You may want to reflect on your team’s experience and the discussion that took place. Here are a few of the ideas that may have come up during your team’s experience:
Connect By Establishing Common Ground Through a Shared Experience
Teams can begin to bond through a shared experience, event, or activity. You learned more about your team members this week through sharing tasting notes and something that you personally enjoy. As a team you cultivated a language that allowed you to discuss high-quality olive oils and tasting techniques together.
Begin With Simple Questions to Build Trust
Creating an environment where team members feel safe opening up doesn’t have to be complicated. Begin meetings and bonding experiences with simple questions to build trust. Teams whose members trust each other perform better and find more enjoyment in their work.
People Are More Receptive Than You Think To Inquiry
When questions are relevant to a conversation people are more willing to open up and share personal insight. When we share our knowledge and experience we discover more together and become more innovative.
You may want to begin a future meeting with a team exercise or activity to reflect on and extend the learnings from your Teamraderie experience. Here are some discussion ideas we developed for your team along with basic guidelines for organizing the exercise.
Set aside 10-30 minutes at the start of the meeting or as its own event. Stress to your team that this time is not a “meeting” but a dedicated space to have a break together. Have a clear plan to involve all team members whether virtual or in-person.
Pick one reflection/discussion pair from the options below or mix and match!
Option 1: Objective Tasting and A Beginner’s Mind
Option 2: Discuss the “Vibe” During Your Experience. How might “Vibe” Be Connected to Psychological Safety At Work?
Teamraderie has been asked by some managers for a ‘post-experience summary email’ that they can share with the team members after the 45-minute Teamraderie experience. We drafted a memo for you to customize:
Team,
Thank you for joining our “Olive Oil Tasting” Tasting experience this week.
Beyond a shared experience, I wanted our team to have the opportunity to learn more about each other and to learn something together. I enjoyed hearing everyone’s “tasting notes” and seeing firsthand how our unique perspectives can form even while describing similar flavors. Many of us were new to professional olive oil tasting and by learning together, I know we can share in our respect for objective tasting and for learning the origins of a successful family-owned farm. Each sampling had a unique flavor and story from the plant and olive type to the processing method. I look forward to discussing this further as a team and finding ways to acknowledge our own individual experiences and the unique gifts we each bring to the team.
I look forward to sharing unique foods, and beverages, or simply conversation again as a team and building on the connections made during our Teamraderie tasting experience.
Sincerely,
Manager
Teamraderie experiences are designed in collaboration with management professors at Stanford University and Harvard Business School. Here are the principles incorporated into your experience:
Increase Collaboration and Trust through Shared Food
A University of Chicago (2016) study found people who consumed the same food or beverage would subsequently collaborate better and reach agreements faster. This Teamraderie experience gives your team the opportunity to consume the same (or similar) food at the same time.
The Importance of Asking Simple Questions
A Harvard Business School (2018) study quantified the effect of asking simple questions to promote the exchange of ideas, fuel innovation, and build rapport and trust. This Teamraderie experience emphasizes posing simple questions to uncover the origins of ‘flavor’ in the olive oils.
Team Discussion of How to ‘Action’ a Shared Value
An Ohio State University (2017) study found those who learn something at the same time report feeling more connected to the people whom they learned with and rate those people as more trustworthy. This Teamraderie experience seeks to create a shared epiphany around the flavors and origin plants of each olive oil.
Teamraderie recommends the documents and publications below for additional perspective:
Author: Alice Walton, Chicago Booth School of Business
Highlight: “When exposed to deep vs. shallow conversations, participants felt happier and more connected, regardless of whether they generated the topics themselves or discussed assigned topics.”