Team Building & Interpersonal Communication
When you are working in small groups, you may find yourself isolated from the larger workplace, working intensely on a project that has become a vital part of yourself. Every member of the group will likely have that same experience, and a sense of dependence on one another will occur.
While that personal ownership of a project has many wonderful benefits, one danger is that interpersonal communication may deteriorate. This is usually caused by dependence becomomg overdependence, and increased irritability will usually result. There may also be an increased tendency to perceive disagreement within the group as a personal attack. Psychologists refer to this as the “lifeboat syndrome.”
When working with a small group, especially in an intense situation, it is wise to take time to focus on your interpersonal communication skills and style.
Here are some suggestions:
Take time to talk. Sometimes when you’re working very closely with someone, you feel like you can read their mind, and that they can read yours. That’s all good – until you’re wrong about it. Taking the time to talk things through, even when it’s about insignificant details, is a team building activity, as well as just being practical.
Listen. It’s an activity. That means it requires your active involvement.
Be other focused. Ask for opinions of others before promulgating yours. It builds camaraderie when opinions and ideas are valued.
Be open to new ideas. Whether it’s exposure to new people, things, processes, or simply trying something new, an open mindset goes a long ways toward promoting harmony within a group. There is no one RIGHT way to do something. There may be a RIGHT way for you, but you’ve got other people to consider as well. Find what works for the group, not just you.
Look for common ground. When things get tense, it’s easy to focus on differences, rather than commonalities. If this starts happening, use your skills to move things back to the shared beliefs and values, and then move forward.
Being a leader is a lot more work than just being one of the team. You are responsible for keeping it moving forward, and meeting your objectives. You can’t control human dynamics, but you can conduct yourself in a way that shows your team that you are committed to working through all the issues on the road to success.
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POSTED IN: Communication, Conflict, Group Dynamics, Leadership Skills
7 opinions for Team Building & Interpersonal Communication
Oas Kamal
Aug 31, 2006 at 7:48 am
I especially agree with the idea of taking time out to talk. I have definitely gone through the experience where I was sure I knew what another person was thinking or were going to do, and I realized that in my conceit, I was mistaken, and it led to a misunderstanding. Even if you do feel like you know what other people are thinking, take the extra step to validate it.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Sep 1, 2006 at 8:57 am
I like the way you took responsibility for the misunderstanding. That’s the mark of a good leader.
Joshua
Sep 5, 2006 at 9:21 am
Nice article. I totally agree with all the points and especially the one about taking time to talk. Taking the time to talk also greatly helps with expressing yourself correctly.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Sep 5, 2006 at 9:50 am
Thanks for reading and commenting, Joshua.
I agree with you! In business, and in your personal life, most problems can be avoided or resolved if you practice good communications sklls.
Nick
Sep 26, 2006 at 8:36 am
For any organization to succeed it must have good employees to power it, but employees can’t do it all by themselves, they need help. Employees today come from all types of diverse backgrounds with different types of education and experience. When you bring these different types of backgrounds and experience together as a team it can have a profound impact on the success of your organization.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Sep 26, 2006 at 2:16 pm
How right you are, Nick, and thanks for the reminder.
Ultimately, we can only change our own behavior. But we can hope to influence the behavior of others. A little helping hand with that influence, through effective internal programs, strong commitments to communication and leadership, and an empowered workforce, will go a long ways as well.
Thanks for stoppping by, Nick, and I hope to hear your thoughts again.
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Dec 27, 2006 at 5:46 pm
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