I had a good time talking about the keys to effective team communication at the Capital Region Chamber BusinessU last week. It was a lot to cover in a short time!
We explored what needs to happen to build strong teams and how communication plays a key role in that.
We first looked at the essential elements of successful teams:
- a clear mission and roles
- accountability and collaboration
- strong interdependence
- skilled communication
- successfully navigating the four stages of team growth: forming, storming, norming and performing (email me for more information about this [email protected])
We then reviewed the concept of intentional or strategic communication. While people generally communicate to give or get information, there’s much more to be gained from thoughtful communication. When you actively engage with members of the team and especially when you listen attentively to them, you build:
- working relationships
- motivation
- collaboration
- trust
As a team leader, you can encourage team members to work together on projects, share ideas and consult with each other to create situations where they will communicate more actively.
And finally we discussed key techniques to insure accurate and effective communication:
- active listening (see attentive listening above) and using open ended questions
- constructive feedback techniques, including my favorite: “yes, and”
- adapting your communication to better match the communication styles of others; we used the T.E.A.M. Communication Styles model to explore this
A lot for 90 minutes! but we got it done. Lots of great discussions.
Contact us if you’d like to see how the T.E.A.M. Communication Styles assessment can help build or strengthen your team! [email protected]
