Why Teams with Better Habits Get Better Results

Gary Bertwistle (of Mojo Sessions fame) and I had this meeting of minds back in February — truly jamming together over substantial territory: from the need to acknowledge change and challenges in the modern workplace, to building trust and autonomy in teams, and techniques for aligning habits, communication, and belonging. I hope you’ll get as much out of it as I did. 

Topics We Explored: 

* The need for trust, personal responsibility, and sometimes dissent, to create productive forward-moving team dynamics

* Strategies for improving teamwork, such as rotating the role of red cell thinker and eliminating the least valuable meetings and habits. 

* Considering emotional and social data in decision-making, and asking specific questions to gather this data from your team.

* Challenges involved with leadership, such as prioritization, health and wellness in a busy work life, plus practical advice for overcoming some of those obstacles

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Episode Timestamps

[0:15] The role of teamwork in productivity with the impact of AI on jobs. Teamwork and collaboration are vital to productivity and leadership, especially in a moment when we’re facing changes to the nature of work after COVID and now, with emergent shifts in AI.

[3:41] Consequences of the pandemic, and paradoxes we run into with teams. Some of the consequences of the pandemic have gone ignored, including cumulative burnout and fatigue on teams. Many leaders continue to pretend this isn’t happening. Teams often struggle due to evolutionary wiring for people pleasing & goal orientation. Even individuals who may think they're personally being productive are not necessarily finishing tasks competently with teammates.

[10:42] Team dynamics, productivity, and emotional intelligence. Individual productivity differs from team productivity partly as a result of the social and collective overhead involved. Charlie highlights the disconnect that can emerge between leaders and team members around productivity and goals. Leaders and team members can have different perspectives on what constitutes productive work, leading to tension and misalignment. 

[17:40] Social and emotional factors in decision-making — and their impact on your team. As leaders, we ought to be considering social and emotional factors in decision-making, and actively gathering information in this area from our teams. Taking a more holistic approach can lead to better business outcomes. Charlie offers three questions to help teams understand each other's perspectives on change initiatives, and explains why we need a team-based approach to change. Plus why viewing each other as teammates fosters a collaborative and human-centered work model. 

[24:35] Trust and its impact on team productivity, belonging, and performance. Trust is highly key to employee productivity according to research. It’s an essential for high-performing teams, as it enables members to take risks and rely on each other. Belonging is the first category of team habits, as it fosters trust and ensures team members feel supported and valued — and are therefore more interested and invested in contributing. 

[28:59] Workplace dynamics, trust, and autonomy. In many cases, people have given up on leaning on their teammates enough in the workplace — and that obsession with autonomy leads to burnout and stress. Trust and autonomy must work together when it comes to creating great teamwork. When team members feel safe and supported, they are more likely to do their best work. Gary suggests there’s a connection between giving each other that space and developing trust. For example, when individuals have more control over their schedules, they tend to f