Chapter 9
In This Chapter
Working on team dynamics
Helping your team to improve their performance
Enhancing business relationships
Dealing with team morale
The old adage ‘many minds are better than one’ is true. Working as part of a great team is usually better than struggling alone in isolation. Team working can increase creativity as members share knowledge and build on each other’s ideas. It can provide a great opportunity for members to develop and acquire new skills. It can get things done more quickly and, when it works well, increase employee satisfaction. But as any leader knows, teamwork can also be one of the most challenging aspects of the job. In this chapter you discover how mindfulness can help you make teams work together more effectively. Let’s get started by exploring team dynamics.
As a leader, you already know the impact that team dynamics can have on your team. As a team member, you’ll have observed its impact also. You can see team or group dynamics at play in a variety of situations: the family gathering for Christmas or a wedding, friends socialising in the pub or a group of people meeting for the first time.
Although you may have seen many complex theories on team dynamics in management textbooks and academic journals, understanding team dynamics is really quite straightforward.
Few humans exist in isolation. As a human, in common with many other animals, your behaviour is likely to be based largely on habit, adapted and influenced by your social networks. These social networks include family, friends and work colleagues. Your behaviour is also likely to be influenced by social and cultural norms.
The modern workplace is rarely set up to accommodate the human need to connect, understand and work with each other. Neuroscience research into areas such as how the brain enables you to undertake tasks such as decision making and prioritising (cognitive neuroscience), the way the brain processes social interactions (social neuroscience) and how the brain deals with emotions (affective neuroscience) is beginning to identify the drivers of human social behaviour.
Chapter 5 describes the evolutionary principle, which means that your brain seeks to minimise danger and maximise reward. This fact often motivates humans to spend more energy avoiding things they think may be risky or non-beneficial than approaching and exploring new possibilities. Many aspects of work can be seen as threatening or rewarding, including:
So what’s all the above got to do with mindfulness? Mindfulness can help both leaders and employees to become more aware of these social dynamics as they arise and change in the present moment. This awareness is key if you’re to be successful in identifying team dynamics at play and harnessing them for the good of all concerned.
Before we look at specific ways that mindfulness can be used to assist with team dynamics at work, we need to look how social dynamics work.
I (Juliet) used to work with Peter. Peter (not his real name) worked for a major rail maintenance operator in the UK and managed large teams that are responsible for repair and maintenance of the railway tracks and buildings. Peter approached me as he knew that in a few weeks time he would be managing a major renewal project that involved coordinating a team of signal engineers (who maintain the signals) and Pway Engineers (who maintain the track). The team of signal engineers had a different working culture to that of the Pway engineers. Although all are dedicated to keeping the trains running safely, communication problems are evident between the teams and all sorts of other frictions existed.
I helped Peter to identify some of the social dynamics at play in his work. The signal engineers regarded their job role as being more skilled and of higher status than the Pway engineers, whom they described as ‘monkeys’. As highly trained and qualified engineers, the team had considerable control to decide on the right course of action, and how the job would best be carried out. They felt a strong sense of social cohesion with other signal engineers, and those on the railway who had similar technical jobs. They had little in common with the Pway staff, who mainly did routine, manual, heavy work.
The Pway staff regarded the signal engineers as ‘geeks’. They argued that, without the tracks themselves, electric masts, points, bridges and other railway infrastructure, no need for signals would exist. Their work was thus, in their eyes, of equal importance. They felt that their job role as Pway workers should be equal to that of the signal engineers, and resented the inequality evident in the signal engineers being treated with more respect by those in charge. On top of these issues, they had less control over their work, which was often dictated by factors beyond their control. If new track was late being delivered, they could not lay it. If the signal engineers were at work on one area, they had to work somewhere else. They regarded the signal engineers with mistrust, as several years ago a signal engineer had reported a (now redundant) Pway engineer for larking about on the job. They saw inequality in the situation whereby signal engineers always seemed to spend the last hour of work ‘doing nothing’ while they bust a gut to get the job finished in time.
Peter recognised that the Pways staff worked in a much more uncertain environment, and had much less control, both factors that humans can find highly threatening. He also recognised that the roles of the two teams were different so they were unlikely to feel part of the same social group as they had little in common. Peter saw that the Pway staff were feeling threatened by the apparent preferential treatment they felt the signal staff received. Peter started to understand how these factors may be making the Pway staff feel unconsciously threatened, and that this situation explained why they sometimes appeared to be arguing over trivial points or being difficult. It was just their brains trying to look out for them, trying to keep them safe and well.
Although Peter could see the problems, and why the friction was occurring, he was not sure how to deal with it. This situation where mindfulness (Had I known about it then) would have come in.
If you look at Peter’s dilemma from a mindful perspective. you discover that:
Peter’s task was to:
So how could Pater have applied this knowledge to his work challenge? It might have gone something like this …
At the planning meeting Peter gathered together team leaders from the Pway and signal teams. He ran through the tasks, describing what needed to be done and when, and outlined the fines that would be incurred if they overran and trains were stopped or delayed as a result.
Peter explained his findings, and asked for ideas about how they could start this job with a clean slate. He encouraged the staff to look at what was happening in the here and now. Together, they made plans to address the six points that Peter had identified. It was agreed that some Pway staff and signal staff should swap places so that they could gain a greater appreciation of each other’s roles, and also increase certainty and relatedness for both groups. They agreed on the joint reward of a free breakfast for all if things went according to plan.
Peter started the project by bringing the staff together and emphasising that everyone was responsible for getting the job completed, to the required standard, on time. He explained that the company would get fined for lateness and delays caused, and that would impact on each and every one of them. He emphasised the importance of all the workers playing their part, with no job being any more or less important than another.
The team leaders worked hard to nip things in the bud when staff reverted to old thought patterns and behaviours. They brought team members back to the present moment if they started to spiral into anger or frustration in anticipation of what would happen next, based on past experiences. They reinforced Peter’s messages and changed the subject if anyone started to moan about other teams working on the project.
Peter’s project finished early, leaving time for an additional quality check at the end, resolving some last minute issues. Breakfast was enjoyed by all, and Peter gained a sense that this shared experience was the start of better working relationships within his teams.
Walk the talk! Demonstrate a mindful approach to your work and the way you lead. Doing so encourages your team members to adopt new, healthier, more productive working habits.
Remind your team members that the problem isn’t the problem! Your interpretation and response is what can cause the problem. You may not be able to make the problem go away, but you can alter the way you think about it and respond.
As a leader, your primary role is to motivate and lead team(s) to achieve desired organisational outcomes. A key aspect of this leadership role is identifying team dynamics at play, and encouraging good working relationships and understanding between different teams and team members.
When trying to improve team performance, leaders often lose sight of what’s really important. Mindfulness is a great way to bring yourself back to the present moment, see what’s really important and refocus your efforts.
As more neuroscience research into mindfulness emerges, leaders are adopting more mindfulness techniques to assist them lead effectively in times of constant change, pressure and uncertainty. Wise leaders are introducing mindfulness within their teams, helping their staff to get more from their job role and to find a new way to relate to their work.
Lastly, as a leader, keeping your eye on the goal is vital. What is it that your team are supposed to be doing for your organisation? What is the greatest contribution you can make? We need to look at each of these in turn.
Why do you do the job that you do? Why do you work for the organisation you work for?
You may have chosen to work for your company based on a mental picture of it formed from your perceptions of its products, services, mission and vision or what you have read. You may have been lucky enough to have insider knowledge gained from friends and family. When you started to work for your company, you may have found that your perception of what it was like to work for it was different to the reality – for better or worse!
In much the same way, when you applied for the job role you now hold you formed a mental picture of what the job role was all about, the difference you could make, and probably things you could improve or introduce. Again, you may have found the reality somewhat different to your perception of how it would be. Why is this?
Humans tend to dislike uncertainty. Thus, when you don’t know what the future holds; your brain tries to anticipate what will happen in the future based on past experience. Your brain then treats this mental picture of the future as a fact until something happens to make you alter or replace this representation of reality.
Being conned into thinking that how you see the world is the same as how others see it is all too easy. The same applies to what you think is important. In order to be effective as a leader, you need to take a step back now and again to see what’s really important for yourself, your team and the organisation as a whole.
If your attention wanders, congratulate yourself on recognising that it has done so and then gently escort your attention back to your breath.
See what arises. Observe your thoughts impartially, with kindness and curiosity. Avoid the temptation to think about what’s arising and to get involved or judge it – just observe.
See what arises. Again, just observe and avoid the temptation to think about it.
See what arises. Again, just observe and avoid the temptation to think about it.
See what thoughts emerge.
Mindfulness is increasingly being offered to employees as a development option. More research into the impact of mindfulness in the workplace is needed, but data suggests that it can help you:
If doing more of the same isn’t producing the results you desire, why not try a different approach? Why not offer staff mindfulness lessons in work time? See Chapter 12 for more information on introducing mindfulness to your organisation. Mindfulness equips staff with the tools and techniques that can help them work with their brain rather than against it, and gain new perspectives and ways of working.
As a leader, keeping your eye on the goal is crucial. From time to time, you need to check and, if necessary, redefine your team’s purpose and goals. Peter (who we met earlier in the chapter) redefined his team’s purpose using the ‘Mindfully seeing what’s important’ exercise.
Peter identified the following:
Peter rescheduled his diary to allow more time to lead and support his team, which led to improved team working and projects being completed faster and to a higher standard. He identified those aspects of his project management role that required the most skill and those that were more administrative. He started developing a member of his team as a project management assistant, supporting her to take on some of the more routine aspects of his work. He made more of an effort to identify the impact that planned changes were likely to have on his direct and indirect teams, and actively involved them in deciding the way forward.
As you can see, by taking time out to clear his mind using mindfulness, Peter was able to identify what was important in the present moment and to take steps to restructure his work and the work of his team to ensure that organisational goals continued to be met.
Whatever your role within an organisation, actively cultivating good businesses relationships with colleagues and external contacts and clients is important.
Most relationships at work develop and are maintained with little effort. Some, however, require a lot of input. In the busy world of work, you need to make time to be really present when you’re involved in one to one or group interactions with others. Many people say, ‘Of course I’m fully present when I meet with people; I’m in the same room at the same time.’ Although you can’t argue with this statement, many people are rarely present. Their body may be there but their brain is juggling multiple things, retrieving related past experiences and trying to anticipate what will happen next. Mindfulness can help you quieten the mind, reduce your ‘mental noise’ and return to the present moment. In the present moment, you can see more clearly what is going on in full Technicolor glory – body language, facial expressions, tone and intonation, all of which add to the message but are often unnoticed.
The next sections show you how to be ‘ready for anything’ in meetings and get the most from your face-to-face interactions.
Managers and staff spend a huge amount of time in meetings. Research suggests that many managers regard much of this time as unproductive. With a little mindful preparation, this need not be the case. Most meetings are arranged with one or more goals in mind; indeed, many start with a set agenda. ‘Without a reason to meet, why meet?’ I hear you ask! While establishing the issues to be discussed is a good idea, retaining some flexibility to deal with equally or even more important things that arise unexpectedly in the moment is useful.
Are you one of those people who are too busy to prepare for meetings, arriving just in time and ‘winging it’? You’re not alone! However, taking a little time out to prepare leads to better meetings in which you get more done.
Consider:
When you enter the meeting room, try to ensure that you’re fully present. The same applies if you’re holding a one-to-one meeting in your office. Make an effort to be aware of any preconceived ideas you bring into the room with you, and try to set them aside as they may be inaccurate or unhelpful. If you’ve been practising mindfulness for a little while, you should find it easier to quieten your brain chatter and accurately identify these ideas, realising that they’re only mental constructs and that they should be treated as such.
If, as the meeting starts, you find that lots of thoughts are going around in your head, try grounding yourself in the present moment.
As the meeting continues, try really focusing on each agenda item, seeing it with fresh eyes and contributing to the discussion when appropriate. When you’re more present in meetings, you may notice a host of other things going on that others may miss as their minds take them in different directions.
You may notice positive or negative body language, weariness or subjects that keep arising that aren’t on the agenda, are dismissed and then pop up again. These subjects may need to be discussed and resolved in order to make the remainder of the meeting more productive. If appropriate, try to get these hidden issues on to the table and discussed. If doing so is wholly inappropriate, publically acknowledge that you’ve noticed them, and propose another time to discuss and resolve them. While this approach may seem counter-intuitive because you’re adding more items to an already packed agenda, if people are distracted by a burning issue the meeting is likely to be unproductive or take longer. Surfacing, acknowledging and setting aside time to discuss important hidden issues saves you time in the long run.
Always ensure that meetings end with a thank you – so few meetings do! If you’re the chair, propose a mindful minute to end the meeting. Next, sincerely thank attendees for their time and attention, and acknowledge what’s been achieved. This simple act pays dividends. If done correctly, it has the power to activate people’s parasympathetic nervous system (associated with rest and relaxation), resulting in them leaving the meeting feeling good. In addition, it recognises and rewards the efforts people have made to make the meeting a success and engenders a sense of completion and accomplishment.
Always make a note of these promises before you leave the meeting room. Your mind may easily be hijacked when you leave the meeting room, and as your working memory becomes overwhelmed, it may drop these promises and you may forget them. Noting the promises down means that you can delete them from your working memory, which frees it up to do other things.
Deliver on your promises as promptly as you can – especially the informal ones. Sometimes the more you think about doing something, the more of a story you create in your mind about it. This self-created story (based on your past experience and anticipation of the future) is treated by your brain as reality. It may procrastinate or try to avoid doing the task. Diving in and getting a task done without over-thinking it probably leads to its faster completion and stops you wasting time and distracting yourself from other tasks by over-analysing it.
Mindfulness can benefit individuals and teams in many ways, but isn’t a magic solution or cure all. Being more mindful as you carry out your work can help you improve relationships with those you work with, and become more aware of what’s happening, both of which are important when trying to boost team morale.
Morale is all about the team’s capacity to consistently pull together in pursuit of a common purpose. Organisations with high morale tend to experience higher productivity and staff engagement. They have lower employee turnover and absenteeism, and a happier workforce.
Team morale may suffer as a result of change and restructuring, poor communication or a lack of control over work. Often managers are so busy with their inner story that they fail to realise what’s happening right before their eyes. Increased complaints about work or team members, greater workplace conflict, more absenteeism and higher staff turnover are all indications that morale may be low.
The leader’s morale can also have a profound impact on the morale of the team. Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to have worked for an energised, enthusiastic, positive boss. You may also have worked with a negative or disenchanted manager and noticed that this experience is a very different one. Team morale often starts with the leader, so leaders need to be good role models.
Mindfully refocus your team’s efforts on what was important in this moment in time – just like Peter did earlier in this chapter.
Mindfulness is all about being able to switch your attention to the present moment, seeing things as they really are rather than how you perceive them to be. Even if your team has little knowledge of mindfulness, you can still use mindful techniques to focus on what’s important in the here and now.
Try to make time to prioritise prioritising. Individually or as part of a team, make time to regularly reassess what’s important. Try to do this reassessment early on in the workday, when your mind is fresh. If possible, use the mindfulness technique described earlier in this chapter, ‘Mindfully seeing what’s important’.
Recognise the power of habits. The more often you perform a task in a certain way, the more likely you are to do it in the same way in future. Each time you repeat a behaviour or set of actions, you strengthen the connections in your brain associated with those activities. Routine tasks you do regularly become habits and get stored in a primitive part of your brain as a ‘habit’. Research suggests that you cannot erase a habit when it has been formed, but you can, over time, replace it with another set of behaviours and thoughts. Use this knowledge to help yourself and others change habits so that they can do things differently at work.
Be mindful that, however hard you try, some people are never going to get on. In this case, encourage people to ‘sit with the difficulty’ (see Chapter 7) and find a way to acknowledge the discomfort and accept the impact that the person has on them without causing themselves any more unnecessary pain.