Seeing Eye to Eye
How do you live out “one team, one dream”? Read on for my thoughts on building authentic community
Building community at work starts with looking your teammates in the eye. It’s easy to get caught up in the business of work, in never ending to-do lists. But, part of doing excellent work is truly seeing your coworkers. That’s hard to do when you do not really know who they are: what their past taught them, what they enjoy outside of work, where they hope to go in the future.
In my career, I’ve worked in enablement for several different teams and companies over the past decade. When someone new joins a team, I ask them to write a personal and professional bio (with fun facts!) and then ask them to share in a team lunch. If possible, I like teams to volunteer together, especially when a new person starts. I try to lead meetings with video on for remote employees, closed laptops and open notebooks.
All of these methods strive towards achieving the goal of “one team, one dream.”
Another way to foster community is to facilitate meals together. Sharing food together is a deeply rooted community building ritual. Something about sitting around a table while sharing opinions and food leads to an intense feeling of inclusiveness. Sharing a meal with someone is a great way to hear diverse perspectives. Whether it’s an official company program, or something you start on your own, try having a meal once a month with one person you haven’t had a close interaction with. For people you work with regularly, try having a walking 1:1 — I like to think that getting outside in fresh air helps people be more open-minded. When I’m on-boarding a group, I like to start with a dinner on the first day. The more a team gets outside of the office norm, the more they learn about each other.
If you’re not feeling closely connected to your work community, see if you can restate the vision of your company, your team’s goals, and how you personally connect to both. Ask a coworker to eat lunch outside with you and discuss your answers with them. Listen to their responses. Put your phone down, and open up a notebook. Writing helps increase memory and awareness (see this NPR article for more insights).
You have to connect the dots to feel part of a community.
If you’re a manager, try the exercise of restating company goals and how each team member feels they contribute — I’d love to hear how it goes.
Until next time -
Cheers, “Q”