How Successful Virtual Teams Collaborate - Keith Ferrazzi by Keith Ferrazzi | 12:00 PM October 24, 2012 I have worked on many teams in which we dutifully did our jobs, and the group fulfilled its objectives. And then I have worked on other teams in which everyone energetically collaborated with one another, and the results were spectacular. Not only did we surpass our goals, we also thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from that process as individuals. In other words, there’s a world of difference between merely working together and truly collaborating with one another. Achieving true collaboration — in which the whole is definitely more than the mere sum of the individual parts — is difficult in any environment. Adjust for size. Don’t be afraid of social media. The chipmaker Xilinx, for instance, has reported an increase in engineer productivity by around 25% thanks to social media tools that encourage and enable employee collaborative activities. Play games. Train for collaboration. Have role clarity but task uncertainty.
Ways to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills Advertisements Interpersonal communication is inescapable. Indeed, it is impossible to ‘not communicate’. Humans are social creatures and every public act is an attempt at communication. Career-wise, your skill and talent might not always be enough to take you places. Although certain people can just be born with this particular skill, others can acquire it over time. To help you develop and improve your interpersonal skills, here we present some time-tested tips. Identify your pain areas Awareness is the first step towards learning. Get over yourself The ego can well be the most debilitating factor as far as your social life is concerned. Understanding is the key Often others may do things that hurt you or are particularly debilitating for your career. Be a good listener Everybody loves a good listener! Advertisement Express yourself clearly Self-expression is the key to any communication. Respond effectively While communicating, honest feedback is always appreciated. Put on a happy face
Collaboration Success Wizard Creating successful geographically distributed collaborations. The Collaboration Success Wizard is an on-line diagnostic survey for geographically distributed collaborations. The survey probes factors that may strengthen or weaken the collaboration. The Wizard provides both personal and project-level reports to help build successful and productive collaborative projects. We are actively seeking participants! Once a project is approved to participate, we send invitation e-mails to all the project members. And yes – it’s free! At the end of the survey each participant can see a personalized individual report that contains feedback based on their answers and our research. If multiple members of the same project complete the Wizard, we are willing to provide a report to the group about the overall character of the project. This is our research. The Wizard is based on over 20 years experience studying scientific collaborations. An application form is available through the link below. Apply Now!
Challenge Two: | | The New Conversations InitiativeThe New Conversations Initiative SUMMARY (repeated from Introduction) This chapter in the The Seven Challenges Workbook describes the process of starting conversations by declaring your conversational intent and inviting the conscious consent of your prospective conversation partners. The basic idea is that you can help your conversation partners cooperate with you and reduce possible misunderstandings by starting important conversations with a stated invitation to join you in the specific kind of conversation you want to have. The more the conversation is going to mean to you, the more important it is for your conversation partner to understand the big picture. Most conversations express one or another of about thirty basic intentions, which imply different kinds of cooperation from your conversation partners. They can play their role in specific conversations much better if you clarify for yourself, and then identify for them, the role you are asking for, rather than leaving them to guess what you might be wanting.
COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE It's also possible for groups of people to work together in ways that seem pretty stupid, and I think collective stupidity is just as possible as collective intelligence. Part of what I want to understand and part of what the people I'm working with want to understand is what are the conditions that lead to collective intelligence rather than collective stupidity. But in whatever form, either intelligence or stupidity, this collective behavior has existed for a long time. What's new, though, is a new kind of collective intelligence enabled by the Internet. Or think of Wikipedia, where thousands of people all over the world have collectively created a very large and amazingly high quality intellectual product with almost no centralized control. If we want to predict what's going to happen, especially if we want to be able to take advantage of what's going to happen, we need to understand those possibilities at a much deeper level than we do so far. Why are we doing all this work?
The secret ingredient that makes some teams better than others Running a software company in Boston, I recognized — and my board told me — that we needed to reposition the business. Our product was too bland, too generic to stimulate excitement or loyalty. I needed a team to help me, and I ended up working through the problem with a motley crew: a young web developer, a seasoned and eccentric media executive, a visual artist, and me. We spent a week in the private room of a burger joint, exploring options, rejecting easy answers, pushing one another to find something none of us could see. You could argue that we had a lot of brains in the room — and we did. In a fascinating study of collective intelligence, Thomas Malone, together with a team of MIT researchers, analyzed groups that proved exceptionally effective at creative problem solving. The second quality of the successful groups was social sensitivity: these individuals were more tuned in to one another, to subtle shifts in mood and demeanor. Reading the research, I can see my old team.
What Does Your Body Language Say About You? How To Read Signs and Recognize Gestures - Jinxi Boo - Jinxi Boo Art by LaetitziaAs we all know, communication is essential in society. Advancements in technology have transformed the way that we correspond with others in the modern world. Because of the constant buzz in our technological world, it's easy to forget how important communicating face-to-face is. When conversing old-school style, it's not only speech we verbalize that matters, but what our nonverbal gestures articulate as well. Body language is truly a language of its own. We all have quirks and habits that are uniquely our own. 10% from what the person actually says40% from the tone and speed of voice50% is from their body language. Lowering one's head can signal a lack of confidence. Pushing back one's shoulders can demonstrate power and courageOpen arms means one is comfortable with being approached and willing to talk/communicate
If You Can’t Empathize with Your Employees, You’d Better Learn To Empathy—the ability to read and understand other’s emotions, needs, and thoughts—is one of the core competencies of emotional intelligence and a critical leadership skill. It is what allows us to influence, inspire, and help people achieve their dreams and goals. Empathy enables us to connect with others in a real and meaningful way, which in turn makes us happier—and more effective—at work. Many people mistakenly believe that empathy—like other emotional intelligence competencies—is something you’re born with or not. But it’s not that simple. In fact, we all have the capacity for empathy. We all know, though, that some people pick up clues well and others are clueless. He called me up—out of the blue—and said he needed my help developing his emotional intelligence. To start with, this smart leader discovered, Miguel’s financial wizardry was short lived. Before this all came to light, Miguel had been identified as a potential successor to the CEO. But it wasn’t over. Miguel was shocked.
Dialogue We have suddenly gone beyond ordinary conversation and are now beginning to hear, truly understand, learn from each other, and create together as we share authentic expression. We are thinking together, meaning now flows freely, and we are learning from the transformation that is dialogue. Definitions Through Words, Thinking Together, A synthesis and interweaving of ideas, A flow of meaning, Interchange among thoughtful peers. Root: Dia Logus, “Through Words” Dialogue is the creative thinking together that can emerge when genuine empathetic listening, respect for all participants, safety, peer relationships, suspending judgment, sincere inquiry, courageous speech, and discovering and disclosing assumptions work together to guide our conversations. Related Terms Toward Dialogue Specific attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors can move us toward dialogue or away from it, toward dichotomy and fragmentation. Balance Inquiry and Advocacy Listening to understand: Hear their words; learn their meaning.
How To Build Conversations That Create Innovative Ideas When Lori Senecal offered KBS+ employees a course in venture capital several years ago, the then-CEO wasn’t suggesting they quit to start their own companies. She wanted to ignite their entrepreneurial mojo so they could shape the ad agency’s business model. Tapping employees to create change is a notion that has been around since managers set up suggestion boxes in break rooms. Almost 20 years ago, in Leading Change, John Kotter estimated that only a third of change programs succeeded. The Art Of Strategic Conversation Leaders might be better off mastering the art of strategic conversation. Strategic conversations are two-way exchanges that are structured by management to elicit relevant ideas. After studying innovation efforts at Red Hat, Rite-Solutions, KBS+, and Boston Children’s Hospital, among others, the researchers found three factors that led to success: Offer structured forums for discussions. Empower employees who step up to affect change. Strategy for All
5 Effective Communication Skills Having effective communication skills is imperative for your success. Positive communication will certainly increase the opportunities you find in your career and business. Having good communication skills will enable you to get ahead in certain areas where others who are less assertive may not succeed. A few things to keep your eyes on while practicing the fine art of communication are: Body Language Do not shy away from the person with whom you are speaking. Making eye contact.Nodding occasionally to acknowledge a strong point in the conversation.Standing with hands clasped in front of you, never crossing your arms.Not displaying nervous ticks such as wringing hands, picking at your nails, or anything that the person communicating with you will view as a distraction from their conversation. Speech and Attentiveness When speaking, you need to be clear and concise. In addition, one of the most important aspects of verbal communication is the ability to practice active listening. Patience
HOW DOES TEAM BUILDING HELP ORGANIZATIONS Team building engages your employees and helps create a cohesive and united work force, which for most businesses is their most valuable resource. Some of the biggest goals and outcomes of team building is to enhances the organization’s efficiency. It enables the organization to maximise relationships internal and external and improves communication and allow for embracing of new challenges and goals. Although most teams communicate internally as part of their daily interaction, the degree of effective communication can sometimes be determined by the understanding and relationship of those involved. Team Building Improves Employees Morale Team building can also improve your company’s efficiency through boosting employee morale.
Effective Communication: Improving Communication Skills in Business and Relationships Improving Communication Skills in Business and Relationships What is effective communication? In the information age, we have to send, receive, and process huge numbers of messages every day. While effective communication is a learned skill, it is more effective when it’s spontaneous rather than formulaic. Effective communication skills #1: Listening Listening is one of the most important aspects of effective communication. Effective listening can: Make the speaker feel heard and understood, which can help build a stronger, deeper connection between you. Tips for effective listening If your goal is to fully understand and connect with the other person, listening effectively will often come naturally. Focus fully on the speaker, his or her body language, and other nonverbal cues. Effective communication skills #2: Nonverbal communication When we communicate things that we care about, we do so mainly using nonverbal signals. Tips for improving how you read nonverbal communication Next step...