Why human relationships are kind of a big deal...

Hi there!

Welcome to Teams, Talent & Productivity, brought you by Midnight Labs, the remote and hybrid teams specialists. We blend sensemaking, design, and data science to build fully customised talent and team development solutions.

Previous Newsletters:

📰delegation, development, and autonomy vs collaboration
📰variability, stability and redundancy
📰paradigm shifts in education and optimising your ways of working

In this week’s newsletter: 

• Teams: What are Team Dynamics?

• Talent: Principle of Development breakdown - Socio-Cultural Embeddedness.

• Productivity: How to get your boss to pay for more social activities.

Teams

What are Team Dynamics?

Team dynamics refer to the underlying forces, relationships, and processes that influence how members of a group interact with one another. These dynamics determine the nature of interactions and the atmosphere within the team, shaping how members communicate, collaborate, and ultimately perform. Key elements of team dynamics include communication styles, leadership roles, individual attitudes, and the alignment of team goals. These factors work together to create a productive environment—or conversely, to generate friction and obstacles that impede team effectiveness.

A common theme that comes up in our work with start-ups is how the constant change as you search for product-market-fit, or as you scale, can impact on team dynamics. People feel like they are constantly ‘storming’, and when runways are limited this can cause costly delays in getting a team to a state where they’re performing, if they make it at all. 

That’s why we believe it’s a must when you first form a team that you take time to deliberately set the team up for success, have the team define their own team culture, define roles and responsibilities, and set the standards they expect themselves to follow. If you are looking to quickly understand how healthy your current team’s dynamics are, you could try a short survey like this one with your team.

Talent

We continue our deep-dive series on the five interrelated developmental principles outlined in Immordino-Yang et al.’s recent paper, this week it is: Socio-cultural Embeddedness.

The principle of socio-cultural embeddedness emphasises that human development and learning are deeply influenced by cultural contexts. It suggests that all cognitive processes are framed within the cultural experiences and subjective meanings unique to each individual. According to this principle, individuals constantly adapt their behaviours and thoughts to fit the constraints and opportunities of their social and physical environments. In turn, they also influence and modify these contexts, which affects their personal perspectives and the interpretation of neurological information for social-emotional experiences.

Adopting the principle of socio-cultural embeddedness in organisational learning involves acknowledging and integrating the diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences of participants into the learning and developmental processes. Here are several ways to implement this principle effectively:

1. Culturally Responsive Training: Design programs that are sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of learners. This can be done by incorporating culturally relevant examples, case studies, and contexts that resonate with the diverse experiences of the participants. Facilitators should also be aware of different cultural norms and communication styles to facilitate more effective interactions and discussions.

2. Leveraging Diverse Perspectives: Encourage the sharing of different perspectives and experiences within the team. This can enhance problem-solving and innovation as team members bring unique viewpoints and solutions that are shaped by their cultural backgrounds. Facilitators can promote this by organising mixed-group activities that allow participants to learn from each other’s experiences and insights.

3. Inclusive Curriculum Design: Ensure that the learning materials do not implicitly favour one cultural perspective over others. Review content to include a variety of cultural viewpoints and avoid cultural biases that could alienate or disadvantage learners from different backgrounds.

4. Personalised Learning Paths: Recognise that adult learners come with varied educational and professional backgrounds. Offering personalised learning paths that cater to different levels of expertise and provide multiple entry points can help in addressing the individual needs of learners, thus respecting their prior knowledge and experiences.

5. Reflective Practices: Encourage learners to reflect on their own cultural influences and how these affect their learning and interactions. Reflection can be facilitated through discussions, journals, or feedback sessions that help learners identify their biases and learn how to manage them.

Productivity 

When people talk about productivity, often a forgotten lever to pull is reducing social distance within the team. Social distance in the context of team dynamics and workplace relationships refers to the perceived or actual emotional and psychological space between individuals. Reducing social distance within teams significantly enhances communication, which directly boosts productivity. When team members feel closer and more comfortable with each other, they engage in open, effective communication. This transparency helps quickly identify and solve problems, minimising delays caused by misunderstandings.

High social distance typically means that team members may feel disconnected or distant from each other, which can hinder open communication and collaboration. Conversely, low social distance indicates a closer, more familiar relationship where team members feel more comfortable and engaged in their interactions, leading to better teamwork and productivity.

So when was the last time you had fun with your team? Here are three reasons to have more of it:

1. Activities that generate laughter and enjoyment are likely to promote social bonding. Laughter, in particular, has been shown to release endorphins, which are natural feel-good chemicals in the brain that promote a sense of well-being and can enhance social bonds.

2. Fun activities create positive memories and experiences that individuals associate with each other. These positive associations can strengthen the relationship, making individuals more likely to seek further interaction and support from each other.

3. Fun and recreational activities can reduce stress and anxiety, which can otherwise hinder the development of relationships. By creating a more relaxed environment, individuals are more open to forming connections.

Let us know if you need a hand with creating these sorts of experiences for your team. 

I hope some of this was useful to you, if it was, please feel free to subscribe if you haven’t already so you don’t miss the next one 🙂 

Thanks for reading!

Midnight Labs