14. Team bonding: Bond over struggles and ambition
Superficial bonding sessions aimed at building "team bonding" are mostly ineffective. There is a better way to bond with your team - shared struggles and shared ambition.
Last week I announced that I’m starting a series, where I write short posts about building and scaling culture in remote teams. My first post was about communication through Slack.
This week, let’s discuss another important challenge in remote teams - Team bonding
Building a cohesive and high-performing team is a top priority for any product leader. Traditionally, team bonding exercises and casual conversations have been popular methods to foster connections. However, there is a more powerful approach to building genuine team bonding - bonding over shared struggles and a compelling vision.
Shared ambitions
Humans are naturally drawn to shared ambition. By inspiring your team with a grand vision, you ignite a collective sense of purpose and direction. A compelling vision gives meaning to the work they do.
Communicate the "why" behind your company and connect it to a broader purpose that resonates with team members. When everyone rallies around a common goal, bonds are formed, and collaboration flourishes.
And don’t be fake with this ambition, or come up with shallow values just for internet points. Smart people can smell bullshit. If you give them a fake sense of purpose, it will easily backfire.
There is also a chance that your company might not have a bigger, broader purpose. In that case pick some company values where others can align with - have a strong opinion on something. For example, Doist is vocal about async work even before pandemic. I’d have enjoyed working in that company since I loved async work. Basecamp had a cult following due to their values and contribution to Rails.
Embrace Vulnerability
As a leader, it's essential to find the right balance between being formidable and showing vulnerability. Share your struggles and challenges openly with the team. When you are transparent about the obstacles you face, you humanize yourself and create a safe space for others to share their own challenges. Vulnerability fosters trust and encourages open dialogue, allowing your team to support one another and collaborate more effectively.
Encourage open communication, where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns without fear of judgment. Celebrate failure as an opportunity for growth and learning, emphasizing that mistakes are stepping stones to success.
Shared learning experiences
Ever had a moment where you hit it off with someone over a book you read? This is shared learning at play. This can be an effective way to bond with people at work. Don’t restrict learning sessions to work-related topics. Design opportunities for your team to talk about other interests in life. These shared experiences create a sense of camaraderie, strengthening the team's bond.
Nothing like an in-person experience
Understand that none of these are replacements for in-person team bonding. In fact, it’s the only kind of team bonding exercise that works. The superficial bonding exercised run by most HR teams tend to be ineffective in actually building a relationship.
Make time and budget to meet up in person. Create co-working weeks where your team can come together, work on a problem that requires collaboration and also have some non-working time together.
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Thanks for taking the time to read my post.