6 Easy Practices to Build Better Connection
Hi Leaders,
This month, we wanted to give some practical tips on how to make sure your team is connecting and enjoying one another. At Sway, we find that building interpersonal spaces beyond the humdrum of daily tasks can make teams work together and build deeper trust.
Here are some quick and easy ideas for connection:
A funny question at the beginning of meetings
Unless it’s a brief update, you should always start off meetings with a quick sharing between all the team members gathered. While a lot of companies make this sharing time something more work-related (for example, “what are you working on?”), you can also start off meetings with something fun and personal.
Some example questions are:
What summer treats are you looking forward to?
If you had to be a non-human animal, which animal would you want to be?
What’s the last thing you bought for fun?
Workplace happy hour
Various companies set aside one afternoon per month (or sometimes even per week) to gather more recreationally and increase connection among employees. These “happy hours” can take a variety of forms–from ping-pong tournaments to outdoor picnics. No matter what they are, the most important thing is that employees hang out together and connect in non-work ways.
Go on a walk around the neighborhood together
Never underestimate the power of a simple walk. Instead of meeting in an office, try having a walking meeting. Or better yet, no meeting at all. Just have your team go on a walk around the neighborhood to hang out and talk. Once people are gathered for the purpose of connection, great ideas happen.
Meet other businesses
If you are in a business park, there are often other companies nearby that can widen your circle of connections. Bonding with other local businesses is not only a way to increase your company’s reach, it can also add to the social engagement of your employees.
Tour local places to have lunch or coffee
If your team meets in a physical location, explore the surrounding area! Take walks to the local coffee shop as a group or try out all the lunch spots nearby. These excursions are natural ways to bond teammates.
Team trivia / get to know you
I often do this as an exercise at workshops. It takes a little work, but, man, is it effective. Send out a survey to gather fun facts about each team member, then have a meeting where an administrator plays a “Guess who” style game.
Question: “Who was a rodeo clown before they started working at our company?”
Answer: Trish!
You can game-ify the questions in a variety of formats, but no matter what, people will have fun learning fun facts about each other.
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