In a perfect world, your office would run efficiently and smoothly. Everyone would get along, understand each other and support each other's efforts. Deadlines would always be met and team members would come to work excited about their days. However, in the real world, the workplace is riddled with different office personalities, each with their own agendas, egos, and often, conflicting goals, resulting in competing and combustible team members, says Frank Reinelt, Senior Director for Northern Europe and Emerging Markets at Mindjet.
It is important to understand that the terms "collaboration" and "teamwork" are quite different. While teamwork requires individuals to work together harmoniously towards achieving a common goal, collaboration tends to band together people with various goals, only a few of which are usually shared. Thus, the very nature of collaboration means that, at some point, a clash between team members is inevitable.
In fact, research put together by Salesforce.com Rypple stated that 86% of respondents surveyed blamed a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for failure in the workplace. Not only this, but more than 97% maintained that lack of alignment within a team has a direct impact on task or project outcomes and almost 100% would prefer an open and honest workplace.
Interestingly, around 40% of respondents believed that decision-makers consistently fail to seek another opinion, and less than 50% felt that issues are discussed truthfully and effectively within their companies.
These figures highlight the fact that, not only would people prefer to operate within a more approachable, trustworthy environment, but also that collaboration doesn't just "happen" when a group of people are put together and given a task. How then do you foster this in a real and transparent way?
Learning what works best for your personality, and how to overcome potential friction, will give you the keys to maximising your own success and that of your team. When it comes to collaboration, the team that works together effectively and mindfully, regardless of the varying personality types, will benefit from greater team alignment, more innovative ideas, and increased ownership and buy-in for the team's plans and strategies. And the team that doesn't... well... won't.
Five top tips to promote effective and mindful collaboration
1. Clarify your intentions. Are you solving a problem? Trying to build alignment? Looking for innovation? Defining your strategy? Planning your initiative? Be clear with your intentions. What outcomes are you really seeking? Now, make it more mindful: work out how you will set the tone, create a space that promotes openness and respect, foster inclusiveness and ensure each team member has had an opportunity to contribute. Take some time to understand how you operate, what personality types you are working with, and ascertain the best approach for facilitating your team meeting.
2. Take care of your language. What you say will reveal your thought processes. If you think a problem is unsolvable or a waste of time, that will show itself in the meeting. Your choice of words will either encourage or halt progress. Are you cutting down ideas and the flow of conversation too soon? This will ultimately discourage participation - even if you know the ideas will not be used in the long run. Try not to counter or argue, but rather build off the momentum and encourage more ideas to flow.
3. Observe your behaviour. Your body language and behaviour speak volumes. Your behavioural patterns with others will sometimes work in your favour, producing positive results, and at other times will work against you. Become an observer of yourself. Was your last meeting positive or negative? In what ways did your behaviour contribute to the outcome? Getting to know your habits will ultimately create more freedom for you to choose how to behave in order to set the stage to achieve your desired results. People will have a sense for what and how you are feeling by how you hold yourself, your tone, and how you respond to questions or direct questions at others.
4. Be caring and curious. When you approach a room with compassion, people respond positively to that. Stress, on the other hand, tends to be counter-productive as people tend to shut down and become introverted when they are stressed. Being curious and caring will let you (and others) start to see the unique perspectives that each team member brings and you will start to uncover the real issues, not just the superficial ones.
5. Express disagreements differently. Mindfulness does not equate to being a pushover. Learn to be direct and assertive, where appropriate, without resorting to attacks, sarcasm or any disrespect. When faced with someone behaving negatively, the tendency is to fall into that trap and respond with a similar tone; but rather be mindful of your original intentions and, while difficult, have compassion for the other party. Most people really want to be heard and are willing to align with the team once they are heard. Be open, be curious, and be respectful.
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