Do we have a sense of connectedness with our teams at our workplaces? I think that the pressure of our pandemic, working remotely, and then the abundance of societal news resounding with a lack of conscience around diversity has put strain on teams who need to work 9-5 together!
I remember once taking on a new team that I knew was struggling to be cohesive. The first day, I called all 30 into a “huddle” to introduce myself and they cowered behind doors and hid around corners instead! It took a lot of prodding, encouragement and time to first bring them together and then to unnerve them enough to laugh daily!
So, how do we build a team that feels socially, emotionally and professionally linked together? And why would we want to?
Robust teams that are truly connected will be more engaged in their work, more productive, more committed to the organization, have better communication and therefore more successful in their pursuits! (“The importance of Encouraging Social Connectedness in the Workplace” http://www.mibluesperspectives.com).
Ultimately, a strongly connected team will have a unified “Spiritual Wellness”, that leads to happiness and better health. What does that mean? Having a spiritual wellness in a work environment is being connected to something greater than yourself and having a set of values that identifies your team that all can aspire to and be part of (“Spiritual Wellness in the Workplace” R Elliott Ingersoll 1998). My team back then took “baby steps’ to get to a point where we could unify a volunteer project in a pinch or meet a common work or community goal with no walls!
Check out www.high5 teambuilding.com for challenges that will unite your group like “The Amazing Race”!
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