A Practical Way to Build Team Connection
Miscommunications and misunderstandings between team members is a leading cause of conflict and decreased productivity in teams. The below exercise is an easy way to get your team on the path to improved communication and collaboration by learning to understand and appreciate personality differences.
This exercise is designed for team members to gain a deeper perspective on each other and how they can best work together. The exercise explores:
- Individual preferences and biases
- Team strengths and composition
- Ways to adapt to each other
A team whose strengths complement each other and whose weaknesses are mitigated through support and communication fosters a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and new ideas.
The Exercise: Understanding Team Thinking Styles
This exercise aims to help team members understand and appreciate the diverse thinking styles within the team, fostering better communication and collaboration.
- Distribute Statements: Each team member needs a copy of these 20 statements for every other team member. For instance, in a team of 5, each person will have 4 copies of the statements (excluding one for themselves).
- Highlight Preferences: Using one sheet per team member, each person will review the 20 statements and highlight 3-5 statements that they feel best describe that teammate.
- Exchange Feedback: Once completed, each team member hands over the highlighted set of statements to the respective teammate. Consequently, every team member will receive a set of highlighted statements from each of their teammates, offering varied perspectives on how they are perceived.
Discussion:
Higher scores in a specific thinking style (numerous highlighted statements in that category) typically indicate a stronger bias. While this can be a strength in scenarios where focused thinking is key, it may lead to trouble appreciating other viewpoints and approaches.
- Reflect on Perceptions: Encourage team members to discuss the highlighted preferences. Discuss instances where these preferences have been evident in behaviour or communication style, and discuss how accurate these perceptions may be.
- Discuss Strengths of Thinking Styles: Identify situations where specific thinking styles can be leveraged as strengths depending on environments and projects. This encourages the team to lean into these areas for enhanced problem-solving and decision-making.
- Compare with Self-Perception: Compare these observations with individual brain profiles to understand the differences between self-perception and team perception.
Bonus Activity: Brainstorming Collaboration Strategies
- Align Communication: Based on the revealed preferences, brainstorm how to adapt communication and collaboration strategies to complement each other's thinking styles.
- For example: logical thinkers may prefer clear and concise explanations and a focus on data and facts, while people-oriented thinkers may prefer a focus on relationships, social dynamics and opportunities for team bonding.
- Actionable Steps: Have team members jot down ideas on how to apply these approaches in the coming week, aiming to enhance team synergy.
This exercise is not just about identifying thinking styles but actively using this understanding to improve teamwork. Encourage an open-minded and experimental approach to integrating these insights into daily interactions and collaborations. The goal is to enhance mutual understanding, respect, and effective collaboration within the team.
