"In the rush of daily life, we quickly forget to discuss those goals and how we should work together."
Successes are often still shared, but to what extent do we not make them seem just a little bit better than they are? Or do we simply brush the lessons learnt aside?
Expressing your insecurities and the things that might not be going so smoothly has become more difficult, my conversation partner remarked. And as a result, every colleague is increasingly on their own little island, genuine collaboration is becoming harder and harder, and as a manager you have to work harder to keep them together.
With askemo, you can set up a scientifically validated employee engagement survey that’s user-friendly for both you and your colleagues. No long, tedious questionnaires. Just short surveys with the highest response rate in the Netherlands. Employees can respond quickly and easily, much like sending a ‘Tikkie’.
Incoming feedback is immediately visible in HR Analytics and is automatically converted into concrete action points. You assign these to colleagues, monitor progress and request feedback on their effectiveness.
As well as helping colleagues get to know one another better, a sense of security plays a particularly important role. For many people, there is an underlying question: can I allow myself to be vulnerable here? Am I allowed to make mistakes? Or does the belief take hold that everything must be sorted out on one’s own and that asking for help is a sign of weakness?
Leadership has a significant influence on these kinds of thoughts and feelings — often more than is realised. Everyone knows how nice it is to receive recognition or to feel there is room for vulnerability without being immediately judged. Being seen and heard, and being accepted within a group, are basic needs that directly impact engagement and collaboration.
This is often found in small, everyday things. Knowing when team members’ birthdays are. Showing genuine interest in what someone is doing outside of work. Paying attention to how a project was tackled, even when something was difficult or didn’t go as expected. Not just focusing on positive end results, but also on the process leading up to them.
Interpersonal contact requires time and attention. Not just between managers and team members, but also within the team itself. How well people know one another largely determines how open and effective the collaboration can be.
In addition to personal contact, a shared understanding of interests and goals also plays a role. In many organisations, individual or project objectives are clearly defined. What needs to be delivered at the end of a week, month or project is clear. What is often less explicit is what is collectively required to actually achieve all those goals.
This can be compared to a football team. A striker’s aim is to score, a defender’s to prevent goals. Those roles are clear. But you don’t win a match through individual focus alone. The defender must play in a way that supports the team, and the striker must create space to receive the ball. It is only through collaboration that results are achieved.
In day-to-day practice, discussions about shared goals and collaboration are often overshadowed by the issues of the day. The assumption arises that everything is clear. Precisely because of this, expectations remain unspoken and interpretations and judgements are formed without being shared.
And that ultimately works against us.
Guest blogger Ate Ploegmakers is a STIR-registered team coach and trainer and focuses on team development through Enso Ontwikkeling. The focus is on collaboration between employees and managers, with the aim of helping organisations grow, increasing customer satisfaction and enhancing job satisfaction.
Ate works on the basis of an extensive intake, during which she works with managers and team members to identify current issues and needs in the area of collaboration. Based on this, a decision is made to opt for a one- or two-day training course or a coaching programme.
Want to find out more about Ate? Visit the Enso Ontwikkeling website.
