) create opportunities for certain communities within a workforce, along with their allies, to come together, create connection and discuss opportunities for advancing their causes within an organization. ERGs by nature create community, camaraderie, and support systems for employees who join.

Create a team that becomes known for being inclusive, collaborative, and creative. The Psychological Safety Journey includes four unique Teamraderie experiences designed to help your team grow through the four dimensions of Psychological Safety. One journey, four stages, measurable results. To better assess progress, your team will take the Amy Edmondson Fearless Organization Scan before and after their journey.

Teamraderie can support your organization in bringing your teams together. Whether your team enjoys wine or coffee, we have an experience that will meet your needs. Learn more here!

Tips to Re-Engage and Refresh Your Team for the New Year

The new year is not only a time for refreshing your own personal habits but also a great time to refresh your team! If you noticed that toward the end of 2022, your team was stressed, cynical, or showing signs of burnout, seize the opportunity to encourage time off around the holidays and take advantage of a recharged group in January.

The Difference Between an Engaged and Disengaged Team

A disengaged team versus an engaged team can be the difference in sustained and meaningful productivity. You may be leading a disengaged team if they are:

Lethargic or low energy in meetings
Missing deadlines or scrambling at the last minute
Complaining without offering potential solutions
Resisting change

An engaged team, on the other hand, demonstrates the following behaviors:

High energy, with a propensity toward discussion and asking questions in meetings
Submitting work on time, if not ahead of schedule
Solutions-oriented – they realize not everything may be perfect, but they actively propose suggestions and solutions to mitigate challenges
Adaptable with an appreciation for change

A disengaged team is often a product of a disengaged leadership group and does not necessarily mean they are incapable or poor performers. Engagement requires deliberate and consistent action from leaders, and there’s no better time to start than now.

Engaged Teams and Productivity

An engaged team feels connected to its work, understands its purpose, and is naturally more productive than a disengaged team. However, engaged teams don’t just happen – they’re built! Take the first step by evaluating your communication strategies across your team. Researchers at Babson University found that “when communication flows through leaders or experts — rather than across all members — groups work slowly and with less innovation. Moreover, echo chambers form. Effective team resets can realign and restructure networks.” Increase productivity by expanding channels for communication. Invite your teams to take ownership of messaging, and avoid the trap of funneling everything through individual leaders. Empowering teams with information will prevent roadblocks and promote increased productivity.

Five Ideas to Refresh Your Team

Create space for conversation. According to Leaders Institute, “Collaborative teams ask questions. They also offer up suggestions for process improvement. These teams will physically show you they love their work.” However, not every individual feels comfortable doing that. As a leader, designate time during meetings for open conversation. Pause after sharing information and ask people for feedback. If nobody responds, consider reminding your team that this is a space where questions, feedback and solutions are not only welcome but critically important to the success of the work. Empower them to share their ideas, while demonstrating that it is a safe space to share and critique.
Involve your teams in the planning process. The beginning of the year is often a time when leaders are finalizing key objectives for their teams. Invite your team into this discussion! Rather than telling them what the annual goals are, get their feedback on what they should be. Have teams been feeling burnt out? Perhaps the goals set for the previous year were not realistically achievable. Perhaps there are more resources the team needs in order to execute their responsibilities effectively. Take the opportunity to listen, and then consider that feedback when developing the upcoming year’s plan. This will not only foster inclusion but also get the team energized for the year ahead.
Get deliberate with recognition. Taking the opportunity to recognize your team for their success is a key component to engagement. Recognition can be in the form of monetary awards, corporate gifts or even extra time off – or it can be a simple shout out. The key component in recognition is getting specific – let the individual or team know how important their work was, and the impact it had on the organization. This will not only serve as motivation to continue to produce great work, but more importantly, connect their work to the organization’s broader purpose.
Address underperformance. Not every member of your team will be successful. Allowing underperforming employees to languish creates angst and frustration for those high-performing members who are required to pick up the slack. Proactively manage underperforming employees by ensuring they are aware of their performance issues, provide training and set expectations for improvement. If an employee fails to improve, consider finding a new opportunity for that person or part ways.
Coordinate team-building events. No, we’re not encouraging trust falls but instead focused, research-driven experiences designed to build, refresh and sustain teams. Teamraderie offers a variety of unique experiences to support your team preferences and interests. Whether you are building a new team, managing a hybrid team, or looking to motivate your team to achieve substantial goals, Teamraderie has an experience for you. In partnership with renowned leaders and motivational speakers, your team’s will leave the experience feeling refreshed, engaged and exicted for a new year.

There is no time like the present. Take advantage of this opportunity to restart, re-engage and refresh as we enter 2023!

5 Tips for Empowering Women in the Workplace

As we experience the effects of the ‘Great Resignation’, many organizations are faced with a harrowing prospect: losing their female leaders. According to McKinsey & Company’s report, Women in the Workplace 2022, “women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate we’ve ever seen—and at a much higher rate than men leaders.”

The pipeline for female leaders is diminishing, and organizations risk losing valuable and impactful leaders as a result. Empowering women in the workplace will engage and retain critical female talent, while allowing organizations to reap the benefits of multi-faceted female leadership.

Understanding Why Women Feel Unempowered

After surviving the Covid pandemic, one of the most challenging times in the personal and professional lives of many, women have begun to reevaluate their needs. If nothing else, the Covid pandemic showed women that flexibility is not only beneficial but crucial to success. Offering employees the flexibility to choose a location arrangement that fits their lifestyle will benefit an organization as a whole, especially women.

According to the Women in the Workplace 2022 report, when women are able to select their work arrangement—remote, in-person, or hybrid—they’re less likely to feel burned out, and are generally happier in their roles. This, in turn, reduces turnover rates.

Women also face continued adversity in the workplace that existed long before Covid and has failed to weaken over time. Women continue to report that characteristics, such as being a parent or caregiver, cause them to be passed over for advancement opportunities. They’re also more likely to have coworkers imply that they’re unqualified for their jobs compared to male counterparts, and are twice as likely to be mistaken for junior employees.

These microaggressions, intentional or not, require scrutiny and action from leadership if organizations intend to truly empower and engage women.

Benefits of Empowering Women in the Workplace

The Center for Creative Leadership conducted a large study on workplace environments. Their research found that having a greater number of women in the workplace results in:

Increased job satisfaction
Higher levels of organizational dedication
More meaningful work
Less burnout

This is due in no small part to women being heavily involved in efforts related to employee well-being and DEI. According to McKinsey & Company, “compared with men at their level, women leaders do more to support employee well-being and foster DEI—work that dramatically improves retention and employee satisfaction but is not formally rewarded in most companies.”

Rewarding and recognizing the involvement in these activities will not only empower women to succeed but benefit the organization at large.

5 Tips for Empowering Women in the Workplace

Playing an active role in empowering women is important no matter your gender identity. Below are five actions organizations and individuals alike can take to begin empowering women and serving as an ally in the workplace.

1. Offer and Protect Flexibility

According to The Mom Project, 88% of women consider flexibility the most important factor in job satisfaction, exceeding salary.

Giving women (and arguably, all employees) agency in choosing where and how they work will not only provide the flexibility to balance work and family life, but will also promote well-being.

2. Provide Clear Advancement Opportunities

Women often experience the playing field as uneven when it comes to advancing in an organization–finding men are evaluated on their potential, and women on their previous experience and contributions.

If there’s a project or promotion available, advocate on behalf of a woman as the best choice to fill the role. Regardless of your gender, be aware of biases and champion female colleagues for new opportunities.

3. Actively Engage Women in Meetings

If you’re facilitating a meeting, takes stock of who’s participating. Are men dominating the conversation? If so, proactively engage female participants. This is increasingly important while facilitating virtual meetings, when the ability to chime in can be awkward and difficult.

4. Be Aware of “Extracurricular” Involvement

Women often assume tasks that might not be directly related to their day job. According to HBR’s article, “Recent research shows that women volunteer for non-promotable tasks more than men and are far more likely to be directly asked to take them on.”

That might be participating in an employee resource group, planning social events or volunteering to take meeting minutes. If you notice a woman is consistently volunteering, make it a point to recognize this or find ways to more equitably distribute these tasks. For example, if a woman always takes the notes in a meeting, implement a rotational schedule that has a different person take notes each time.

5. Acknowledge and Close the Wage Gap

The Mom Project shares that “men are 4x more likely to ask for a raise. As a result, the pay gap persists and women make just 70¢ on the dollar compared to their male counterparts.” Acknowledge this as a possibility in your organization and advocate for compensation analysis to uncover discrepancies. If found, create a plan to strategically address existing pay gaps and to prevent them in the future.

Support Women in the Workplace With Teamraderie

Empowering women in the workplace benefits women and organizations alike. Teamraderie is here to support your efforts in connecting women and helping everyone on your team feel empowered through our interactive experiences. Learn more today!

How Change Leadership Can Change Everything

Greek philosopher Heraclitus is famous for saying, “change is the only constant in life.” He could not have foreseen how true this sentiment would be millenniums later, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic challenged leaders in ways never thought possible. Those who have successfully navigated the past two years in the workforce have done so by accepting and reacting to change – and quickly. The rollercoaster of change has not slowed even as we have moved through the worst of the pandemic, and leaders have continued to navigate disruptions with regularity. Understanding and embracing change leadership has become a critical skill of all leaders looking to make an impact on their organizations, their teams, and themselves.

What Is Change Leadership?

Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta, Founder and CEO of The Change Leadership describes it as “the ability to influence and inspire action in others and respond with vision and agility during periods of growth, disruption or uncertainty to bring about the needed change.” Employees will look to leadership of all kinds – executives, team leads, and perceived leaders – to provide a path forward in times of uncertainty. Leaders must first become adept at identifying the need for change and working collaboratively to develop plans to address it. They must then get comfortable with ambiguity and accept that not every decision will lead to success. Owning the prospect of failure and leading the charge through change despite potential consequences is both brave and necessary.

A Change Leadership Framework

The Center for Creative Leadership developed the “3 C’s of Effective Change Leadership” framework to define success as illustrated in the graphic below.

Effectively communicating with colleagues, direct reports and even customers will ensure all stakeholders are supportive of the change and participating in its success. Leaders who clearly and deliberately communicate the reasons behind a proposed change and connect it to a broader purpose will reduce opposition and avoid assumptions on intent.

Engaging your stakeholders and promoting collaboration is a crucial component of change leadership. Enacting change independently and without input from others breeds discontent and disengagement. Successful change leaders actively request input from stakeholders when making a change, while maintaining ownership of the decisions and the outcomes. Embrace collaboration and success will follow!

Finally, a leader’s commitment to following through on proposed changes is critical to ensuring stakeholder support. There is no easier way to disengage employees than to go all-in on change only to forget about it a month later. Being persistent and patient, even when you experience inevitable challenges will demonstrate your true belief in the change as well as garner support – and respect – from those around you.

Becoming an Effective Change Leader

Now comes the real work – honing leadership skills to support effective change. So – what exactly makes an effective change leader? There are many characteristics, but those who study change leadership often identify the following:

Flexible thinking – get comfortable with approaching problems and proposing solutions in a different way. Effective change leaders seek to stray from the norm and test new approaches to problem-solving.
Ability to adapt – hone the ability to approach a problem with one plan and adapt that plan as you gain more information. Change itself changes – what you once thought might work may not a few weeks later. Being able to adapt your thinking and solutions to manage disruption will promote a successful outcome.
Clear vision – get clear on your vision and the outcome you expect. What does success look like? What changes will this success affect? How does it affect your stakeholders? Communicate your vision so all involved are working toward the best result.
Maintain focus – keep your goals and your strategy at the forefront of your work. It’s easy to become distracted by minor details that can send you off track. Discern when minutiae warrant consideration and when it distracts from your broader mission. Your time is an invaluable commodity – use it wisely.
Empower others – leadership comes in all forms and does not always sit on an executive team. Engage colleagues of all levels in the change and involve them in the execution.
Encourage diverse perspectives – encourage and actively seek out diverse perspectives. Create space for open dialogue. Employees who feel safe and empowered to share ideas will be motivated to support you. Encourage those same employees to be involved in implementing their ideas as well.
Communicate – as referenced in the 3 C’s framework, communicating early and often is critical. If an initiative does not work out, own it. Celebrate successes. Actively deliver and request feedback.

Becoming an effective change leader will not only shape the future of a leader but will ingratiate the leader within an organization. Change leaders are considered visionaries, as proponents of a growth mindset and as willing to fail in the spirit of making an impact. Change leadership is not easy, but when done right, is incredibly fulfilling.

Are you ready to develop change leaders in your organization? Empower your employees to become change leaders through growth activities with Teamraderie. View all experiences here.

How to Support Your Team During Tough Times

35%+ of your workforce likely never experienced a downturn – too young for the 2008 financial crisis.

Seeing companies going through layoffs, hiring freezes, and rescinding job offers makes team members anxious and concerned.

Harvard Business Review study How to Support Your Remaining Employees After a Layoff showed that 74% of employees retained after a layoff saw their productivity decline after it, while 69% said that the quality of their company’s product deteriorated.

Employees expressed the feeling of guilt, anxiety, and anger.

However, workers who felt that their managers were visible, approachable, and open were more than 70% less likely to report a productivity drop, and 65% less likely to report a decline in the quality of the product.

Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School, provides actionable advice for managers in her How to lead in a crisis TED Talk:

(1) Be Transparent

– Share what you know and admit what you don’t know.

– Paradoxically, that honesty creates more psychological safety for people, not less.

(2) Act with Urgency

– Fast action is often the only way to get more information.

– Act even if you don’t have complete information. Inaction leaves people feeling unstable.

(3) Follow Your Values

– Hold purpose steady even as goals and situations change.

– Be very transparent about what your values are and use them to guide decisions you make.

(4) Share the Power

– This provokes innovation and gives people a sense of meaning.

– Sharing power requires you being clear that you can’t do it alone and asking for help.

Teamraderie experiences help team managers become more open and approachable, and establish a foundation of psychological safety.

Experiences start at $50 per person and can be booked in a few simple steps.

10 Tips for Successfully Managing Hybrid Teams

In a post-pandemic era work environment, many teams have decided to adopt a hybrid working model. A hybrid working model has become a popular choice for teams as a middle ground between fully remote and returning to the office.

The pandemic has shifted how both managers and employees view a work environment and many studies are being conducted on productivity and team communication. A hybrid team involves team members working a combination of both in-person and from home on a set schedule. There are numerous benefits of a hybrid workplace for both employees and employers, including more flexibility, increased employee happiness, and recruiting from a larger talent pool.

How do you manage hybrid teams?

In addition to a shift in the work environment itself, being either at home or in the office, a shift has had to be made in management styles, too. When you’re meeting face to face with your team every day, some things are easier than when you’re fully remote. It’s essential to take into consideration both in-person and remote team members when managing a hybrid team, as it’s not a one-size-fits-all.

Tips to Manage a Hybrid Team

1. Have the Right Tools

If not everyone is going to be in the same place, you need to ensure you have the right tools and technology to stay connected and collaborate. A video conferencing tool is key to ensure employees can join meetings regardless of location. Even more so, if meetings are taking place in person while some employees are remote, the conference rooms should be equipped with a phone or video/audio capabilities to keep everyone connected in one place.

2. Implement Tactics to Run Effective Hybrid Meetings

It’s always a good idea to come to meetings prepared with an agenda and talking points to make sure it’s the best use of everyone’s time, but there are more things to consider than just an agenda for a hybrid meeting. To run an effective hybrid meeting, consider the following:

Assign tasks clearly so everyone knows what to do
Be inclusive of participants regardless of location
Be on video so everyone can be included, even those who are together in-person
Communicate any meeting etiquette expectations ahead of time
Be aware of cultural differences that could impact meeting behavior

3. Include non-work-related conversations in your daily routine.

Without a water cooler to chat around, a kitchen to hangout at lunchtime, or conversations that happen in passing around the office, it’s important to make time and space for conversations that are not work-focused. With a hybrid team, some people will be having those in-person small talk conversations, while others who are remote will miss out on that. This can create a divide between the team if remote employees feel left out. Ad-hoc conversations, regardless of subject, are important to the function of any team.

4. Be communicative about work schedules.

It’s important that you, as the manager, know when and where your team is working. Who will be in the office, what hours do people work across time zones, and other similar details important to the “where” and “when” questions should be a priority to keep organized. It’s not just important for you to be fully aware of these schedules, but also the rest of the team. When scheduling meetings, everyone should be aware of where everyone is located to be able to provide accessible dial-in details or meeting notes. Some helpful tools for this are setting working hours and location on Google Calendar, listing time zone in your Slack profile, and creating a spreadsheet or schedule available for everyone to see when the team will be in-office.

5. Establish core hours for work.

If your team is distributed and there is a possibility of overlap in hours, make sure to set those as core hours for your team to be online and working. Whether that’s in office or remote, having established time that everyone can be together is important. Even if that accounts for just 1 hour of time, make a point to schedule all-team meetings then to ensure the whole team is able to communicate and come together.

6. Give equal time to each team member regardless of location.

If you are working in-office with your team, it will seem natural to spend more time with them. However, it’s important to give your entire team equal attention and time regardless of location so as not to play favoritism. Schedule regular one-on-one meetings with everyone on your team, ask for honest feedback, and make a point to check in regularly and consistently with them.

7. Create and follow specific rituals for your day.

As a manager, there are things you need to do regardless of location and making a ritual out of them can be helpful in staying organized and on task. For example, the first hour of your day being spent checking in with everyone on your team – sending a Slack message or visiting their desk – and asking where you are needed to support them on the day’s tasks. Daily or weekly stand-up meetings for your team are a great ritual to implement, too. A set time where everyone is in the same meeting, sharing updates, asking questions, and being made aware of what’s going on outside their realm of work is important for team communication.

8. Create “meeting-free” times.

In a hybrid world, calendars are more jam-packed than ever. Conversations that could be had ad hoc by visiting someone’s desk in the office now need a designated meeting time put on the calendar. This can lead to Zoom fatigue and meeting overwhelm. Designate specific times that are meeting-free so your team can focus on their work or utilize other means of communication like Slack or email in the interim.

9. Encourage a healthy work-life balance.

Be supportive of your team’s life outside of work and they will be more appreciative of their time with you at work. Disconnecting is important to maintain a healthy work life balance. Ask your team regularly what their bandwidth is like, and encourage honest answers. If you get feedback that your team is feeling burnt out, stressed for time, or overwhelmed with tasks, step in and address those pain points immediately. If you have other team members who can step in and support, push a deadline back, or dive in with your team to accomplish a task, the work may not seem so overwhelming. Be encouraging of vacation time use, which is sometimes easier said than done for people to decide to disconnect.

10. Be flexible and change team norms as needed.

In a hybrid world, things change often and quickly. Be flexible when things come up that require a shift in plans. If someone needs to work from home instead of in the office or the office needs to shut down entirely, you’ll be prepared and not stressed at the change in plans if you’ve mentally prepared for change.

Common Challenges Managing Hybrid Teams

Productivity: Inherent trust is key for managing remote or hybrid teams. Without trust, micromanaging tendencies can creep in. If you’re not in the office with your team, you really don’t know if they’re working and being productive. Instead of micromanaging or checking in too frequently, move all of your productivity metric trackings to a digital platform. Project management tools to easily communicate tasks, deadlines, and time tracking are helpful.

Communication: Clear communication and documentation will be at the forefront of your success as a hybrid team. Easy to access information will save a lot of time and help your team without them having to come to you with questions. Communicate clearly, transparently, and as soon as possible about any changes in workflows, project updates, or need-to-know information for the team.

Culture: How do you keep a team feeling centered and connected when they’re distributed and segmented? Don’t lose sight of the importance of culture in a hybrid team. Consider team building activities that can be done in person AND remotely to bring your team together. Teamraderie offers dozens of experiences tailored specifically for your hybrid team to come together, bond, connect, and collaborate.

The Four Manager Types and Their Impact on Performance

What are the four manager types? Why are they important? and how do they impact your team’s performance?

If you lead and advise your teams based on your own expertise and strong track record as an individual contributor you might be destroying value for the team.

In a recent study, Gartner identified four distinct manager types and analyzed their impact on sustainable performance:

Sustainable Performance = Employee Performance + Employee Health

Sustainable performers are 17% more productive and 1.7X more likely to stay at their companies.

The Connector manager type appeared to be most effective in driving sustainable performance.

Connector managers improved employee performance by 26% and tripled the likelihood that their direct reports were high performers.

So, what are the 4 manager styles and their impact?

(1) Manager Style #1: The Connector Manager

– Creates a positive team environment

– Focuses on building quality relationships

– Helps employees develop network

45% boost on sustainable performance

(2) Manager Style #2: The Cheerleader Manager

– Motivates people to shape own development

– Gives positive feedback, avoids criticism

– Doesn’t obsess over details

Marginal boost (due to positive empowerment) on sustainable performance

(3) Manager Style #3: The Always-On Manager

– Provides frequent or ‘in-the-moment’ feedback / coaching

– Directs employee development

No impact on sustainable performance

(4) Manager Style #4: The Teacher Manager

– Provides advice based on their own expertise strong track record as individual contributor

– Directs employee development

Negative impact on sustainable performance

Connector managers closely monitor their team’s health and cohesion. They also build a foundation of psychological safety that fosters trust, so that employees are invested in one another’s well-being and success, not just their own.

Teamraderie experiences can help your managers become better Connectors. Experiences are designed to cultivate a positive team environment and build social ties among team members.

3 Ways to Build Collaboration on Your Team

Avoid these common mistakes when trying to build collaboration on your team!

Two recent studies by MIT and HBR showed one key point that we often overlook in team collaboration:

Leaders think about collaboration too narrowly: as a value to cultivate but not a skill to teach. Most organizations fall short when it comes to helping workers build this skill.

The studies uncovered alarming statistics:

– 40%+ of work time (~3.2 hours/day) is spent collaborating

– 50%+ people have received just an hour or less of training time on collaboration

– 70%+ people have been involved in at least one ‘absolutely horrendous’ collaboration

Researchers advise leaders to take a physiological approach to fostering collaboration – encouraging an outward focus in everyone, challenging the tendency to fixate on ourselves.

The studies shared training techniques for managers.

Three examples to build collaboration on your team:

1. Teach people to listen, not talk

– Ask expansive open-ended “what” and “how” questions

– Show empathy to the person who talks

– Become comfortable with silence

2. Make people more comfortable with feedback

– Discuss feedback aversion openly

– Give more specific and less abstract feedback

– Give feedback on feedback

3. Train people to have win-win interactions

– Teach the importance of exploring each others interests and needs

– Balance talking (to express your own concerns and needs) with asking questions and letting others know that your understanding of their needs

Collaborative relationships in the workplace require ongoing maintenance.

Teamraderie experiences focused on Collaboration will help your team members build the core skills.

Save Your Team From Feeling Siloed

There are a couple of recent studies that show some alarming data regarding employees feeling siloed at work.

In a traditional office setting, onboarding is often done partially in a group setting. Grouping new employees together helps them form relationships. Outside of onboarding, we make work friends in many different ways. Maybe we run into a coworker at the local coffee shop and get a chance to chat more than in the office. Perhaps we run into someone coming or going to the bathroom, the break room or the elevators. There are SO many random ways that we find our work friends.

Since the pandemic and the rise of virtual and hybrid working environments, the sense of community has sharply declined. One study analyzed 61,182 Microsoft employees over the course of six months to determine the true effects of firm-wide remote working. That study found “that firm-wide remote work caused the collaboration network of workers to become more static and siloed, with fewer bridges between disparate parts. Furthermore, there was a decrease in synchronous communication and an increase in asynchronous communication. Together, these effects may make it harder for employees to acquire and share new information across the network.”

Another study analyzed more than 1,300 employees at companies across the US and Europe and found that “the average new hire is currently building a network within their company about half (50%) of the size of those with longer tenure – a figure that’s significantly less than before.” They also found a 16% decrease in onboarding effectiveness. These factors combined are causing employees to feel siloed from the very beginning.

Don’t worry! We can help your team to not feel siloed!

Here are some suggestions for how to help your employees not feel siloed.

♦ Build time into virtual meetings for small talk.

– Use five to ten minutes before or after the meeting for non-work talk.

– Encourage employees to share how their weekend went or what their plans are for the week ahead.

~ When one of us goes on vacation at Teamraderie we always share pictures or updates on how our trip was.

– Just five to ten minutes can help build connections drastically.

♦ Schedule new employees together.

– It’s common to schedule one-on-one sessions for new employees and coworkers that they may be working closely. If you are onboarding more than one new employee, consider having some or all new employees do these informational sessions together.

♦ Encourage employees to spend time together outside of work.

– If everyone on the team works virtually but you live in the same city as a coworker, try occasionally working together from a coffee shop.

♦ Onboarding a new employee is the optimal point to do a Teamraderie experience. This will help the new employees learn more about their coworkers in a casual setting. It’s also a great way to refresh a team’s knowledge of each other. Try our Snack Break Experience to Refresh Your Team.

Teamraderie Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

Want to Make Progress? Master Subtraction.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” said Leonardo da Vinci in the fifteenth century.

In his book ‘Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less’, a professor of engineering Leidy Klotz shares insightful research on how human minds tend to add before taking away, and how it holds progress back.

In our personal and business lives this habit leads to endless ‘to-do’ lists, conflicting priorities, and extreme fragmentation.

According to Leidy Klotz, subtraction is the act of getting to less, but it is not the same as doing less.

In fact, getting to less often means thinking more.

In the new Hidden Brain podcast episode Leidy Klotz discusses compelling arguments for getting to less.

Subtracting is physiologically hard and painful.

How to start subtracting?

– Did you notice that most ideas generated during brainstorming sessions tend to focus on expansion or new projects?

💡 Instead, in your next team brainstorming, make sure to generate ideas to streamline existing projects or stop doing things that are not working anymore.

– Call fewer meetings or invite fewer people to those meetings.

– Simplify communication and pick an appropriate communication channel and audience for your message (don’t cc the entire team).

– Free up your schedule by not attending meetings where we add little value.

What Is the Subtraction Habit?

In most cases, people try to solve problems in a very specific way. Adding something in is typically the chosen solution. It’s far less common to remove something to solve a problem. However, maybe that isn’t the way it should be.

All sorts of people make a to-do list but almost nobody makes a to-not list. However, both of these can be useful. Additive transformations are a great way to do things to get the outcome you want. Subtractive transformations are things you stop doing to get the desired outcome.

Of course, the subtraction habit isn’t something that comes naturally. It takes time to make this a habit that you can use in the workplace. However, the basic idea is to accomplish more by doing less. Subtraction is an act of getting to less but it doesn’t mean doing less, Most of the time, getting to less requires more thinking.

Leidy Klotz offers many arguments about getting to less in a Hidden Brain podcast episode. However, the process can be painful and physiologically challenging. That’s why it’s best to start small and slowly ramp up the subtraction habit. You can get used to it as it starts to feel more comfortable.

For instance, when you have brainstorming sessions, have you noticed the ideas tend to revolve around new or expanded projects? Step in during the next meeting and talk about ways to streamline projects or stop doing things that no longer work. In addition, you can cut down on meetings or have fewer people present at them.

Other ways to subtract relate to simplifying your communication habits. Make sure you select the right communication channel and think about the audience for the message. Don’t add on everyone on the team if they aren’t needed. Subtract instead of adding.

How to Create and Master the Subtraction Habit

First, you should make a list. Take down all the things that are bringing your team down or hindering progress. Then see how you can put the subtraction habit into place. Removing things is a great way to streamline and simplify the workplace.

The Teamraderie Team Refresh experience with Dr. Kathryn Segovia from Stanford University can help you make these changes. Dr. Segovia can help your team get rid of whatever is taking up all their energy. You can learn to do more with the things that offer the most to the team and company.

As you go through the experience, Dr. Segovia will help track your team’s progress. You’ll help build an interactive artifact throughout the experience and master the subtraction habit and all the benefits it offers.

Help your team subtract

The best way forward often involves removing, streamlining and simplifying things.

Teamraderie “Team Refresh” experience with Stanford University’s Dr. Kathryn Segovia can help your team:

Studies show that the best teams do a “team refresh” every couple months.

Teams need to have explicit conversations about: What do we need to do more of? What do we need to get rid of?

In “The Subtraction Game”, Dr. Segovia will help your team rid the thing that depletes energy. And in “The Strengths Game”, you will learn to double-down on what yields best results.

Dr. Segovia will track your team’s progress with an interactive artifact that you’ll build throughout the experience.

How to Become a Better Manager in 5 Steps

Managers often focus more on business targets while overlooking how their teams really feel. Successful teams need managers that build connections and provide encouragement. Before we talk about how to become a better manager, let’s dive into some of the important reasons why that should be a focus in any leadership position.

5 Reasons to Become a Better Manager:

(1) Employees want fulfilling work

PWC reported (Global Workforce Hopes and Fears) 1 in 5 employees are likely to switch employers in the next year. Retaining them will require more than just pay. Fulfilling work (matters to 69% of employees) and the opportunity to be one’s authentic self at work (matters to 66%) are among the most important factors.

(2) Employees want better experiences

In the Future Forum Pulse, Slack learned that following return to office, employee experience scores dropped to near-record lows. Work stress and anxiety score dropped 28%, work-life balance score dropped 17%. Interestingly, the sense of belonging dropped 10%+ despite socialization opportunities offered by the office environment.

(3) Employees want psychological safety

McKinsey & Company found (Hybrid work and DEI study) team-building is a top inclusion practice for modern managers. Team-building activities are essential for building psychological safety and deep connections on teams.

(4) Employees want real connections

In the Great Resignation study, MIT Sloan Management Review discovered toxic culture is by far the strongest predictor of attrition and is 10X more important than compensation in predicting turnover. Helping teams stay connected via company-sponsored social events will increase retention and is estimated to be 30% more effective than raising compensation.

(5) Employees want meaning

HBR (Team rituals and meaning study) explains that performing a group bonding activity leads to a 16% increase in how meaningful employees judged their work to be.

How to become a better manager:

Becoming a better manager may seem like an impossible task. We have broken it down into these four steps, which implemented over time will hopefully increase team morale and productivity, making the workplace more enjoyable for both you and your employees.

(1) Get to know your employees

Having stress free and informal conversations with your employees will make them feel like you care about them as people. This makes them more comfortable opening up and sharing their interests and strengths as well as their struggles. Once you have an idea of what those are, find ways to use their strengths and support them in their struggles. It is important that managers tailor work expectations and processes to employees needs and learning styles for the best outcome possible on both sides.

(2) Work with your team rather than above them

Employees are more likely to enjoy a work environment where they feel they are equal to their superiors. Delegating responsibilities to employees and asking for their input on important decisions will help them feel more valued and trusted. Make sure they know that you value their growth within their role and don’t expect them to be experts right away so that they feel comfortable coming to you with questions or suggestions. Celebrate their wins and express appreciation for their efforts often.

(3) Practice Self Awareness

Ask employees for feedback often and accept it gracefully, then use that feedback to reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses. Use creativity to improve those weaknesses and implement your individual strengths into your team culture and processes so that you enjoy the work too.

(4) Learn to Communicate Well

Focus on communicating goals and expectations clearly. A great way to do this is by creating a shared vision with your team. Have a conversation and see what everyone feels like the team’s strengths and goals are, and create a one sentence vision statement from those ideas that you and your team can always come back to. Make sure your team communication is organized and consistent so that everyone is on the same page.

(5) Give Effective Feedback

It is important to communicate your feedback constructively and effectively. Make sure to encourage employees to grow while also celebrating their existing strengths. Avoid confrontations and blaming or shaming statements. If there are serious concerns with an employee, make sure to have a professional conversation in private about the present issues, and ask some questions before communicating your assumptions about their behaviors.

Learning how to become a better manager takes time. Do not get discouraged or feel limited by your own strengths or weaknesses. Leadership doesn’t take a certain personality type, it just takes a willingness to encourage and build up those around you while accomplishing important work.

Take your first steps toward meaningful team connection through Teamraderie’s curated team building experiences. Whether your team is remote or in the office, there is something here for you and your team to accomplish your connection goals.

With these reasons in mind, how can you become a better manager to meet your team’s needs?

Teamraderie can help you take meaningful action to improve team dynamics through curated virtual experiences. You can book Teamraderie experiences based on your teams goals:

Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

Turn Stress into Curiosity by Learning with Teamraderie

Mental Health Awareness Month is a subject that we—and hopefully everyone on your team—are talking about all month. However, one aspect of mental health awareness that is not often mentioned is something that we all struggle with—Stress.

Stress = Demand > Capacity

Stress happens when life throws more at us than we can process, and sometimes it triggers reactions in us before we even realize it. It is like being underwater but you cannot see the surface even when you are struggling to reach it. Just as you think you are almost there, boom, another wave crashes into you and you get pulled further under. We have all been there, struggling to keep our heads above water.

We recently watched a TED talk with Heidi Hanna and she offered some great suggestions on dealing with stress:

– Stop.

– Take a breath.

– Be curious and assess what is happening.

– Then respond.

By shifting our thought process to curiosity, we become more willing to learn. Curiosity helps us frame challenges and stress as a way to gain experience and strengthen our commitment to overcoming situations. Through curiosity, we become more capable of handling every wave that comes crashing towards us. Most of us consider stress to be bad, but viewing it through a learning lens enables us to neutralize stress and even create positivity out of it. We no longer need to hide from it, ignore it, or try to justify it through other means.

If you need help taking a breath and learning how to become curious, we have you covered because we did too. We created our Snack Break Experience to help you and your team relax, get to know each other, and try three snacks and a beverage during a brief, twenty-five minute meetup. Throughout the experience, you will get to explore your curiosity for something we do every day – snack!

Teamraderie Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

How to Fix a Declining Sense of Belonging During Return to Office

A recent study found that return to office is having a negative impact on sense of belonging in employees. What can leaders do to reverse this trend?

Many companies called knowledge workers back to the office earlier this Spring.

Where are people working? Future Forum, April 2022

The transition is proving difficult:

1. Employee experience scores dropped to near-record lows.
Work stress and anxiety score dropped 28%, work-life balance score dropped 17%.

🤔Interestingly, the sense of belonging dropped 10%+ despite socialization opportunities offered by the office environment.

2. Executives are staying home.
Non-executives are 2X as likely as executives (35% vs. 19%) to be working from the office five days a week.

3. Attrition risks are rising.
Employees without schedule flexibility are 2.6X more likely to look for a new job in the coming year.

4. Employees craving flexibility.
79% of knowledge workers want location flexibility. 94% of knowledge workers want schedule flexibility.

Companies are reacting by relaxing the requirements to work models.

Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist, sees some firms relenting from in-office work 5 days a week to the typical hybrid 3-2 model, while other firms moving from 3-2 to 2-3 or 2-2-1 hybrid models (where the 1 is a choice, but in practice is 2-3).

What else can managers do to help their teams and increase sense of belonging?

As we learn more, we have an opportunity to create hybrid workplaces that are better for everyone.

However, “hybrid” requires managers to evolve how they lead and teams to evolve how they work. The Teamraderie “hybrid” experience with Glenn Fajardo can help your team:

Often, in hybrid work, people in the room feel that remote colleagues are disengaged. And remote team members feel excluded.

Meet Stanford University’s Glenn Fajardo, who will help your team shift from blame to collaboration, notice what people feel and why, and adjust their mindset and behaviors.

With Glenn’s guidance, do the exercises that will equip your team for the new era of work.

Teamraderie Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

5 Team Event Ideas for Spring

Are you looking for team event ideas for Spring?

Spring is here! As it gets warmer outside, and we enter the new season, the greatest challenge for managers may be to sustain motivation and energy in themselves and in their teams.

In the new study of 15,000 U.S. employees, Gallup found that fewer than 1 in 4 people feel that their company cares about their wellbeing — the lowest percentage in nearly a decade.

The decline was especially high among managers themselves — 11 percentage points.

Not feeling that the employer cares, especially in a hybrid work environment, leads to disengagement, burnout, poor performance, and retention challenges.

What is an effective way for managers and teams to shake off winter, boost wellbeing and get the energy flowing for spring?

Here are some Teamraderie team experiences to consider:

✔ Encourage physical activity

Ramona Braganza, celebrity trainer, leads your team through energy-boosting movements designed to recharge your mind by strengthening your body while at work. Ramona will demonstrate simple movements you can do conveniently throughout the day, even while on calls. Team members will receive elegant kits with a set of decorative weights and bands.

✔ Cultivate an atmosphere of understanding
Stanford University’s Glenn Fajardo will ‘relaunch’ your team for hybrid work. Often, in hybrid meetings, people in the room feel that remote colleagues are disengaged. And remote team members feel excluded. Glenn will help your team shift from blame to collaboration, notice what people feel and why, and adjust the mindset and behaviors.

✔ Try something different as a team

What can your team learn from tasting and classifying three unique maple syrups together? Discover the process of ‘tapping’ and the history of the grading system as you taste your way through the grades of maple syrup as a team. Team members will receive beautiful kits with maple syrup samples, maple candies, and cornbread to soak up the syrups.

✔ Empower and freshen up skills

Dr. Kathryn Segovia, Stanford University professor, will put your team into the right mindset before you brainstorm your next big challenge. Science has shown that creativity is far more than access to shared space and whiteboards. You will spend time practicing associative thinking, playfulness, and empathy together. Help your team avoid ‘creativity crash’ and generate new ideas!

✔ Refresh and celebrate the new season

How can you reimagine a classic into something completely transformed? Try two different margaritas — one made with tequila, the other with bourbon. Discover how to transform a classic margarita with just a few small tweaks. Transform your day and get ready for the new season! Team members will receive beautiful margarita making kits.

We hope these ideas for team events in Spring will help your team connect and thoughtfully engage during the new season!

Top 2 Ideas to Support Introverted Team Members

Many offices are opening their doors to welcome employees back.

More than half (55%) of the population are introverts according to the Myers-Briggs Company’s research. For many of them, social reengagement after two years of working remotely can be difficult. What can you do to best support your introverted team members?

Fully including introverts in the back-to-office plans might be hard for managers because most leaders identify as extraverts (69% in the US).

Bob Sutton, professor and organizational psychologist at Stanford, reminds managers that “all those “welcome back to the office” lunches, teas, and parties are a double-edged sword. They may energize extraverts, but are exhausting social obligations for many introverts.”

Extraverts are less sensitive to dopamine and require lots of stimulation – they regenerate their energy from being around people and social events.

Introverts need alone time and find themselves drained by being around a lot of people.

How can leaders help introverts make transition back to office easier?

(1) Plan a shared virtual team experience for a larger group during the office lunch.
Provide an opportunity to grab lunch, sit at the common table and enjoy an engaging conversation or a hands-on team activity. Example Teamraderie experiences to consider:

Benefits of this approach:

a. Team members learn something new together and get conversation starters to continue interaction after the experience. Introverts feel more comfortable engaging on a neutral and exciting topic.

b. Teamraderie experiences are led by experts remotely. They are equally accessible by people joining from the office and from home. All team members feel included in the conversation.

(2) Plan a shared virtual team experience for a smaller team.
Introverts are often perceived as cold and socially awkward. However, it’s a misconception. Introverts often do enjoy being around people, but prefer small groups of people they are close to. Example Teamraderie experiences to consider:

Benefits of this approach:

a. The small team experience format is designed to draw people in and help them get to know each other on a personal level.

b. Teamraderie experiences are led by experts remotely. Both remote and in-office team members can participate and enjoy a uniform experience.

We hope these ideas and best practices help your support both your introverted and extroverted team members. Experiences for your team can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

Finding Your Flow – Insights from Adam Grant and Tatyana McFadden

In his recent wildly successful New York Times article, Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and Wharton Business School Professor, described the concepts of languishing and flow.

We have all felt aimless, empty and joyless at times. This is called languishing. It just feels like you are muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.

Flow is something that counters languishing. Flow is the state of the total absorption in an activity. You lose track of time and you might even lose your sense of self.

Languishing is stagnation, flow involves momentum.

Adam Grant describes three prerequisites for finding your flow at work:

(1) Mastery: At work, the strongest factor in daily motivation is a sense of progress. It can be small wins, not a big accomplishment.

(2) Mindfulness: If we want to find flow we need to focus our full attention at one task. Fragmentation is an enemy of both energy and excellence.

(3) Mattering: Knowing that you make a difference to other people gets you to peak flow. Having a meaningful purpose at work is critical.

HOW TO HELP YOUR TEAM FIND THE FLOW

The concept of flow resonated with us at Teamraderie, and we set out on a quest to find real inspiring stories of attaining flow.

We are pleased to introduce a new Teamraderie experience: Finding Flow with Tatyana McFadden.

Tatyana’s personal story is fascinating and unique.

Born with spina bifida, Tatyana spent the first six years of her life in a Russian orphanage with virtually nothing, not even a wheelchair. Paralyzed from the waist down, she learned to walk on her hands. Then, in 1993, Tatyana was adopted and brought to the United States.

In the U.S., her parents enrolled Tatyana in sports programs as a way to build her strength. Tatyana fell in love with wheelchair racing, and her powerful arms brought success.

Today, Tatyana is the world’s most decorated Paralympic athlete. She has 17 Paralympic medals, 24 World Major Marathon wins, and has broken five world records in track and field.

In this interactive live Teamraderie experience with Tatyana, through examples from her life finding meaning in sport, she will help your team re-think their goals for the purpose of pursuing engagement and flow.

Very often people set goals that push them to work harder; the common theme is ‘sacrifice’. Tatyana will discuss why goals that support engagement and flow over achievement and sacrifice will produce the best results for your team and for your team members’ well-being.

The experience page has a video where Tatyana explains how she would engage your team. Consider scheduling this session to help your team set meaningful goals and attain flow.

Skills for Managers That Will Make a Difference in 2022

The 2022 year might be still new, but the key trends that are going to define its workforce have already crystallized:

To help modern managers adapt to the workplace of 2022, experts from MIT Sloan Management Review shared six strategies to embrace:

1. Embrace Inclusive Leadership.

Commit to ensuring all team members are treated equitably.

2. Cultivate Better Collaboration for Teams.

Intentionally craft networks that drive performance, innovation, and engagement.

3. Be Curious About What You Don’t Know — and Create Space for Dialogue.

Attempting to direct employees using partial perspective is foolish.

4. Prevent Bias From Hindering Employee Growth.

Proactively combat the “out of sight, out of mind” bias.

5. Foster Respect by Building Connections.

Demonstrate genuine curiosity about what employees find meaningful.

6. Empower Peer Coaching and Leadership on Teams.

Peers are better able to express empathy, solve problems, and make the time.

To help modern managers, Teamraderie experiences were purposefully designed in collaboration with professors from Stanford University and Harvard Business School.

Here are three examples of Teamraderie experiences to help managers and their teams:

Embrace inclusive leadership

Drink Beer and Learn How Metier Created an Inclusive Taproom

Learn from a manager at an award-winning craft brewery the concepts they introduced to promote inclusion and belonging.

Cultivate better collaboration

Games to Ignite a Thriving Hybrid Team

Participate in three interactive games together as a team to surface empathy, build trust and learn new things about each other.

Empower peer leadership on teams

What If We All Wore Speedos at Work?
Four-time Olympic medalist leads interactive discussion on ‘norms’ of winning sports teams – and what leads teams to perform above their level of talent.

Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

2022 Team Refresh: Is it Time for a Fresh Start in January?

As we move closer to January, you might be thinking about what team-bonding ideas you want to implement next year. After all, the dawn of a new year is the perfect time to do a team refresh. You can capitalize on the things that are working well and get rid of the things that are not.

This article will delve into some great ways to implement team bonding ideas. But first, we want to look at how New Year’s resolutions got their start and how you can make this year fresh and new for the entire team. There’s no better time than the first of January to make changes for the better.

What is a 2022 team refresh?

As teams return after holidays, leaders are ensuring they start by planning a shared team experience.

Why? 2022 begins with uncertainty. For example, the recent back-and-forth on office reopenings has put additional pressure on employee morale and a sense of stability and predictability.

Research shows the best managers use these times to develop culture and give teams a renewed sense of mission, purpose, and support.

The History of New Year’s Resolutions

It might surprise you to find out what New Year’s resolutions have been around for thousands upon thousands of years. Back in the year 2000 BC, Babylonians had a 12-day festival for the New Year. Crops were planted, kings were crowned, and promises were made to repay debts. This may have been the beginning of the resolutions we make today.

The Romans adopted the New Year’s practice, but the timing changed and shifted to January 1. January was named for the Roman god Janus, who looked forward and backward to new beginnings and resolutions. Romans made sacrifices to Janus with a promise to act well in the New Year.

Resolutions continued through the Middle Ages and continued into our modern times. The actual resolutions of favor have changed over time, but there’s no reason that new team bonding ideas can’t be part of them for you. It could be great for the employees, leaders, and the company as a whole.

Starting the New Year Fresh with Your Team

You want to start things off fresh and make sure everyone is ready and willing to put in great work for the New Year. There are several things you should do to ensure things go smoothly. The first of them is to look at all the things that went well in the year prior. Look at successes and achievements. Then look at where improvements are needed so you can decide what should change moving forward.

While you’re reflecting on what went right (and what didn’t), there’s another thing to think about. As you consider team bonding ideas, ask yourself how you recognized each of your team members for their hard work. Are there things you could have done but didn’t? Now is the time to be aware of that and consider what should go differently in the year coming up.

Reflect on the good and bad, but don’t let yourself get caught up in things. The idea is to consider what to keep the same and what to change. The year is almost up, and now is the time to put new practices into place for the coming year.

After you’ve gone through all the important things to consider about this year – it’s time to start thinking about the future. What kind of goals are most important to you for the upcoming year? If you noticed that you weren’t prioritizing certain things, this is the time to consider how you can change that next year.

As you go through this process, revisit your expectations and be sure they’re realistic and attainable. There’s nothing worse than creating a goal that there is little hope of reaching. At this point, you should make sure the whole team is on the same page. Team members might have ideas that you don’t, so there’s no reason to be shy about bringing them in to talk about expectations and goals for the year coming up.

Goal-Setting Tips for Your Team

You can incorporate your team bonding ideas into goal setting. Whatever improvements you want to make are more likely to occur when a goal is set behind them. However, there are several steps and tips to keep in mind as you build those goals.

For instance, you should start with smaller goals. Don’t take on something huge since it might be hard to reach that in a single step. Instead, look for goals that you know can be achieved. All of these goals should have measurable milestones. Being able to tick off each part of the goal will only make it more exciting to progress on it for your team members.

As you build goals, make sure that they align with the overall goals of the company. Look over what other teams and departments are doing to get an idea of what’s to come. Make sure you fully understand the company mission and priorities for the year coming up. You can also bring in employees for their own input.

Sometimes, employees will come up with goals that you might not have. Other times, they might help you tweak goals or show you that something that might have been a goal isn’t needed. When you have the team on your side, it’s going to make them more likely to step up and help you meet goals. This isn’t a given if you simply tell them goals and leave them to it.

All goals should be SMART goals. This refers to goals that are:

Smart
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-based

When goals are made this way, it’s easier to achieve them. As goals are met, make sure you reward the team members for what they did. It helps keep them working hard and moving forward on the rest of the goals you have for the team.

Of course, you should also be aware that set goals don’t have to remain the same. If priorities shift and the company changes, you may find that some goals are no longer relevant. Feel free to change them when needed for the good of your team and the projects you’re working on.

Team Bonding Ideas for the New Year

The right team bonding ideas will depend on your goals for the upcoming year. Think about what priorities you have moving into the New Year, and then implement those as resolutions. The team bonding ideas below can be used to help you ensure the things you want for the upcoming year are sure to come true.

Goal: Excitement, Trust, and Communication

You want to be sure everyone is excited about the upcoming year. It’s also important for all team members to be on the same page. It can also be useful to work on improving the trust and communication of your team.

Goal: Using Time Efficiently

Making sure you’re using everyone’s time effectively can improve productivity and boost connection within the team. If you are having challenges making hybrid meetings work, consider taking part in Happy, Healthy, and Hybrid – How to Make Work Great.

Goal: Health and Wellness

For those who have a priority based on improving health and wellness, there are ways to incorporate that into the workplace, too. Activate the Body to Active High-Performing Teams helps team members experience resistance training to recharge the mind and strengthen the body at work. Other great kits to act as team bonding ideas include Practice Becoming a Better Advocate for You and Deepen Team Connection Through Painting.

Goal: Create More Inspiration

Are you looking for team bonding ideas that focus on inspiration? Make it exciting with Principles of Poker Applied to Business and Life. Or add a bit more of an immersive twist to what you want to bring into the company this year. Consider the Tartine Bakery and French Press Coffee & Tea Experience to ensure everyone is inspired and having fun.

No matter what team bonding ideas you want, you can find assistance with kits that work for both in-office and at-home employees. Browse the various options and get a head start on fulfilling your work resolutions this year.

So what would set the mood for 2022?

Stanford University’s Bob Sutton helped us develop a list of priority areas and recommended Teamraderie experiences for teams at the start of 2022.

Team Refresh ideas:

1. Priority Area: Team Collaboration

A Legendary NASCAR Coach’s Secrets of Collaboration

Mobilize your team with an engaging session. A legendary coach, who revolutionized the way NASCAR pit crews operated, helps your team see teamwork through the lens of professional pit crews. Your team will perform its own competitive, virtual pit stop (with a car Teamraderie sends you). The experience is led by Andy Papathanassiou.

2. Priority Area: Team Refresh

Team Refresh | Energy, Focus and Fun for Your Team

Studies show that the best teams do a “team refresh” every couple months (especially during the times of change). What do we need to do more of? What do we need to get rid of? The experience is led by Stanford’s Dr. Kathryn Segovia.

3. Priority Area: Plan for Success

The Power of Great Beginnings

At the start of the year, practice imaginary time travel as a team – “travel” back to the past and “look back” from an imaginary future. Studies show that engaging in mental time travel can help leaders and their team members get inspired and make better decisions. The experience is led by Stanford’s Dr. Kathryn Segovia.

4. Priority Area: Better Relationships

Apply Radical Candor to Form Better Relationships

Experience is designed to help leaders and team members strengthen their communication muscles. E.g., learn how to lead explicit conversations about norms, provide feedback, call each other out for not following norms. Especially relevant for hybrid teams. The experience is led by the CEO or Chief Content Officer of Radical Candor.

We hope these ideas are helpful for you as you are starting the new year with your team.

Happy New Year!

7 Ideas for An Engaging Sales Kickoff

Sales kickoffs (SKOs) are incredibly beneficial opportunities to align your team, help them thrive, and understand the full meaning of their work.

An SKO brings your team together and energizes them to make sales. However you decide to host it, your kickoff event ideas should ignite enthusiasm among your employees.

There are many ways to hold a virtual kickoff event if your team is distributed. However, whether team members are in the office, at home, or both, SKOs can bring your team’s strengths, interests, and values together to make them feel deeply fulfilled at work.

Here’s an overview of how to throw an engaging SKO, and some ideas for succeeding both virtually and in-person.

7 Sales Kickoff Ideas

Are you searching for innovative and exciting kickoff event ideas? Here are seven tips and best practices to help you be intentional about your next SKO:

1. Prioritize Identification of Team Purpose

Stanford University researchers found that employees who have a strong sense of purpose outperform their peers, regardless of their level of passion for the work they do. This means that even if employees aren’t particularly passionate about their job, if they understand and believe in the purpose behind it, they are more likely to be motivated and achieve success.

An SKO presents an ideal platform to emphasize your company’s mission and ensure that every member of the team connects with it. It can align everyone’s goals and objectives with the overall purpose of the organization, fostering a sense of unity and shared vision among team members.

2. Leverage External Perspectives

Leveraging an outside perspective, such as a keynote speaker, can help your team learn and apply valuable lessons to their jobs.

Be careful of simply hiring an outside speaker, however. University of Pennsylvania Wharton research suggests that one-way conversations–whether virtual or in-person–reduce energy in a room and have low retention rate.

Here are three tips for maximizing the value of outside speakers:

Hire inclusive speakers: It’s important to ensure that any speakers brought in are inclusive. Harvard Business Review (HBR) suggests that speakers who use inclusive language are 22% more likely to be perceived as authentic.
Keep messaging concise: When it comes to virtual kickoff event ideas, consider that a digital environment leads to the need for more concise messaging. People can get distracted and off focus in a virtual situation, so keeping messaging brief is important.
Invite audience participation: Rather than only having a speaker go over a presentation or research, give the audience a chance to participate in what’s going on. When you give workers the ability to apply and practice what they’re learning, it keeps them engaged. Plus, it’s more likely to stick if a worker has the chance to do something on their own.

When properly implemented, an external speaker can make your SKO memorable and inspire your team as they enter the new sales year.

Teamraderie offers live virtual experiences from experts such as professors, entrepreneurs, Olympic athletes, and more. The interactivity of these workshops will help ensure that your team is involved and retains the information better than a keynote alone.

3. Focus on Connection

SKOs are excellent opportunities to connect with your team. Washington University research shows that interactivity at work leads to not just better well-being, but measurably higher productivity and performance.

If your team is virtual, you might have a harder time brainstorming ways to foster connection through the event. The good news is that connection virtually is absolutely possible with the right tools. Virtual team building events, for example, can help your team bond and foster an inclusive environment.

Teamraderie offers a wide range of team building experiences that are perfect for virtual SKOs and can help your team connect.

4. Set an Appropriate Theme

Now we come to virtual kickoff event ideas that you can use for your company. One great option is to include themed events. Choose something fun and relevant, share the theme, and make the theme a true part of the proceedings. Create virtual backgrounds for your video conferencing software and have a good time getting creative.

A theme and adherence to it can make everyone feel more connected. Another option is to create playlists related to the theme. Have fun choosing other ways to weave in the main focus of the kickoff event.

5. Create Games and Prizes

Another kickoff event idea to use is the inclusion of gamification and prizes. Everyone loves to play games, and it can engage those who might otherwise be quiet.

Having a few prizes for winners makes the event a lot of fun. Since people will be more likely to participate, they’ll retain more information and details.

For example, Teamraderie’s improv games experience is an excellent way to learn important skills such as empathy, trust, and collaboration.

6. Involve Your Entire Team

Finally, make sure the whole team is involved. That means the leaders should be a part of things too.

There are many reasons to incorporate leadership into your kickoff event ideas. However, the most important is that employees are more likely to follow the lead of their superiors.

Besides, if you create a great event, everyone will want to participate, no matter their role at the company.

7. Celebrate and Recognize Your Team

Make sure you choose things that will build morale and leave the audience inspired. As with an in-person kickoff event, you want to celebrate past success while motivating the team for the coming year.

Our virtual card game experience is an excellent way to facilitate this, as it requires each participant to recognize their team members’ strengths while expressing–and receiving–genuine appreciation.

Hosting a Successful Virtual SKO

In-person SKO tactics might not be appropriate for a virtual audience. At the same time, a digital event can be just as effective as one in-person, if not more so. There’s no reason to stop hosting them even if you can’t do it at an office.

It’s important to avoid simply transferring the traditional sales kickoff to an online platform. Instead, reimagine the kickoff as a fully digital event. Embrace the potential of online platforms for team-building and learning. You’ll still be able to perform traditional SKO activities such as recognizing achievements, fostering relationships, and motivating individuals for the upcoming weeks–they’ll just take place online.

Benefits of a Virtual Kickoff

When you’re thinking about kickoff event ideas, and you want to handle the process digitally, there are a ton of benefits. It might turn out that going remote actually turns out to be better than having an in-person event. We’ll walk through a few of the most important events below.

Virtual kickoffs are going to be less expensive than hosting an in-person event.
It’s easier to record and distribute materials and presentations when the kickoff is remote.
There’s no need to worry about travel time when the team members are logging in from home.
Technology can be used for engagement through games, polls, feedback, and surveys. This provides real-time feedback and interaction.
The lower cost of facilitating these events means you can have more of them in the same period of time.

One of the benefits of virtual kickoff event ideas is that instead of cramming numerous sessions into a single day, you can divide them into smaller parts that suit everyone. This reduces presenter fatigue and allows individuals from diverse locations to actively participate.

Maximize Your SKO With Teamraderie

If you’re searching for ways to make your next SKO memorable and effective, Teamraderie offers inspirational research-based team experiences that add value to kickoff meetings. We offer a format in which outside speakers lead highly-interactive live discussions with your team in a short-burst, narrative-centric format.

Our live, virtual experiences will help your team members strengthen connection to your company and purpose, see beyond personal quotas and targets and tap into intrinsic factors that drive performance.

Learn more about how Teamraderie can improve your next SKO, or check out our experience finder to filter your experiences by the outcome you’d like to improve.

What Do Employees Think About WFH and Return to Office?

With the pandemic becoming less of a threat to daily life, the conversation about a return to office needs to happen now. Executives and team leaders have their own thoughts on whether it’s the right option. However, there seems to be less focus on what the average employee thinks about a return to the office.

Exactly how important is WFH and return to office for employees?

Working from Home Is a Priority for Employees

It might not be a major surprise to find out that many team members prefer to remain working from home. It’s clear that the autonomy and flexibility of working remotely have proven to be a reality that workers want, whether a pandemic is occurring or not.

Four in 10 Americans who are currently working from home one day or more a week have indicated they would look for new employment if their business required a full return to business premises. This comes straight from a WFH survey run jointly by the University of Chicago, ITAM, and Stanford University.

However, this isn’t the only statistic that speaks to how important flexible work is for employees. Almost half of the workers who are currently remote would choose to leave their job rather than return to the office. That’s a huge number of people. And it affects businesses of all kinds, so it doesn’t matter what industry you are in. Your workers want to remain working from home.

Of those who would quit in this situation, 6.4% indicate they would do so even if they do not have another job lined up. While this number is smaller, that doesn’t make it any less crucial to be aware of. Having a method for people to work from home will prevent turnover and attrition. It’s something worth considering for team managers and executives.

Employers right now are in a tough spot when it comes to return to office strategies. Even the best solution may leave you losing workers if full-time office appearances are what you are hoping for. A compromise might be the best you can hope for when it comes to keeping your employees happy.

One of the top priorities for workers today is family. This is a big part of the reason that many want to remain working from home. A return to office means a commute and hours away from the things that matter most. Not needing to spend time on the road and in the office gives extra flexibility and more time to spend with loved ones.

Study shows that most employees, especially those living with children, would look favorably on a new job that offers the same pay and the option to work from home 2 or 3 days a week:

Companies are not oblivious to these preferences. The Economist reported that the proportion of tech jobs mentioning remote working jumped to 77% in August:

The chief economist at Indeed sees the shift towards remote working as “permanent”. As companies are embracing a remote or hybrid work model, leaders need to adopt new ways for keeping their teams connected and maintaining culture. Pre-pandemic routines need to be replaced with the ones that ensure trust and equity in a new environment.

Executive vs. Employee Perspective on Return to Office

There is a disconnect between executives who want a return to office and employees who desire the exact opposite. In April 2021, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook sent out an employee message going over the hybrid back-to-work plan. President Joe Biden also sent out a message to federal workers letting them know it’s time to come back to the office.

However, employees aren’t feeling this same excitement and desire to be back in the office. A survey of 10,000 global workers by the Future Forum shows a huge disconnect between executives and employees in terms of the return to office. While 75% of executives want to work from an office at least three days a week, only 33% of employees feel the same way.

There are also other differences in thought. About 44% of executives who were fully remote throughout the pandemic want to come back to the office, while only 17% of employees who did the same thing are interested in a return to office. Tons of other research exists that shows workers are happy being remote and don’t want to go back to the way things were.

Many executives have a better setup at work. Most have an office with a door. Few are dealing with child care problems like employees are. The reality is that even with hybrid work, executives aren’t listening to the employees who want more flexibility. A bias can start between those in the office and those at home.

Is Hybrid Work a Middle Ground for Return to Office?

When executives want a return to office and employees want to remain remote, it might seem there’s no way to make everyone happy. However, hybrid work may be the solution that works for both workers and leadership. It provides many of the benefits of both in office and at home work without a lot of penalties.

If you aren’t familiar with hybrid work, it is a truly flexible work arrangement. It offers a blend of remote, in-office, and on-the-go workers. Employees have a greater deal of autonomy around where they work based on what makes them the most productive. It’s an approach that revolves around unique people and the workplace that works for them.

With hybrid work, employees work where they like, which creates better job satisfaction and productivity. Employees have the flexibility to work from home or any other location that might be comfortable for them. Some might work primarily from home while others mainly work in the office and others could work at both several days a week.

Understanding the benefits and disadvantages of hybrid work can give you a better if of whether it might work for you and your team.

Pros of Hybrid Work

As with any decision, there are pros and cons to hybrid work. With both on-site and remote workers, hybrid models can work well when implemented right. The benefits below may give you an idea of what to expect.

Higher Engagement and Happiness

Workers will choose the work arrangement that makes them happy, efficient, and comfortable. Having a choice between working from home or at the office is empowering for many. Hybrid workers are free to work in the office on days they want to and stay at home when that is preferred.

Increased Efficiency

Hybrid work means fewer people are in the office every day. It’s less crowded and can be made to be more efficient for those who come sin. The additional space can be used for one-to-one meetings, quiet spaces, and other relaxation areas. With the right space management, it never feels too empty or crowded.

Fewer Operational Costs

Costs are reduced with a hybrid model since fewer computers, printers, desks, and office supplies are needed. Utility costs may also go down. Downsizing on real estate can bring in thousands of dollars of savings for companies who go hybrid.

Cons of Hybrid Work

Knowing the drawbacks is also essential when making a change. Below are a few of the disadvantages associated with hybrid work models.

Less Collaboration

Spontaneous chat is harder to incorporate in virtual settings. It can also be challenging for virtual workers to talk to those in the office and vice versa. Putting good communication tools into place can help with this problem.

Challenges Around Scheduling

When there’s flexibility, it can be harder to make schedules. Creating guidelines around schedules can be useful here. When a clear schedule is in place, along with good communication, people are empowered to work and collaborate.

When it comes down to it, there aren’t many cons to having workers remain out of office. And the challenges associated with hybrid work can be mitigated with technology and proper planning. It could be the perfect solution to keep both leadership and workers happy.

FEATURED TEAMRADERIE EXPERIENCE

Moments of connection and engagement are important for remote teams. Teamraderie virtual team experiences provide an effective way to inspire and connect remote teams. One of the most popular experiences is A Legendary NASCAR Coach’s Secrets of Elite Teams.

A legendary Nascar coach, who revolutionized the way NASCAR pit crews operated, joins your team live and helps your team see teamwork through the lens of professional pit crews. Your team will perform its own competitive, virtual pit stop (with a car we send you!).

Tips to Inspire Your Hybrid Team – Teamraderie Olympic Series

As we approach the second half of the year, managers are seeking to inspire hybrid teams and re-energize them with new ideas.

Managing a hybrid team is different from managing an in-office team or even a fully remote team. Energizing and inspiring your workers can have a huge effect on how productive they are.

Jim Citrin, a partner at Spencer Stewart and the author of Leading at a Distance: Practical Lessons for Virtual Success, notes that nearly 70% of leaders find motivating and inspiring people the largest challenge when managing a hybrid team.

Jim Citrin, a partner at Spencer Stuart and the author of Leading at a Distance: Practical Lessons for Virtual Success, found that 69% leaders consider inspiring and motivating people the biggest challenge in a hybrid/remote environment.

Jim shares four ideas to inspire and create a sense of purpose for your hybrid team:

1. Take time to celebrate successes

Share videos or send weekly emails to spotlight individuals’ and teams’ success stories.

2. Use storytelling to create an emotional connection

Storytelling helps people visualize — and connect with — how their work has a real-life impact.

3. Understand what your team values

Ask what team members enjoy both in and outside of work to gain insight into their motivators.

4. Try something new

Many people are struggling with the monotony of their routine — engage your team members in an activity or project outside of the normal day-to-day work.

Building Trust When Managing a Hybrid Team

Trust is a major part of inspiration and motivation. So how can you build trust when managing a hybrid team? Based on a survey from Zoom, 82% of people have more trust when the video is on during meetings. It’s a simple thing to add to meetings to increase trust and inspire the connection of team members.

However, there are other ways to create a deeper sense of trust between leaders and workers and workers and other workers. One of them is the simple act of chatting with them about things unrelated to work. Taking time out for a quick chat can have a major impact on how others feel.

Showing respect is also essential. People who feel respected are going to trust you and want to please you more than those who think you have disrespected them. Make sure the team has a good level of psychological safety around it, so everyone feels safe to share how they feel. Being transparent is also useful for building trust.

Be Empathetic and Communicative

When managing a hybrid team, a focus has to be put on empathy. Things are going to have bumps, and people will stumble. Being empathetic about those things is essential. Help others adapt to new scenarios to avoid mistakes, but be kind when they do occur.

Make a point to communicate well as a leader. There shouldn’t be anyone who feels left out. It doesn’t matter if the person works remotely or in the office. They should be engaged and not feel lonely. This is something that will strengthen the entire team.

Another thing to watch for when managing a hybrid team is burnout. Watch the workload and be attentive to anyone who is struggling. If problems arise, be ready to jump in and help. The earlier you do this, the more it will be appreciated. It can have a huge effect on the team.

TEAMRADERIE OLYMPIC SERIES

One way to apply these ideas in the coming months is to inspire and motivate your team through the Olympic parable.

On July 23, 11,000+ athletes from 200+ countries will converge on Tokyo for the Summer Olympics. For two weeks, the world will collectively honor stories of stamina and strength, of overcoming injury and hardship, of fighting back and fighting through.

Would your team find inspiration from a live, private conversation with an Olympian?

Teamraderie offers your team a live discussion with the Olympics’ most iconic figures. An Olympian will join you, share a short story about what they have learned from their Olympic experience — and start a live discussion with your team that helps them see how their own stories may be similar.

Nadia Comaneci
A legendary gymnast, became the first person to receive a Perfect 10

Nadia will lead your team in a conversation about how an athlete does not prepare for everything — but rather focuses on preparing for anything.

Next, Nadia will engage your team in a discussion about the definition of ‘perfection’ — and suggest it may be best understood as ‘agility and rapid adjustment’ — rather than an ideal state.

Finally, you will talk about ‘success’ vs. ‘significance’ and think about what mark your

Lilly King
The world’s top-rated female swimmer, competes in the 2020 Summer Olympics

How does the world’s fastest woman prepare for the 2021 Summer Olympic games? How should a team ready itself to compete at its highest level?

Lilly King discusses how to be resilient and mentally sharp, how to train for success in ‘imperfect’ moments, how to add a new dimension to any competition.

Lilly will help you explore what ‘Olympic caliber’ could mean to your team.

Summer Sanders
A four-time Olympic medal winner and an American sports commentator

In business we place winners on pedestals and praise achievement. But, in sports, we more commonly recognize that greatness is as much the journey to achievement as it is the achievement itself.

Summer will help your team recognize the glory of the ‘struggle’ as a way of preparing your team to embrace norms required to move the organization forward.

Erik Schlopy
A three-time Olympic alpine ski racer and member of the U.S. Skiing Hall of Fame

The sport of alpine skiing is similar to business in both the variables and the variability of the ground of competition. Erik will explain the parallels you might find familiar between alpine skiing and your business.

In an interactive discussion, Erik will help you understand the origins of performance and innovation and skiing – and lead your team to draw analogies to the origins of these two things in your business.

Simidele Adeagbo
The first Nigerian Winter Olympian and the first African and Black woman to compete in Skeleton at the Olympics

Simidele has dedicated her life to uplifting girls through the power of sport – via a program she has rolled-out in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco in partnership with Nike.

Simidele was also selected as a member of the Obama Foundation Leaders inaugural class in recognition of her work driving positive change across Africa.

Simidele will help your team understand the important voice of female athletes.

Teamraderie experiences are designed to help teams navigate hybrid and remote work. Inspire your hybrid team with one of our many experiences. They can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.

What We Are Reading: Tsedal Neeley’s New Book On “Remote Work Revolution”

In “Remote Work Revolution”, Tsedal Neely shares actionable steps and tools for navigating the enduring challenges teams and managers face today.

Tsedal Neeley is the Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.

Tsedal Neeley believes that virtual, distributed, and global work will become significant parts of work arrangements that will expand our repertoire, skills, and performance.

Earlier this week, we participated in “Remote Work Revolution” launch celebration where Tsedal Neeley and Bill George, Harvard Business School Professor and former Medtronic CEO, discussed the lessons from the book. We would like to share some highlights with you.

Remote work has measured benefits.

One key benefit is that remote lets us do concentrated, focused work. Studies show that asynchronous schedules help agile teams (the fastest-growing type of teaming) be more creative and produce more.

Trust, a key driver of productivity, CAN be created virtually.

Tsedal Nealy introduces a new concept — Trusting Curve.

There are two types of trust:

(1) Swift Trust – To achieve this type of trust, you only need to know if people are competent and dependable.

(2) Emotional Trust – This type of trust is grounded in the belief that an individual takes care and concern for others.

Emotional trust is the type of trust that every manager and team member needs to worry about. The good news is that it can be developed remotely. In fact, physical proximity does not equal emotional proximity and trust. There are two main ways to develop it:

(1) Self-disclosure

Share a bit of yourself — your values, inspirations and thoughts — in small increments. When people do this, others feel that you are relatable and approachable.

(2) Empathy

Allow for informal interactions that build empathy. The best leaders seek to know what’s really going on.

Feeling fully included is the most important thing in hybrid work.

Ensuring that individuals connect with each other even if they are not together is every manager’s responsibility. As a leader, you must develop the discipline of inclusion.

– You need to watch air time and make sure that every person gets a fair share of it — no matter if they are in the office or joining virtually.

– Also, people with perceived lower status (for example, junior colleagues) should be invited to speak first.

Work model has to align with your actual needs and not your fears.

Hybrid and remote work models are going to be the future so long as we have confidence in our employee base. Old work styles are gone, but there is a risk that some organizations will want to retain control.

Instead, ask yourself: To what extent does our critical task depend on people coming in? If the critical task can be done remotely, you CAN make modern work styles work. Trust your people and you can thrive given you built new norms and developed the discipline of inclusion.

To drive cohesion, promote common goals and purpose non-stop.

Cohesion means that everyone knows their true north and it is aligned with the company’s true north. Launch and relaunch are particularly important. Every 6 to 8 weeks, leaders need to talk about the shared values, norms, and goals with their remote or hybrid teams.

These ideas from “Remote Work Revolution” resonated with us at Teamraderie as we believe that modern remote/hybrid/global work styles will be the future. Teamraderie virtual experiences are designed to cultivate emotional trust, inclusion and cohesion in teams.

You can reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com or visit our experience finder if you would like to learn more.

What could you do to increase psychological safety for your team?

Psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking. It is one of the most important traits of high-performing teams.

As Harvard Business Review explains it, psychological safety allows for speaking your mind, sharing non-standard ideas, and sticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off — just the types of behavior that lead to market breakthroughs.

Cornell University conducted a study of psychological safety in work teams. Here is what they learned:

1. Team psychological safety affects learning behavior, which affects performance.
A climate of safety and supportiveness enabled team members to try new things and embrace error. Conversely, a lack of safety contributed to reluctance to ask for help and unwillingness to question the team goal for fear of sanction by management.

2. Team psychological safety is not the same as group cohesiveness.
Cohesiveness can reduce willingness to disagree and challenge others’ view implying a lack of interpersonal risk taking. Psychological safety, by contrast, is a sense of confidence the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up.

3. Team psychological safety is something beyond interpersonal trust.
Team psychological safety describes a team climate in which people are comfortable being themselves. All team members must hold a similar perception of safety. It’s not something that a boss can build with each team member individually.

We really liked the chart below — it connects ‘psychological safety’ to ‘business outcomes’ in a direct, intuitive way:

Illustration: a model of team physiological safety and learning behavior.

Teamraderie used the findings from academic research to curate a set of 45-minute experiences cultivating psychological safety:

(1) Swirl, Sniff, Slurp and Swallow

Slurping olive oils (with the guidance from Certified Master of Olive Oil) is a fun way to do something unconventional together and foster a feeling of safety.

(2) Onboarding to Create a Thriving Team

With the guidance from a Stanford Professor, a newly expanded team participates in three games that lead to safety, trust and authentic connection.

(3) Get Your Team Into the Creative Zone

Reduce tension and create psychological safety with creativity-focused improv exercises. Do this immediately before your next brainstorming session.

Reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com or visit our experience finder if you would like to learn more.

Why the Best Gift You Can Give Your Team Is…Curiosity?

No organization is immune to change. The COVID-19 pandemic was an excellent example of the importance of adaptability. Successful teams need to be prepared to respond effectively to organizational, economic, and industry-wide changes.

The question for leaders then becomes: How do you equip teams to thrive in an era defined by change and “new normals”?

One of the most important characteristics of successful teams is curiosity. Here’s an overview of the benefits of curiosity, and how shared virtual experiences can cultivate this trait.

7 Benefits of Curiosity at Work

Curiosity is an important part of our personal growth and learning. With this growth comes many benefits, too. From physical to mental well-being, curiosity is an important piece of your thriving team puzzle.

Here’s a list of some of the top benefits of curiosity.

1. Curiosity Improves Creative Problem-Solving

Curious people have less defensive reactions to stress and less negative reactions to setbacks.

Being resourceful is a must for those who are curious and determined to find answers. Team members with curiosity will ask questions until they find answers. It’s a game to discover different ways to solve problems.

Because of this, curious team members are often excellent at coming up with innovative and original ideas and thoughts.

2. Curiosity Makes People Happier

Research indicates that curiosity is related to increased levels of:

Positive emotions
Well-being
Satisfaction

In addition, it seems that the most curious people have less anxiety than others.

It’s believed that those who are curious are more apt to seek out knowledge which causes the release of dopamine.

Fostering a sense of curiosity is great for you and your team. Asking questions, coming up with new ideas, and similar actions could make you a happier person.

3. Curiosity Leads to Higher Achievement

Curiosity has long been considered a motivator for excellent classroom learning for kids. However, research indicates that the same is true for adults. People in the workforce who are curious tend to have better job performance and tend to excel at learning in the workplace.

They’re also less susceptible to confirmation bias—looking for information that supports their beliefs and ignoring data suggesting they are wrong. Curious teams also don’t stereotype as often.

4. Curiosity Expands Our Empathy

Another benefit of curiosity is a higher level of empathy. The most empathetic people are curious about those around them.

Members put themselves in one another’s shoes and take an interest in others’ ideas rather than focusing only on their own perspectives. This reduces instances of group conflict.

A natural sense of inquisitiveness is to be lauded. It means team members will work to understand each other in all situations.

5. Curiosity Strengthens Our Relationships

People who are curious about others’ lives—without coming across as intrusive—are often better at creating positive relationships.

That’s because active listening is one of the most critical factors in relationship-building. This can help your team connect with one another and build trust as they get to know one another.

6. Curiosity Helps Us Overcome Fears

When people are curious, they don’t experience as many setbacks related to fears. Curiosity means pushing beyond discomfort and taking solace in the unknown. It can drive people to take action even when fear is present.

Curious individuals are open to going past their comfort zones. If it results in learning about something they’re passionate about, they’ll continue exploring.

7. Curiosity Breeds Self-Awareness and Humility

Curious people are constantly questioning their values, perceptions, and beliefs about life. These people tend to know each other inside and out. Having that high degree of self-awareness leads to humility.

These team members are willing to experiment even when it comes to themselves. Finding methods to improve skills is a common activity. Curious people are always looking to create the best version of themselves.

What To Do if Your Team’s Curiosity Needs a Boost

If you’re hoping to foster curiosity in your workplace, modeling inquisitiveness and leading by example is often the best place to start. Most executives feel obliged to provide the answer and show ‘leadership’. However, the best form of leadership—particularly in times of ambiguity—may be to ask questions and listen with curiosity.

As an example, Toyota has maintained a lead over auto manufacturers, not by inventing kanbans and lean production, but by maintaining a culture of humble learning—of curiosity—that’s embedded in the Toyota Way.

Building Curiosity With Teamraderie

Want to help your team develop their own curiosity? Our “Uncork Curiosity” virtual experience is a 45-minute wine tasting that tells the story of lawyer-turned-vintner Jim Barrett who bought a crumbling 150-acre estate in Napa Valley in 1972.

Barrett knew little about wine, but hired for ‘curiosity’ and gave his team the confidence to innovate. Four years later, Jim Barrett’s Chateau Montelena produced the world’s #1-rated wine, starting a multi-decade run of producing the world’s most innovative and acclaimed bottles.

If you’re interested in finding out more about our experiences, consider taking our quiz or chatting with TeamraderieGPT to find an experience that fits your team’s specific needs.

What Is the Right Leadership Style for Remote Teams?

It’s natural for managers to want to keep track of employees’ activity while working from home. CNBC reports that worker monitoring tools experienced surging growth after the pandemic as companies adjusted to remote work. Google searches for “employee monitoring” reached peak popularity in May, 2020.

The Problem With Employee Monitoring Software

Some employee monitoring software companies measured a 600% spike in interest from prospective customers. Many resources dedicated to employee monitoring software tools became available online.

For example, some of the critical features of monitoring software include:

Employee desktop live viewer
Smart time and activity control system
Screen recording

As Kate Lister, President of Global Workplace Analytics, told CNBC, one of the biggest holdbacks of remote work has been trust.

Many managers are used to a style of leadership that involves tracking attendance rather than measuring results. This lack of trust likely drives the immediate urge to instill and expand monitoring capabilities.

The problem with this micromanagement leadership style is that it simply isn’t effective. A Harvard Business Review (HBR) study revealed that employees who were monitored using this technology were much more likely to:

Take unapproved breaks
Intentionally break rules
Work more slowly
Damage workplace property
And more

This is likely because monitoring workers decreases their sense of responsibility for their actions, making it more likely that they’ll place blame on their managers for their actions.

Another HBR article highlighted that excessive employee monitoring causes employees to feel like their privacy is being violated and harms their sense of wellbeing.

How To Improve Productivity Without Monitoring

But is there a way for leaders to establish trust and sustain productivity without extensive monitoring?

According to a McKinsey article, leadership will need to adjust their leadership style whether they’re in-person or virtual. Instead of excessive monitoring, leaders should instead focus on improving teamwork, trust, and social cohesion.

Building a team that you can trust is likely to have much more positive outcomes than excessive monitoring and micromanagement.

What Are the Implications for Teams?

Leaders should be deliberate about building cohesion and trust in distributed teams. Leaders need to ask themselves: “How will I be perceived differently as a leader in this environment? How do I “show up” for my team? How do I help my team members stay connected?”

An excellent way to begin building trust and cohesion is by incorporating Teamraderie experiences into your corporate culture. Our experiences are live, virtual workshops that improve outcomes such as team cohesion, trust, wellbeing, inclusion, and belonging.