2021 Trends in the Workplace Series: Team Impacts

“I hate online school.”

“I keep losing my Google meet screen while I’m looking at my assignment in Quizlet. Help me!”

“I’ve had six hours of Zoom meetings today. I’m going to bed.”

“Rocky, get off me. Rocky, stop chewing my computer cord!” (Rocky is an animal.)

“Can we please just talk by phone? I’m anti-screen these days.”

These are all quotes that I’ve heard in my house in the last 30 days, and they are just repeats of the last 12 months. The pandemic has been devastating at so many levels, and we don’t know the long-term impacts yet. I know one thing – learning will never be the same. As a witness to my own children’s virtual school experiences and my own professional development, how we gather now is different and complicated. It requires a whole new set of skills and expansive creativity.

How we gather now also impacts the workplace. This is the third blog post in a series about 2021 Trends in the Workplace. The focus of the series is reflecting how new workplace changes can be applied within small businesses. While the expensive software and expanded staff needs may not be possible for small businesses, applying the concept in these workplace trends is possible. As my friend Crystal Kadakia says, “If you can’t dream it, then you won’t do it.” It is time for businesses to dream.

There are some key terms that I need to revisit and introduce some new ones before we move forward with the team impacts. In last week’s blog post about individuals, I discussed the move to a hybrid workplace, where employees may work exclusively in the office or from home or a combination of these. A hybrid workplace creates a distributed workforce, where the work from home exclusively roles enable a business to hire people in any location. The hybrid workplace and distributed workforce has highlighted the delineation and benefits of asynchronous and synchronous work. Asynchronous work is work that can be completed individually or in small groups without the time constraints of a meeting or gathering of the entire team. Synchronous work is work conducted by everyone being together at the same time and place with time constraints and a specific sequence of tasks or events.

Got all that? It’s okay to take a nap after reading those terms. When you’re ready, let’s discuss how these changes impact teams going forward.

1.       Asynchronous and synchronous work supports autonomy and flexibility in the workplace. As workplace schedules become more flexible, the need for asynchronous and synchronous work becomes more important. Too often, we use meetings to conduct work that can be done offline and asynchronously. For example, team meetings where different departments provide updates on their work is a waste of time. These updates can easily be captured in a shared document that teammates can view at any time. The use of asynchronous and synchronous work also supports employee engagement. When employees can complete work outside of normal business hours, they can complete work when their minds are rested, and schedules are less complicated.

2.       Virtual collaborative workspaces become a place of gathering and ode to a collective history. The use of shared documents within a team creates a need for virtual collaborative workspaces. These are online places that teams can access information and documents in one location. A Virtual collaborative workplace may be housed in Gsuite, Microsoft Teams, Monday.com, Asana, Slack channels and Miro boards. The options are limitless. What’s most important is using a system that your team co-creates together. The key elements of a virtual collaborative workspace are connection, communication, socialization, collective history, communal work, and creativity. An engaging collaborative workspace is not static but ever evolving. It is the “go to” place for your team.

3.       Generative team meetings replace the traditional meetings of updates and one-way leadership. When a team moves to a virtual collaborative workspace and a culture of synchronous & asynchronous work, then team meetings become a place of connection and dialogue. A Microsoft study released last year showed reflected a change in meetings. Longer meetings decreased while shorter meetings increased. And the types of meetings changed with social meetings and 1:1 meeting increasing in the virtual workplace. Using a shared facilitation structure, where meeting roles are rotated between team members, can break down power dynamics and provide development opportunities for employees. The University of Michigan Program on Intergroup Relations has an interesting list of tips and techniques for facilitating dialogue, not debate.  

4.       An inclusive organizational culture starts in teams. Author Peter Block has said, “The small group is the unit of organizational change.” Often, we work only at the organizational systems level of change without recognizing the specific needs of teams. Our businesses are ecosystems of teams working together toward a common purpose. When one team changes, the entire ecosystem is impacted. This is especially true when it comes to equity & inclusion work. I encourage teams to look at their decision-making and conflict resolution processes first. Does the leader assume that silence is consensus? Does the team assume that majority rules? What are the different ways to raise issues in a safe manner? These are strong places to start.

5.       An evolving set of working agreements provides the framework for team agility and capability. Moving from a traditional office setting to a hybrid workplace involves a renegotiation of working agreements for every team. Working agreements lay the groundwork for how the team will work. This conversation may include topics such as workflows, decision-making processes, collaborative workspaces, meeting preferences, and time zone availability. A regular practice of reviewing these agreements encourages individual evolution and emergent strategy. We are going through constant changes with these global shifts. Recognizing this reality as a team opens up our adaptive skills and resilience.

Author and family activist Mia Birdsong says that “community is a verb.” I feel that in my bones, don’t you? Community, relationship, and connection takes constant and consistent effort. This is true for our teams. Our teams are key parts of our identities and sense of belonging. Take some time over the next month or so to reflect on your team and the possibilities. You and your team are capable of more than you think.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash