New face-to-face teams

- Teams that take the time to get to know one another early in the teaming process are more likely to thrive. Why? Because you're able to establish group norms and operate together from these. When we learn how our teammates want to be corrected or when it isn't okay to interrupt their train of thought, we work together with a lot less friction. And icebreakers are the key to getting those ideas established. Here's a good one to try. Introduce Your Partner is probably an icebreaker you've done a version of before. This is where you get to know another person in the room that you'll introduce to everyone. But I'm adding a twist that will allow your team to start a meaningful discussion about group norms. Before we get into the details of this game, let's talk about some ground rules for this icebreaker. Establish the expectation that everything that's shared in the meeting stays with the group. You'll have a hard time maintaining trust if people can't keep information confidential. That said, my second rule is to use fake names or individuals the team can't easily guess whenever you share personal stories. You start this out by giving each pair or group the following instructions. Take four to five minutes each to introduce yourself to a partner and share a story about a colleague or supervisor that communicated with you in a way you disliked. Be sure the focus is on the behavior they would have preferred rather than just complaining. After each pair has had time to discuss these, or other prompts that you provide, it's time for a group discussion. Each pair will report out to the group with partners introducing each other. Earlier today, we played a version of this with our production team here at LinkedIn. Carolyn and I introduced each other so now I'm going to take you behind the scenes so you can watch how this played out. - Okay, well, I think we're ready to report out and so I'll start. This is my colleague Daisy Lovelace, she is a business school professor, she loves yoga and does have probably the cutest child you'll ever see. So be sure you ask for pictures. I know that Daisy is really easy to work with, I can vouch for that. But there's one thing that really will make her cranky and that is when people talk behind her back. I know she had an experience with a colleague who never said anything bad about the team's presentation until the client was in the room. And then had a whole lot of negative things to say. So anything you need to say, trust me, she'll hear ya. - Yeah, fair. And this is Carolyn Goerner, she's also a business school professor and she has two adorable dogs, Charlotte and Lennox and she absolutely adores them. She too has lots of pictures that she's happy to share. She shared with me a story about a boss who would yell every time that things did not go as planned and she is open to hearing what you have to say but would prefer that you share it in a conversational tone. Okay, so typically a facilitator would take over from here. He or she would ask the group for input on what you might use for examples as norms for your team's communication going forward. After each pair has reported out, you'll have a rich list of communication norms based on each teammates past experiences. You can always add to the list or note things that certain team members prefer that others dislike. For example, texting on personal phones may be a topic where your team doesn't have consensus. There are lots of topics your team can discuss to get the conversation rolling about forming group norms. Other questions might be: describe your ideal work relationships; or tell us about a time someone lost your trust. Another, what do you wish your favorite or least favorite boss knew about leadership? You can see how these questions can lead to a great discussion about group norms. Formalize these into a team charter. Check out my course on Communication within Teams for information on how you can use this tool to help your team work together more efficiently.