Investing in team climate – why and how

Photo by RDNE Stock project

Are you a manager of a team?

Do you invest in your team climate or culture?

Is that important anyway???

I reflect on all of the above this month, providing some key tips on what you can do to invest in your team climate and why it is worth your time to do so.

We get paid to get results right? Well, yes, that’s true. But sometimes focusing on how you and your team get results in a way that prioritises the long term can be more fruitful than just working harder on what you and the team are doing.

We don’t often think about how much it costs us when we lose a team member but it is much more than the obvious costs such as placing an advert for a role.

The time we put into recruiting a replacement for a team member is part of that cost of recruiting as is the loss in terms of what they would have achieved while in post. Then you add in how long it takes a new team member to ramp up to speed plus whatever any training might cost and you realise that being able to hold on to your team members is worth more than you think.

That’s where team climate or culture comes in.

Think about the time when you most enjoyed your work .. hopefully that may be in your current role. You likely stayed in that role or organisation longer than in those where you were not enjoying your work. You were engaged – performing well and enjoying what it felt like to work there.

Some of the factors likely include:

1. It felt safe to speak up with your opinion
2. You felt valued when you shared your views
3. You got acknowledgement for good work
4. You continued to grow in your job
5. You could see possibilities for future career options
6. You got on well with your colleagues enjoying their company
7. You felt supported and could support others
8. You knew what was expected of you
9. You were able to do work that you felt you were good at

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Now look at each of these.

As a manager, what can YOU do to positively impact each of these factors?

1. Encourage people to share their opinions, particularly if different from most, and enable them to advocate for their views
2. Thank people when they contribute to conversations
3. Give regular recognition each week being specific about what you appreciate and the impact that someone has had
4. Help team members to consider how to keep stretching themselves outside of their comfort zones a little at a time
5. Find ways to enable career progression within your own team and beyond, giving people greater breadth, visibility, and providing introductions to others
6. Ensure team members have a chance to collaborate on value adding work in a way that enables them to build relationships
7. Encourage team members to be co-accountable for the success of the team such that they want to support each other
8. Be clear and transparent with your communication giving plenty of opportunity for team members to ask questions
9. Take time to understand team member’s strengths and aim to fit them to roles where they get to use those strengths more of the time.

How often do you consider investing time in areas like these to shore up your team climate?

What’s one thing you could do this week to make improvements that will pay dividends in the long- term through team member engagement?