Tag: #group effectiveness

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Building strong relationships in the workplace is crucial for an organization’s success. 

  1. Collaboration and Teamwork:
    • Coworkers who have positive relationships are more likely to perform well when working together on projects. Respectful teammates motivate each other to perform at their best, leading to improved collaboration and efficient task completion.
    • Good communication within a team reduces ambiguity and ensures everyone understands their specific tasks.
  2. Individual Productivity:
    • Enjoying positive office relationships can enhance your own productivity and job-related skills. When you like working with your coworkers, you tend to work harder, contributing to the company’s success.
    • A supportive work environment encourages employees to give their best effort.
  3. Employee Morale:
    • The psychological state of employees directly affects their productivity. Having good relationships with colleagues can boost morale, leading to better professional output
    • When you enjoy spending time with your coworkers, it positively impacts your overall job satisfaction.
  4. Employee Retention:
    • Teams that retain key members consistently deliver better long-term results. Employees who feel connected to their coworkers and the company are less likely to seek employment elsewhere.
    • Strong workplace relationships contribute to employee loyalty and reduce turnover rates.

In summary, fostering positive relationships at work not only benefits individual employees but also contributes significantly to an organization’s overall success. So, let’s continue building those connections! 

Contact us at bhodge@oecleadership.com 1-812-345-7519

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Organizational Development Team Effectiveness

Human connection in the workplace is crucial 

Human connection in the workplace is crucial for creating a sense of belonging and inclusivity within teams. When team members establish meaningful relationships, it leads to several positive outcomes:

  1. Improved Engagement: Employees who feel connected to their colleagues are more likely to be engaged in their work. In fact, research shows that if employees don’t have a best friend at work, there’s only a 1 in 12 chance that they’ll be engaged.
  2. Higher Job Satisfaction: When people feel connected to their coworkers, they tend to have higher levels of job satisfaction. Feeling part of a supportive community contributes to overall happiness at work.
  3. Increased Productivity: Connected teams drive collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Colleagues who communicate effectively and work well together are more efficient, leading to better productivity.
  4. Retention and Well-Being: Employee disconnection is a significant driver of voluntary turnover. Lonely employees cost U.S. companies up to $406 billion a year. Conversely, employees who experience high levels of belonging have reduced turnover risk, increased job performance, and fewer sick days. Healthy work relationships facilitate greater learning, improve retention, and increase innovation and performance.

To foster human connection in the workplace, consider implementing the following strategies:

  • Make Workplace Connection a Ritual: Encourage regular team check-ins, virtual coffee breaks, or casual chats. Create opportunities for colleagues to connect beyond work-related tasks.
  • Make It Easier to Ask for Support: Cultivate an environment where team members feel comfortable seeking help or advice from one another. Encourage open communication and empathy.
  • Make Onboarding More Experiential: During onboarding, focus not only on tasks but also on building relationships. Introduce new hires to their colleagues and team dynamics.
  • Make Recharging a Reality: Recognize the importance of breaks and downtime. Encourage employees to take breaks, recharge, and connect with others during these moments.

Remember, human connection isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for a thriving workplace. As leaders, we can actively promote connection and create an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. Here at OEC, Inc it has been our mission for over 30 years to facilitate connections that bring purpose and meaning to you, the people around you, and the Organization you give your gifts to every day.

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The Best Human Asset Software for your Business

benefits of using the Predictive Index (PI) in your organization. OEC, Inc. is a Certified PI Partner. Contact us for more information. https://www.oecleadership.com

Predictive Index: The Key to Talent Optimization

In today’s dynamic workplace, understanding employee behavior and optimizing talent is crucial for organizational success. The Predictive Index (PI) is a powerful tool that provides valuable insights into workplace behavior, motivators, and potential. Let’s explore how PI can enhance your organization:

1. Understanding Workplace Behavior

  • Scientific Validation: PI is a scientifically validated behavioral assessment tool. It evaluates the motivating needs that drive an individual’s workplace behavior. By understanding these needs, organizations gain insights into what makes their employees tick.
  • Predicting Performance: PI measures cognitive ability, behavior, and interests. It predicts how individuals will perform in specific roles or work environments. This knowledge helps in making informed decisions during talent acquisition and team building.

2. Talent Optimization

  • Hiring Right: PI assists in identifying candidates who not only qualify for a role but are also likely to thrive in it. By assessing personality traits and cognitive abilities, organizations can make better hiring decisions.
  • Team Dynamics: Understanding the mix of driving needs within a team is essential. PI helps identify potential areas of conflict or cooperation, promoting effective collaboration and communication.
  • Leadership Development: PI identifies individuals with leadership potential. It enables personalized development plans to nurture their skills, ensuring a strong leadership pipeline.
  • Management Support: Pi integrates behavioral data with AI to provide managers all they need to schedule 1:1 meetings, Team meetings, feedback and communication, performance management and more.

3. Aligning Individual Capabilities with Organizational Goals

  • Behavioral Mapping: PI provides a ‘behavioral map’ of an individual’s work persona. It reveals factors like dominance, extraversion, patience, and formality. Organizations can align these traits with their goals and requirements.
  • Stress and Team Response: PI helps understand how individuals respond to stress, scrutiny, and team dynamics. This knowledge aids in creating a supportive work environment.

4. Not Just a Test, But Insights

  • Detailed Insights: PI isn’t a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ test. Instead, it offers detailed insights into behavior and performance. Organizations gain clarity on their workforce’s strengths and areas for improvement.

Conclusion

The Predictive Index is more than a tool; it’s the key to talent optimization. By leveraging PI, your organizations can create a harmonious workplace, maximize productivity, and align individual capabilities with strategic goals. So, contact us at OEC, Inc. to embrace PI and unlock the potential of your workforce! ????

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Organizational Development Team Effectiveness

Are you hiring the right people?

Between Business Strategy and Business Results are your people. People are what ultimately drives the success of your business. Hiring the right people, giving managers the tools to effectively lead and build successful teams and decreasing turnover are the keys to long term success. Knowing the job behavioral targets and then matching hires to these targets is the key to great hires. Arming your leaders with data on how best to motivate and lead your people is the secret to high levels of engagement with greater ROI!

Connect with us to find out more. 812-345-7519

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Team Effectiveness

Is your Team Connected?

Ask yourself, “What groups of people do I know that could benefit from being better connected”? Whether your thoughts went to work, community or family, we can easily identify connections that are strong as well as connections that are weak.

Why are human to human connections so important?

We are genetically and socially programmed to be connected to others. Evolutionary theory developed by Charles Darwin and widely accepted as having some scientific validity theorized that in order for a species to survive it must be driven to behave in ways that promote Survival and Reproduction. Because of these two basic “Survival of the Fittest” drives humans have continued to evolve specific adaptive behaviors to stay connected and Thrive. Believe it or not, even though the news of current events catches our focus, we are actually living in the most peaceful time in history according to historians looking at 100 plus year periods. Survival is actually getting easier to do. Reproductive adaptive behaviors drive what we are attracted to and can unconsciously effect our interpersonal behaviors, not just as mates but how agreeable or valued we see each other, how accepted we feel, how much automatic trust we place in each other and many other unconscious psychological dynamics.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; Physical, safety, security, love and Belonging, Self-esteem, and Self Actualization; all depend on solid close social connections. One failure to Maslow’s model is that we have examples both in the animal and human world where social connection is chosen over food, water and shelter. A study by Lunstad, Smith, and Layton at Brigham Young University and published in the Journal of Medicine https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316 showed that a lack of social connection has a greater detriment to your health than obesity and smoking. On the positive side strong human connections have been proven to lead to a %50 higher chance of life longevity, strengthened immune system, lower rates of anxiety and depression, higher self esteem and greater empathy towards others. Social connectedness creates reciprocal connections that affect our physical and emotional well-being. We live in a time where a lot of people do not feel connected and technology seems to be pushing us even further from the authentic human connections we all need in order to thrive.

Most people’s primary social group is their work. This is where a lot of us spend 40 – 60 plus hours a week for the majority if not all of our lives. This is not including the time spent ruminating about work issues. Like it or not this is where we get most of our social connections. For those teams where the connections are strong, you are enjoying higher levels of endorphins, strengthened immune systems, overall sense of wellbeing, higher productivity, lower costs and very possibly a longer life.

For those teams that are struggling to connect, unfortunately the opposite is true. You will experience higher levels of fear and stress hormones (adrenalin, cortisol, and nonadrenalin) resulting over time in exhaustion, maladaption, burnout and dysfunction decreasing results at higher costs, and very possibly affecting the quality and quantity of life. (effects of chronic fear)

So… since developing strong connections is so important, how can we improve connections in and between our teams, groups, and families? Whenever I am asked the question “How can our team or organization improve its peoples sense of belonging”? I first ask “How do people in your life know that they belong”? I think too often at work we try to make human connection way to scientific and technical. True bonding and connecting with others is first emotional and second practical.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Emotional Connection:

  • Use Greetings and manners, smile and acknowledge others, use people’s names, give compliments, apologize and forgive, offer help.
  • Be the teammate you would like to have, be reliable, thoughtful, timely, authentic, and sensitive. Intentionally include others and acknowledge their importance.
  • listen to others attentively, show genuine interest in what others think and feel.
  • Share things about your past, present, and future with each other. Trust only comes from practicing vulnerability.
  • Structure team building time, do a community service project together, plan informal social gatherings, include family at some of them.

Practical Connections:

  • Establish a strong purpose at the individual and team level that gives teams a reason to want to connect and stay connected. Keep that purpose front and center.
  • Ground the team with clearly shared goals that drive connection, make sure division of roles and responsibilities and accountability are mutually understood and the connections are regularly discussed.
  • Assure that everyone is getting to use their talents and strengths in contribution to the teams objectives.
  • Create a culture of true psychological safety where teams feel free to exchange passionate ideas, disagreements and dreams leading to synergistic solutions. A place where teams can feel free to be themselves without fear. A place where they can connect safely on an emotional level building Trust and creating a strong group identity.
  • Define and establish measures of success, regularly discuss progress. Strong teams are interested in their scorecard.
  • Support each other when the occasional hard work does not yield intended results.
  • Celebrate, have Fun, show love and caring for each other.

If you could use some help connecting your people and teams contact us at www.oecleadership.com

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Team Effectiveness

What are the benefits of working in teams?

What are the benefits of using teams as your primary structure for getting work done? Organizationally we know the highest performing teams with the highest quality results, do so while fulfilling many of the members basic as well as higher level human needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs applies to our whole lives including work. In my many years of learning, playing, working in and with teams, I have experienced the joys, the frustrations, and everything in between. We all know what teams can do when designed with the right members and right support. We also know what the costs are of our dysfunctional teams who are stuck with little hope of what magic might change the daily dredge on both the organization as well as the team members themselves.

Teams are worth the investment and there is science to prove it. We humans have worked in collaborative groups since the beginning of time. In a sense, teams are the reason we are all even still here on planet earth, credited as a key to the survival of our species. In this linked article https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/the-importance-of-teamwork Tracy Middleton shares 11 benefits of working in teams and some of the science to support it.

Visit https://www.oecleadership.com 812-345-7519