Teamership: Conversations that drive connection
Getting the right mix of conversations strengthens the ways that we can be connected and interconnected. Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
Connections are simultaneously valuable and undervalued in teams. They are even more valuable and undervalued between teams as part of a multiple team network.
They are valuable because they are literally the infrastructure of teamwork. The quality and quantity of connections within and between teams determine how well teams work.
All of this seems so obvious and yet, we undervalue our connections. Maybe not with our words, but with our actions.
We do this regularly when we choose to prioritise a task, speed or efficiency at the expense of the relationships. In a fast moving system, this is inevitable. We are going to have looming deadlines, urgent commitments to meet and conflicting demands on our time. When it becomes a norm, it erodes our connections. Our connections become increasingly transactional, and our interactions are less likely to add further value than the bare minimum.
Choosing to prioritise feels like a decision that we are forced to make. Either we are task focused or people focused. The truth is that we don’t need to make that choice.
Here are three types of interactions that will allow you to ensure that you are managing to value both the work that you do and the people that you are working with.
WIPs - Work in Progress
These conversations are about the status of the tasks that need to be done.
Key question: How is the work going?
Most individuals and teams have these.
HIPs - Humans in Progress.
These conversations are about how the people you work with are feeling - beyond just the task at hand.
Key question: How are you going?
Some individuals and teams have these conversations.
TIPs - Teams in Progress
These conversations are dedicated to the interpersonal dynamics within the team.
Key question: How are we going?
Too few people and teams have these conversations.
All of these types of conversations - WIPs, HIPs and TIPs (thanks, Jessica for pointing this third acronym out!) are important. Getting the right mix of them actually strengthens the ways that we can be connected and interconnected.
Some questions for you to consider this week.
What is your balance between WIPs / HIPs and TIPs?
Which type of conversation do you have most often?
Which type of conversation do you have least often?
How can you improve the mix of conversations that you have?