Work is where we spend most of our time during the week. In fact, we spend more time during the day with our colleagues than with our friends and family. However we don’t always understand our co-workers—because being honest with one another is scary, and sometimes, we just don’t have the time to truly get to know one another. Furthermore, when you work at a large company like I do, with a diverse organization, we all bring unique talents, skills, and workstyles to the table. We are stronger for this diversity, but that also means that we all think, work, and communicate in different ways.
To bring the best out of your team, consider spending some time working on key enablers of team dynamics, such as taking the time to understand each others workstyles, communication preferences, and general approaches to working on teams. This is beneficial twofold. First, it will help each individual articulate to yourself you work and communicate most effectively, and second, it can help everyone else on the team understand the same exact thing. When you know how people think, work, and operate, you have a great foundation for how you can best approach your work with others on your team to drive successful results.
Psychological safety—the ability to share your thoughts and ideas openly, honestly, and without fear of judgment—has been repeatedly proven the key to innovative, happy teams. If you understand your colleagues better, you’ll be better positioned to build trust and collaborate together to achieve successful goals.
To drive greater trust, collaboration and communication, I’ve put together a toolkit that I’ve used with my own team to help us get to know each other better, and I want to share that here to help others do the same. Check it out:
One way to break down barriers and promote trust and transparency is by having everyone on your team create a “User Manual.” This is a document that articulates who you are, your work style, how to best communicate to you, and how to engage and support you in working together. By having your entire team understand how to communicate best with one another, you can find improved ways of working together.
Update: I shared my thoughts on this with Business Insider – take a read
How to build your user manual
There are many ways to write a user manual, but here is a good framework to use to start to build your own.
- My style: This section is about your approach and mindset. It’s also a great area to articulate experiences or approaches that shaped who you are, how you think, etc.
- What I value – This is all about what you value, and what you hold dearly, out of yourself, but others too
- What I don’t have patience for – These are things that frustrate you, or that you are challenged by when you see them or when they happen
- How to best communicate with me – This is about providing feedback and guidance for others on how they can communicate with you in a way that reaches you and that you understand
- How to help me – This is honest feedback and advice for how others can bring out the best in you.
- What people misunderstand about me – This section is your chance to explain anything that might be hard to understand on the surface about yourself.
A few thoughts:
- This requires self reflection and vulnerability – This is a very honest and raw exercise, and to do it well, requires a sense of vulnerability to complete this and share it
- Do this as a Team – It helps to do these as a team exercise so you can help build trust with one another, and also make it more actionable.
- Review and Provide Feedback – Take some time as a team to meet and share with one another and then to ask for feedback. You may surprise others with what you describe in your user manual, and their feedback may also surprise (and help) you as you refine and edit your own user manual
How To Get Started: Take a look at mine if you need some guidance on how to create your own
Business Chemistry
In order to build high-performing teams, leaders must tap the diverse employees workstyles and skillsets to drive results. However, that can be challenging when we don’t exactly understand the skillsets and styles of each of our own team members, and how they work best and operate in a team-based environment.
To help leaders claim this lost value, Deloitte created a system called Business Chemistry that identifies four primary work styles and related strategies for accomplishing shared goals. Think of this as an MBTI, but adapted for the Business and Professional Sphere. The actual system was developed by Dr. Helen Fisher (founder and lead scientist behind Match.com!) and has been tested and refined through hundreds of thousands of participants. The goal of Business Chemistry is 3 fold
- Understand yourself, your preferences, strengths, and styles
- Understand others, and their preferences and strengths and styles
- Understand how to “flex” your style in a team based environment to work with others to achieve results
Deloitte found through their research that there are four archetypes, or styles. Each of us is a blend of all four styles, but we are all aligned mostly with 1-2. All styles are important and bring important skillsets and approaches. here are the four styles:
- Pioneers value possibilities, and they spark energy and imagination on their teams. They believe risks are worth taking and that it’s fine to go with your gut. Their focus is big-picture. They’re drawn to bold new ideas and creative approaches.
- Guardians value stability, and they bring order and rigor. They’re pragmatic, and they hesitate to embrace risk. Data and facts are baseline requirements for them, and details matter. Guardians think it makes sense to learn from the past.
- Drivers value challenge and generate momentum. Getting results and winning count most. Drivers tend to view issues as black-and-white and tackle problems head on, armed with logic and data.
- Integrators value connection and draw teams together. Relationships and responsibility to the group are paramount. Integrators tend to believe that most things are relative. They’re diplomatic and focused on gaining consensus.
These four styles are great in providing a common language for how to work together. For example, if you know that two of your team members are guardians, and love stability, order, and rigor, it might make sense that when you have a meeting with them, you come prepared with an agenda, clear action items, and next steps.
How To Get Started
- Take The Business Chemistry Assessment – Take the assessment to find out what your style is
- Learn more about each of the other styles – Read up on business chemistry and the other styles so you can learn how you can relate to others
- Discuss with your team – Have a feedback session with your team to share your style with others and brainstorm ideas of how you might approach working with individuals who are similar/different than you? Think about your primary stakeholders, cross-functional partners, etc.
- Practice Hunching – This is the process of hypothesizing what someone might be, and tailoring your approach to what you think their style is. Consider using this in your next meeting with a key stakeholder
Building Trust helps foster collaboration and pyschological safety, which in turn makes your team a safe place for individuals to be their full selves. When they can do this, it creates better opportunities to unleash innovation and have team members do their best work.