Neil Diamond Teaches a Masterclass in Team Building
In social situations I’m more of an introvert. But back when work was in person, I was much more energized and resilient. Working remote has made collaboration much more of a challenge. In those moments where the nature of the work is engaging and the tools are useful, I feel flashes of that energy. But they never sustain. If you feel this, or notice it in a co-worker, here’s a tool I’ve used that’s been useful for both in person, and virtual settings.
Rituals are written into the DNA of being human. You can use them to build energy and connection with your virtual teams. For my readers from Boston, if I start singing:
“Sweeeeeet Caroline…”
What do you do hear in your head?
BAH BAH BAH!!!!!!
I’ll take a bar full of people in Boston after they’re done singing Neil Diamond and have a team of strangers ready to tackle any challenge. Rituals tap into our emotional need for belonging and community. They tie us to a common cause or experience. Rituals say what words can’t.
Most of the time.
Rituals can fail us when they aren’t genuine. When was the last time you were at a birthday party? Has the ritual of singing “Happy Birthday” ever not felt weird? Whether you’re on the giving OR receiving end of it. That doesn’t mean they don’t want you to have a happy birthday. All it means is their shared experience of that song is universally uncomfortable. But when rituals are grounded in a genuine, shared cause or experience, you can feel it. Every stranger in that bar in Boston brought their experience of the first time they were at Fenway (or likely another bar) and Sweet Caroline came on. They belted out their BAH BAH BAH with equal or greater enthusiasm as the first time they did it.
So how can you leverage rituals in your remote teams? It starts by grounding everyone in a shared cause, experience, or principle. Block of some time as a team, and brainstorm the teams values, principles and reasons for their work. What is your ‘why’ for your work? What mission are you united in? Talk through all the ideas you come up with and choose one.
Now, consider all the different ways that cause, principle, or mission gets fulfilled. Is it when we make a sale, or when we connect a client to a vital resource, or a product ships, or your weekly stand-up? When you’ve identified that moment, come up with a bunch of different ways to celebrate that. Here are a few creative ideas I’ve heard about:
- Highest performing team member of the week is granted the Game of Thrones Iron Throne zoom background for the week..
- A manager sent his team Party Poppers and they all pop them off during stand-up to celebrate shipping a product
- A team takes 10 minutes at the start of Monday morning stand-up to say what they’re looking forward to for the week (personally or professionally).
Rituals can be simple and direct or more creative and involved. But the most important thing is that you ground them in something shared. What are some creative rituals you’ve found?
