What It Looks Like: Understanding the Importance of Getting to Know Team Members
Amanda, a Senior Project Manager at a software development company, has recently been promoted to lead a new team. While she is confident in her technical abilities, Amanda finds it difficult to build personal connections with her team members. She primarily focuses on work-related tasks and rarely takes the time to ask her team members about their interests, aspirations, or challenges. As a result, she notices that her team is not as cohesive or engaged as she would like, and communication seems more transactional than collaborative. Team members are not as forthcoming with ideas or feedback, and Amanda struggles to understand what motivates them beyond their tasks.
What if getting to know your team isn’t just about being friendly, but about building relationships that foster trust, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of each member’s strengths and motivations?
After Implementing Behavioral Insights: Building Personal Connections
Amanda begins to intentionally ask questions to learn more about her team members on a personal level. She asks about their career goals, hobbies, and challenges outside of work. Amanda takes time during team meetings to encourage informal conversations, helping everyone feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. She also ensures that feedback sessions are two-way, asking her team about their experiences working with her and what they need to succeed. Over time, Amanda builds stronger relationships with her team, which leads to increased trust, more open communication, and a higher level of engagement from her team members. They feel more valued and understood, which boosts morale and collaboration.
Business Impact: Positive Outcomes of Getting to Know Team Members
- Stronger relationships, as team members feel that their leader genuinely cares about their well-being and success.
- Increased trust, as open and personal communication fosters a sense of reliability and support within the team.
- Improved team collaboration, as members feel more comfortable sharing ideas and feedback when they know their leader understands and supports them.
- Higher employee engagement, as employees feel more connected to their work and to their team when they are recognized as individuals, not just workers.
Contributing Factors (Causes): Why Leaders Struggle to Build Personal Connections
- Lack of personal connection, where leaders focus more on tasks and performance than on developing relationships with their team members.
- Time constraints, where leaders are busy with their own responsibilities and fail to make time for personal conversations with their team.
- Limited communication skills, where leaders may not know how to ask open-ended questions that foster deeper connections.
- Cultural norms, where organizational culture may place a greater emphasis on work-related interactions rather than personal connections.
Impact on Individual, Team, and Organization
- Individual: Increased self-awareness, as individuals feel recognized for who they are, both personally and professionally, which helps them understand their strengths and areas for growth. Stronger confidence, as employees feel supported by their leader and are more likely to take risks and share ideas.
- Team: Better collaboration, as team members build trust with one another and feel more comfortable working together toward common goals. Higher creativity and innovation, as individuals feel safe to share ideas and perspectives, knowing they are valued for who they are.
- Organization: Stronger organizational culture, as the practice of getting to know team members cultivates a culture of trust, respect, and inclusivity. Improved team performance, as teams that work well together and communicate openly tend to achieve higher results and greater productivity.
Underlying Need: Addressing the Root Causes of Disconnection
- Emotional intelligence, where leaders need the ability to empathize with and understand their team members on a personal level.
- Communication skills, particularly the ability to ask open-ended, thoughtful questions that encourage deeper conversation and connection.
- Trust-building practices, where leaders create opportunities for team members to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, both professionally and personally.
- Leadership accessibility, where leaders make themselves approachable and create an environment where personal connections can thrive.
Triggers: Situations That Highlight the Need for Personal Connections
- Team challenges or conflicts, where leaders need to foster stronger relationships in order to improve team dynamics and resolve issues.
- Leadership changes, where a new leader must work to establish rapport and build trust with the team.
- Employee disengagement, where team members are less motivated or less communicative, signaling a need for deeper connections and understanding.
- High turnover rates, where the loss of employees indicates a gap in the personal connection and engagement within the team.
Remedy and Best Practices: Building Stronger Relationships
- Ask open-ended questions, focusing on each team member’s aspirations, challenges, and experiences to foster personal connections.
- Create informal opportunities for interaction, such as team lunches or one-on-one check-ins, to encourage personal conversations.
- Provide regular feedback and invite feedback, ensuring that communication is a two-way process where team members can share their thoughts and leaders can respond.
- Lead with empathy, demonstrating understanding and care for team members’ well-being and professional growth.
- Follow up regularly, checking in on personal progress, challenges, and goals, to continue building a relationship of trust and support.
Business Outcomes (KPIs): Measuring the Benefits of Building Personal Connections
- Employee engagement scores, as employees who feel understood and supported are more likely to be engaged and motivated.
- Team performance metrics, reflecting improvements in collaboration, efficiency, and productivity driven by stronger relationships.
- Employee retention rates, as employees are more likely to stay with an organization where they feel personally valued by their leaders.
- Leadership effectiveness, as leaders who build relationships through personal engagement are seen as more approachable and supportive by their teams.
- Team innovation and creativity, as an inclusive and supportive atmosphere encourages team members to contribute their best ideas.
Conclusion: Asking Questions to Get to Know Team Members is a crucial leadership behavior that fosters trust, engagement, and collaboration. Leaders who make an effort to connect with their team members on a personal level create stronger relationships that improve communication, morale, and overall team performance. By understanding the unique strengths, motivations, and challenges of each team member, leaders can build a cohesive and high-performing team that drives organizational success.
