Some recommendations to feed your curiosity
Read
“Employees with close connections at work are more productive, creative, and collaborative…. In contrast, when employees feel disconnected from their team or lonely at work, their performance craters.” The author of this article, Rod Friedman, explores the importance of having friendships at work as essential, and not just a “nice to have.”
He shares a few recommendations for team members to build closer connections:
- Connect on shared commonalities and introduce new team members with their interests to get the ball rolling
- Stress shared goals of the team to foster greater collaboration
- Leverage moments of conflict as moments of connection through exploring different perspectives and acknowledging expertise of your colleagues
Watch
Among the benefits of an increasingly diverse workforce lies the strength in diverse teams. Research shows that teams with members from different backgrounds tend to be more innovative as these unique perspectives bring different values to the table.
Rocío Lorenzo, a director at the Boston Consulting Group, conducted a study of 171 companies, and found that innovation jumps up when there is more than 20% representation of women in leadership. You can learn more by watching the talk here.
Listen
In this podcast episode, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, discusses with Adam Grant how he has pushed the culture towards one of growth and support, examining how their systems and processes can better foster connection. He shares their framework called “model coach care” which is the expectation that managers hold a specific set of skills, including the ability to create psychological safety and modeling receiving feedback well.
Later in the episode, he shares how “great teams are important, but great teaming is the currency.” Here, great teaming as a team member rests in one’s ability to be open to learning from others in all opportunities of connection.
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This article was featured in Torch’s newsletter, Curiouser. Each month, we deliver the latest research, stories, questions, and insights about the art and science of coaching to your inbox. Sign-up and join a community of people who are passionate about growth, learning, and leadership.
