From the course: Teamwork Foundations (with Audio Descriptions)

The right environment

From the course: Teamwork Foundations (with Audio Descriptions)

Start my 1-month free trial

The right environment

“

In a gray office, Chris stands in front of long glass tables with multiple computer stations. Before a team can work well together, even if it's got the perfect mix of people, it needs to have the right physical environment where we can truly feel like a team. Are there communal areas and times when people are allowed or even encouraged to go there? Do the communal areas make people feel valued by providing free tea and coffee, maybe even fruit or snacks? An illustration depicts four diverse people in a boardroom. Three of them sit at a long table. A woman stands leaning at the end of the table. They each have a cup of coffee. Are there enough meetings but not too many, and are they well run? In a boardroom, four people sit around a long table and use laptop and tablet computers. A whiteboard and clock hang on the wall behind them. Are there any fun events which make people talk to and really get to know each other? On a beach, a palm tree grows in the sand and the sun sets over the ocean. A man and a woman hold trash pickers. The man puts litter into a bag. Setting up this environment stuff is really the boss's job. But any team member can suggest activities that will make this happen. In an office, four people stand in a row with their hands raised as they high five. A title reads, "Team activities." Things like games, competitions, short trips, celebrations of any kind from birth days and births of colleagues, babies to big orders received, and projects being completed. At a whiteboard, a man with his hands on his hips reads a quote, "Alone, we can do so little, together, we can do so much." Helen Keller. One place I visited recently has a thought of the day written up on a whiteboard, and anyone who has a good one can write it up there. We return to the instructor. I told them I thought it was a great idea and they surprised me by asking if I'd like to write up the day's thought. And I felt really honoured, actually. By the way, I just put, "Be yourself." That was the best I could come up with. But I thought it was a good one. The thought of the day board is just a small thing, but it's fun. And it's also another team communication activity. So the question is -- Text appears beside the instructor, "Encourage more team activities." -- can you encourage more of these environmental things? Can you suggest to your team members or maybe to your boss that you meet every week that you have meals together every now and then, or that you work nearer to each other? Text appears beside the instructor, "Make your working area more fun and welcoming." Is there anything else that will make your working area feel more fun and more teamy?

Contents