A management committee that doesn’t operate at the right level, departments that work in silos, projects that stagnate… Do you sometimes feel that collaboration could be improved in your organization?
To transform your team into a true performance engine, you need to anchor yourself in your humanity and learn to observe and develop your team dynamics. Improving collaboration within your organization will generate greater performance and richer, more satisfying human experiences for you and your employees. Here’s how.
An effective team is a team rooted in its humanity.
For a tree to be strong, its roots must be deep and firmly anchored beneath the surface of the soil, in rich earth. This is what enables it to withstand strong winds, blossom, and play its role in the living ecosystem of which it is a part. In the same way, the strength of your team comes from the strength of your bonds and the quality of your foundations.
– Go beyond your roles to contribute to the common good.
In an organization, each person plays a role, with priorities and responsibilities aligned with the organization’s objectives. Your roles are essential to the smooth running of your business, but they can also become obstacles to collaboration.
When team members adopt territorial stances to protect their interests, they stop listening to and integrating the perspectives of others. Conversations then turn into debates where everyone tries to win their point, rather than dialogues that aim to generate clarity and commitment for the common good of the team and the organization.
However, to access the collective intelligence of the group, you must contribute beyond your roles, by being fully present and sharing your talents, limitations, strengths, and vulnerabilities—in short, by showing your human side!
– Connect with your basic needs
To ground yourself, make room for thoughtful ideas (the head), aspirations and empathy (the heart), and the ability to take action (the body). Above all, reconnect with your fundamental motivations as a human being, that is, with your needs.
By connecting with what is truly important beneath the surface, your team can reach a whole new level of collaboration. Identifying, naming, and aiming to meet your needs is the key to having difficult conversations in a spirit of kindness and constructive solution-seeking, reducing unspoken tensions between you, and approaching tensions as opportunities to generate greater solidarity within your team. Humility, curiosity, and respect for others make collaboration at the team and organizational levels much more effective, powerful, and satisfying.
The evolution of team dynamics as a source of performance
For an effective culture of collaboration that leads to performance, your ability to observe and evolve together as a team is just as crucial as your awareness of yourselves as leaders.
– Observe yourselves to get to know each other as a team.
To become aware of the usual dynamics and mechanisms within your team, ask yourself:
- How do we usually work together?
- What are the dynamics that enable us to perform well and feel good?
- Which ones cause frustration, burden, and dissatisfaction?
To answer these questions, a team simulation can provide you with useful insight. During a fictional challenge in an environment that replicates a context similar to your usual activities, your team dynamics will come to the surface—there’s no escaping them! Since the stakes are lower in a simulation, it’s easier for you to take a step back and question yourself with an open mind.
You can then work together to determine a team development goal, i.e., the new dynamics you want to develop and the human experience you want to share together.
– Practice changing your dynamics
Of course, this is when the real work begins. As in sports, once you have set a goal, your team must train and practice in their daily work to achieve lasting change. A training plan that takes into account your personality profiles, follow-up rituals tailored to your situation, and support from an external coach are effective ways to ensure your progress.
In conclusion, developing team dynamics requires openness, humility, and a willingness to grow as human beings. All members of your team must be ready to commit—starting with the leader. Beyond achieving business results for your company, such an approach also offers a richer and more satisfying human experience for your team and yourself.
A text by Félix Brochu, coach and trainer, and Nadine Fournier, consultant – CANU
