Striking And Impressive Connections
I am no scientist and was intrigued to learn that these beautiful frost flowers on my car’s windscreen are caused by the connection between imperfections on the glass, such as dust, scratches, residue of cleaner fluid, the physics of crystal growth and thermodynamics. That imperfections should result in these!
What an amazing combination to achieve something so beautiful.
It was a timely reminder of how when connecting with others we can achieve something so beautiful, impressive and memorable.
“Connections are the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued.”
Brené Brown, author of Dare To Lead.
For those of you that know me, you will know I thrive on connections, whether networking, socialising or facilitating team development workshops and assisting others explore the connections.
Working within teams is all about these connections. Sometimes the interfaces between others can work effortlessly and the relationships just need a little fine tuning. On other occasions, we may need to reflect a little more on how these connections can be enhanced.
I have seen this multiple times when facilitating team development workshops, helping individuals understand their own contributions and sharing this with others to achieve a greater team purpose.
- What do I personally wish to achieve?
- In what areas do I wish to grow?
- What can I do differently to support me?
- What will I bring to this team?
- How will my strengths be seen within the team?
A powerful psychometric tool to explore these questions is the Margerison-McCann Team Management Profile. It’s a tool I have used with hundreds of individuals and teams worldwide to consider personal preferences and how this can impact on the team dynamics. Importantly, it also enables you to consider the “what” of team development, gain clarity on the critical tasks and cement an understanding around team purpose.
Connections happen when we have team clarity on:
- What are the critical tasks we need to cover as a team?
- What should fall under our remit?
- Who should be responsible for fulfilling these?
- What outcomes do we want to achieve as a team?
- Where do we specifically need to focus in the next few weeks and months?
- What might we have missed?
- What is the problem we can uniquely solve for our stakeholders?
Connections happen when there is a mutual team understanding of why we behave as we do. Discussions can focus on the behaviours and dynamics:
- How do my personal work preferences contribute to the team’s success?
- How do I share my personal preferences with the team?
- What preferred behaviours will enhance the way the team is working?
- What behaviours do I need to be mindful of and perhaps tone down a little with some colleagues?
- How do I maximise what I have to bring to this team?
And the connections really matter; for higher performance, increased engagement and morale, innovation within the team and better retention.
Where will you make connections today?