“I don’t need to think about build a connected team, I just let everyone connect how they want” is what I hear a lot of my clients say.
They are wrong, if you don’t focus on building the culture that you want then you let the dominant personality in your business build the culture they want. And if you have people that are less confident or introverted then they disconnect and will leave – what’s worse is they are probably your best employees.
So, what do you do? Build a system that creates the culture you want.
Due to COVID we have learnt in my Fire Protection Business that we don’t need an office, all of the admin and management team now work from home, and this forced us to think seriously about how we stay connected.
The result
Our staff have made comments like
And the barriers between departments have been eroded.
What did we do?
We designed a strategy that changes the focus of a meeting based on its frequency. At one extreme are our daily huddles and calls. These are 90% task focused and a little social.
Contrast this with our annual dinner which is 99% social. Our weekly, quarterly and monthly meetings are balanced on a continuum between these two extremes. If we take our admin team as an example
The team are better connected now than they have ever been.
What should you do?
Look at how you communicate with your team and how you have or have not included social interaction within that communication rhythm.
Compare this with the model and adjust as you need to.
And then remember that you are the driver of this, so you must book the meetings, drive the agendas and make sure they happen – it’s your job, you are their leader!
Want some help? Then book our Business Audit session where we can review this, your cash flow and what you are doing with your time.
They are wrong, if you don’t focus on building the culture that you want then you let the dominant personality in your business build the culture they want. And if you have people that are less confident or introverted then they disconnect and will leave – what’s worse is they are probably your best employees.
So, what do you do? Build a system that creates the culture you want.
Due to COVID we have learnt in my Fire Protection Business that we don’t need an office, all of the admin and management team now work from home, and this forced us to think seriously about how we stay connected.
The result
Our staff have made comments like
- “We are better connected than we have ever been”
- “We have a real feeling of team now”
- “I didn’t know X about person Y and they’ve worked for us for years”
And the barriers between departments have been eroded.
What did we do?
We designed a strategy that changes the focus of a meeting based on its frequency. At one extreme are our daily huddles and calls. These are 90% task focused and a little social.
Contrast this with our annual dinner which is 99% social. Our weekly, quarterly and monthly meetings are balanced on a continuum between these two extremes. If we take our admin team as an example
- They have a daily huddle on zoom to talk about what the tasks are for that day and who needs help, they last less than 15 minutes.
- Once a week this huddle is replaced with a face to face catch up for coffee, 15 minutes of business and 30 minutes of social interaction.
- Once a month they catch up for lunch, 15 minutes of business and 1 hour of social
- Once a quarter we have a Team Day, there is a shared lunch, 1 hour of training and 2 hours of a team building activity.
- And every year our annual dinner where we share a meal and celebrate our successes.
The team are better connected now than they have ever been.
What should you do?
Look at how you communicate with your team and how you have or have not included social interaction within that communication rhythm.
Compare this with the model and adjust as you need to.
And then remember that you are the driver of this, so you must book the meetings, drive the agendas and make sure they happen – it’s your job, you are their leader!
Want some help? Then book our Business Audit session where we can review this, your cash flow and what you are doing with your time.
