Effective communication among members of a team or organization is key to the success of a group. Fast and direct face-to-face communication would appear to be the ideal method of communication. A study based on police emergency calls, however, reveals the complexities of communication—and why choosing the best modes of communication may not be as […]
Subject: Team Building and Teamwork
Leading Conversations: Productive and Unproductive Voice
Few people in their careers have avoided the scourge of time-consuming, unproductive meetings. For Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School and Tijs Besieux of the consultancy Leadership Footprint, unproductive meetings are a symptom of a broader problem: unproductive conversations. In many ways, the success of organizations hinge on the quality of the conversations within them. […]
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Mindfulness Sparks Collaboration and Teamwork
Collaboration and teamwork are key elements of successful workplaces. Past studies have shown that gratitude—employees being aware and appreciative of the benefits they receive at work—inspires the generous, helpful behaviour toward other employees that underpins effective collaboration and teamwork. However, the pressure-packed, high-paced environment of today’s workplaces leaves little time for employees to contemplate and […]
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Pros and Cons of Collaborative Spaces for Innovation
Companies in search of innovation-based competitive advantages recognize the benefit of innovation teams and projects that bring together a diverse set of backgrounds, skills, knowledge and perspectives. To achieve this diversity, companies create cross-functional teams that bring together team members from a variety of functions and units and open innovation teams that combine internal team […]
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Why Cross-functional Teams Need Strong Leaders
Previous studies have demonstrated the quality of decisions that emerge from cross-functional teams. Most of these studies focus on the outcome of cross-functional deliberations, but not the deliberation process itself. A study built on the simulation of six cross-functional teams reveals that the type of leader or leaders guiding the deliberations of the team will […]
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5 Practices to Avoid Knowledge Differences in Cross-functional Teams
Teamwork is never easy, and cross-functional teamwork is especially challenging given the starkly different experiences, knowledge and perspectives that team members bring to the team. To span the divisions, participants on cross-functional teams are often asked to acquire identify and confront the differences among them. The authors of an-depth research study argue against this time- […]
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Ships in the Night: How to Unite Warring Executives
Many executives struggle to accomplish their mandate as executives: aligning the people from top to bottom in the organization behind the goals and actions that ensure the company’s success. The problem is that executives are often like ships in the night, pursuing their own individual agendas that often conflict with the agendas and priorities of […]
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Unbalanced Relationships Hurt Performance, But Don’t Stick Around
Triadic relationships are common in the workplace. For example, two employees, Sharon and Mark, may share negative feelings about a third employee, Kathy; Kathy, in return, has negative feelings about both Sharon and Mark. An alternative triad involving these individuals is that Sharon and Mark have completely different feelings about Kathy: Sharon is a clear […]
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Ignoring Collaborative Demands Sinks Agile Teams
The concept of agility — an approach to innovation and development based on shorter project timeframes, focused targets and ‘sprints’ — was first conceived in software development companies. Metaphors such as SEAL teams are used to describe these fast-moving, nimble project teams. This attractive concept is spreading to more traditional companies and industries, although with […]
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Shades of Grey: The Nuances of Team Disengagement
Despite the focus by managers and thought leaders on the power of employee engagement to improve individual and organizational results, the world of business seems to continue to be befuddled by how to get employees more engaged. A new study explores the question of engagement at the team level, since in a world in which […]
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