How to Stay Connected in a Virtual World

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Many people have worked virtually for over two years now. Some companies are incorporating virtual work into the new normal. It’s harder to build and maintain connections with colleagues when you don’t see them in person. We don't have the short, casual conversations we had when we would run into coworkers in the elevator or at the coffee station.

Virtual meetings may have become more structured, without time or opportunity for non-work chit-chat. It’s also harder to chat informally online because it’s so easy to talk over each other.

Having strong connections with coworkers is one of the 7Cs of team resilience, making it more likely your team will respond to change and disruption in a flexible and innovative manner. If your team feels less connected now that you're working virtually, be proactive about rebuilding relationships.

Here are some suggestions on how to stay connected with colleagues in a virtual world:

Make People Feel Good

A close relationship needs positivity, consistency, and vulnerability. If you’re talking with a colleague on a video chat, you want the person to leave your presence feeling good. You can do so by offering compliments, laughing together, helping out, showing empathy, and celebrating each other.

Restructure Meetings

Think about how you run your meetings and add time for personal interaction. For example, start meetings with something that creates affinity - e.g., go around the group and have everyone tell their sweet and sour of the week. If you're having a large group discussion, break into smaller groups that report back - people will be more open and honest in smaller groups and will be more likely to build connections with their teammates. Allow people to join meetings early so they can catch up and chat about other issues. If you're running a meeting, value team sharing as much as productivity. Make time for personal-life sharing during the meeting. Talk about hobbies and what people did over the weekend.

Embrace Being Human

When we're working from home, we see a lot more about our colleagues' personal life than we would in the office. Don't ignore these personal intrusions. If a dog barks in the background, ask about it. If a child enters the screen, chat with them. Acknowledging someone's personal life builds affinity.

Schedule Micro-Moments

Since you're not running into your coworkers at work, be proactive about scheduling micro-moments. Schedule a short virtual coffee date, or share weekly highlights on a Friday phone call. Create Slack channels for posting photographs of pets or employees engaged in their hobbies. Here are some fun ideas for Slack channels that help build connections: https://museumhack.com/5-channels-better-slack-use/.

Create Virtual Team Building Activities

Plan a virtual happy hour or book club. Use a tool such as Google Pixel Art to set up a shared spreadsheet and encourage team members to add to a joint drawing. See where the drawing takes you every time a different team member adds their colors and designs.

What has helped your stay connected to coworkers in your virtual world?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

How to Ensure Formal Award Programs Build Team Resilience

The author presenting an award at the U.S. Consulate Kolkata

In a recent resilience training session, several employees told me they did not feel appreciated by their leadership because they had not had an award ceremony in several years. While the organization gave awards, employees were disappointed that certificates appeared on their desks with no formal presentation.

The organization's leadership, however, had a different view. They felt that employees viewed awards as an entitlement, not as a reward for work above and beyond the norm. They thought employees were overlooking and undervaluing the appreciation they had received in other forums.

This tension highlights a frequent debate surrounding awards and employee recognition programs. While research shows that affirmation, feedback, and reward motivate employees to do their best work, many people strongly dislike formal award programs. While award ceremonies have a positive impact in some organizations, in other offices they may lead to lower instead of higher morale.

I suspect that concerns about award programs arise when leadership has stumbled into one or more award pitfalls. When this happens, morale can suffer, and team resilience may erode. Here are some of the most common pitfalls:

Common Award Pitfalls

• Lack of fairness and transparency: When awards are not fair and transparent, employees become bitter and cynical. To avoid this pitfall, communicate award guidelines widely. Be impartial and transparent when applying the rules. If an employee expects an award, have a conversation about why and be open to finding award-worthy performance that isn't obvious. If you believe an award is not warranted, don't submit an award nomination. Instead, clearly explain your reasoning and what the employee can do in the future to earn the recognition.

• High performers are overlooked: When leadership overlooks high performers, some may become less motivated. Be generous with awards and ensure that managers take the time needed to submit nominations for their best performers. If a manager consistently neglects to nominate employees, have a performance management discussion with that supervisor. Explain that failure to recognize and reward strong performers will negatively impact the office, and you expect the manager to nominate deserving employees for awards. A clear message from leadership regarding expectations can be powerful.

• Poor performers receive awards: When poor performers receive awards, it devalues the awards for everyone else. Staff morale will often go down when leadership recognizes individuals who are widely seen as undeserving, self-serving, toxic, or too absorbed in stroking the boss without performing. Or, they are known to engage in behaviors that violate organizational norms and values (e.g., people who engage in discriminatory or harassing behavior). Managers need to resist pressure to nominate and approve awards for these known poor performers.

• Low budgets: When budgets are tight, some organizations may reduce the number of awards they issue. While it is always nice to get money with an award, public recognition for work well done is also impactful. It is better to give more awards for less money each than limit the number of awards. During or after a crisis, consider granting more awards than usual to acknowledge the challenges employees experienced.

• A rushed award ceremony: While many of us find award ceremonies to be tedious and lengthy, the only thing worse than a ceremony that is too long is a ceremony that is too short. Bringing people together and then rushing events can feel insulting and give the impression that leadership is not committed enough to give their time to the event. Read the citations, take time for photos, and properly thank employees for their contributions. Find ways to keep the ceremony from dragging on without cutting the essential aspects of employee recognition ceremonies. Skimping on food demonstrates that leadership does not believe people are worth the expense. Don't be lavish or wasteful, but provide quality food that doesn't run out.

Why Have an Award Ceremony?

Given these pitfalls, it can be tempting to scrap a formal award ceremony. In doing so, you may lose an opportunity to strengthen your team’s resilience. If you put in place systems and structures that avoid the risks, award ceremonies can foster team resilience in the following ways:

• Demonstrate commitment: By taking the time to write an award nomination, managers demonstrate their commitment to employees. Time is precious, so taking the time to nominate someone for even a minor award sends a message that the person is worth your time. I often nominated employees for competitive awards and showed them the nomination, even when I was not confident they would be selected.

• Show consideration: Public recognition is a great way to show consideration to employees. While a private "thank you" is useful, public recognition has the added benefit of demonstrating to the entire team how much senior managers value people in the organization. Award ceremonies provide an open forum for leaders to signal to employees that their organization cares about and appreciates them.

• Create one culture: Award ceremonies build one culture by identifying "organizational heroes," individuals and groups who embody the organization's core values. Reading award citations aloud tells the organization's story, and hearing about the work award recipients have done can inspire others.

• Build connections: Once we can have in-person award ceremonies again, they can be enjoyable social events that build relationships between team members. Since they are organization-wide, it provides an opportunity for employees to make social connections with colleagues in other parts of the organization and across hierarchies.  

• Increase coordination: A public event that highlights the work of different organizational components helps employees stay in sync and work toward common goals. When awards are linked to organization-wide goals, it encourages employees to view their work as part of a larger whole.

What are your thoughts on award ceremonies? What pitfalls have you experienced, and how have award ceremonies improved your team's resilience?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Want to Improve Team Resilience? Strengthen Relationships

Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

Building social connections with your work colleagues will improve your team's resilience. When you know the people you work with, you're more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt if they do something that hurts you. You'll also be more likely to work through conflict and collaborate on projects more effectively.

Unfortunately, coronavirus has made it much more difficult to build and maintain work relationships. As we start to return to the workplace, make it a priority to reach out to colleagues and build connections.

While parties are the most common way to encourage social interaction at work, they are not that effective. They can overwhelm introverts, who will often avoid the party. People tend to talk only to people they already know at a party, rarely meeting new people. And, research shows that when people engage only in small talk, which parties promote, they become less close over time. Virtual parties can be particularly draining, especially if you’re teleworking and spending most of your time on a computer.

Instead, look for activities that promote meaningful conversations and forge authentic connections. Here are some suggestions for ways you can build strong connections in the workplace:

Ask a Colleague to Lunch

Eating together is a social glue that strengthens relationships and fosters personal connections. Cornell psychologist Brian Wansink studied firehouses and found that firefighters who shared group meals performed better as a team than firefighters who ate solo. You don't need to spend money in a restaurant; eating together in a break room or on a park bench, or having a virtual lunch is enough.

Be Creative Together

Instead of planning a traditional team off-site, consider hosting an event where the team works together on a creative project. One of my favorite group activities is PaintFests organized by the Foundation for Hospital Art. Another option is an annual Share Your Passion event where employees demonstrate their hobbies for each other. If you want to keep it virtual, use a tool such as Google Pixel Art to set up a shared spreadsheet and encourage team members to add to a joint drawing. See where the drawing takes you every time a different team member adds their colors and designs.

Start a Book Club

Book clubs are a great way to build camaraderie while also improving professional development among staff. And, it is easy to have virtual club meetings. Check out this website for pointers on how to start a book club at work.

Create working groups

Identify organization-wide issues that would benefit from collaboration and problem solving and create working groups to develop ideas and solutions. In addition to bringing people together from different work units, you'll also provide growth opportunities for working group chairs.

Create a Workspace That Brings People Together

Whether it's a water cooler, jigsaw puzzle table, or shared coffee maker, ensure your workplace has a space that naturally encourages people to gather. Conversations that take place while we wait for the coffee to brew can be compelling. Create a Slack channel for posting photographs of pets or employees engaged in their hobbies. Here are some fun ideas for Slack channels that help build resilience: https://museumhack.com/5-channels-better-slack-use/.

Encourage Wellness Activities

If you have space, organize regular yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, or other wellness activities sessions. Step competitions are another way to build relationships and can be done virtually. In addition to improving the well-being of employees, these activities will strengthen bonds between participants.

Cross-Train

Encourage employees to train for work in other units and divisions. Cross-training will improve professional development while creating connections between people across the organization.

Have Informal Conversations

It amazes me how often people spend time together in an elevator without talking. Make it a point to say hello to people you meet in an elevator and then follow up with a question that sparks a conversation. If you’re working virtually, reach out to colleagues for a quick, informal chat.

What do you do to build connections with your work colleagues?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Why Holiday Parties Are Not a Waste of Time

Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik on Unsplash

The winter holiday season is almost here. With most of us working virtually and avoiding crowds, we may be tempted to cancel holiday parties this year.

Many people view these as fun events that give us a nice break from work, but not an essential part of operations. Others think they are a waste of time and are happy for the excuse not to have a holiday party this year.

However, these parties play a significant role in building team resilience, and leaders would benefit from prioritizing their success. While it may be more challenging to have a safe and, most likely, virtual holiday party this year, it’s worth the effort.

Here’s how a holiday party contributes to team resilience:

Culture

The annual holiday party can become a part of a shared identity, with staff taking pride in presenting their office to others. The positive stories from a successful party become part of the shared history. New employees are brought into this shared history by helping to organize and then participating in the event.

Connections

Connections are built across an office, not just at the event itself but, even more important, through the committees and working groups that organize items such as food, decorations and clean up. The best committees have members from various divisions within an office. By working together on a shared goal, employees get to know each other. They will then have much better connections later on when collaboration may be more challenging.

Commitment

Parties give managers an excellent opportunity to show their commitment by helping with party set-up, breaking down, contributing food and drink, or paying for decorations or entertainment. Managers who show up and actively engage with staff communicate that they are committed to the people who work for them.

Consideration

These parties provide an opportunity to invite guests to whom you are grateful. Invite your professional contacts and colleagues from other offices who've helped you throughout the year as a way of saying thanks. Parties that are welcoming and inclusive show community members how much you value them.

So, instead of canceling this year’s holiday party, put a committee together to figure out how to host a virtual party or a safe in-person event.

What are your thoughts on holiday parties? How have you seen them contribute to team resilience?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.