Until now, I’ve been discussing the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) of individuals. The emotional intelligence of teams, though, is just as important. Applying EQ concepts can contribute to better internal team collaboration, improved communication with company stakeholders and development of the team’s overall effectiveness. These concepts, internal collaboration, external communication and improved effectiveness are analogous to EQ’s overarching building blocks of self-awareness/self-management (internal) and social awareness/relationship management (external) and the ultimate benefits (improved effectiveness) achieved by drilling down and working on these core competencies.
One might surmise that a team’s emotional intelligence is simply the collective EQ of the individual team members. Others offer that the EQ of the team leader is the most important influencing factor. But research begs to differ. Studies show that emotionally intelligent team members and a highly emotionally intelligent team leader can certainly contribute to positive outcomes, but that’s not where it ends. A highly effective team is characterized by repeated adherence to and demonstration of “team norms,” along with the capacities of individual team members to practice these norms regularly and reliably. Team norms can also be described as “rules of engagement,” “best practices,” or “guidelines.” If you’re familiar with Agile processes, you’ll immediately recognize that “ceremonies” are used to represent the team norms, and when exercised properly, how impactful these can be to the success of the overall process. Team norms that specifically relate to personal interactions within the group and with outside stakeholders or contributors can be equally, if not more powerful.
Most workplaces are dynamic and fluid environments, comprised of many different types of people, each of whom has his or her own communication style, core values and motivators. Each person will (or won’t) exhibit emotionally intelligent behaviors differently. By establishing meaningful team norms right from the start, we can create a level playing field where the expectations of all members are articulated openly and agreed to across the board. The degree of success may still be dependent on the individual EQ of each of the members and the leader, but establishing these norms and sticking to them is the best way to create the transparency that contributes dramatically to overall success.
Every team may need different norms, and norms can certainly be added or adapted as the team dynamic evolves. But here are just a few suggestions of popular norms. As you read through them, think about a team that you are or have been a part of. Does/Did that team meet the purpose of the norm in a different way? Or was the purpose of the norm never addressed? And how did that all work out?
Team self-evaluation: The team regularly, on a set schedule, discusses the team’s performance. The purpose is to highlight strengths and weaknesses in the team’s routine and process. What worked and what didn’t work? What can be changed to improve performance going forward? (Does this sound like it aims to address the team’s self-awareness?) Many teams use exercises like “stop/start/continue” as part of this process, but there are many ways to identify the team’s areas of both “smooth sailing” and the discovery of blind spots.
Developing interpersonal understanding and caring behavior: The team purposefully takes notice of both individual achievements and individual trouble spots. Asking questions and asking for help from fellow team members is expected and comfortable. The team specifically allocates time so that team members can learn about each other’s perspectives, needs, skills and feelings. This practice is for the purpose of creating psychological safety and a foundation of trust upon which to build. Many teams exercise this norm by exchanging personal stories, doing exercises like “Wheel of Life” or “Lifeline,” or using social activities outside of work as ice-breakers.
Addressing counterproductive behavior: When feedback is necessary, it is delivered with a focus on emotional self-control. Here is where a leader’s EQ makes all the difference. It is far more effective to deliver feedback in a comfortable and controlled way so that it actually has the intended impact, as opposed to expressing anger, frustration, sarcasm or even panic, which typically cause people’s defenses to rise. This norm absolutely depends on the existence of psychological safety, or more specifically, an environment that is so supportive of its members that even negative feedback is viewed as opportunity for improvement instead of outright criticism. Quite often, “growth mindset” is used as a backdrop for feedback, so that it’s perfectly clear that feedback is meant for productive purposes. As the case is across all norms, the more regularly this norm is practiced, the more natural it will feel to the team.
Proactive problem solving: The team has regular discussions around anticipating problems and taking immediate action when problems do arise. There is an overt avoidance of “quick fixes” and when problems are identified, there is no “blame game.” Inherent in the team is the assumption that all members participate with sincerity and only good intentions. The team, as a whole, is responsible for the final outcome and therefore the team, as a whole, is responsible for avoiding, finding and fixing problems together.
Establishing the team’s organizational awareness:The team expends effort to understand the needs, priorities and emotional “climate” of its stakeholders. Explicitly examining and discussing what external stakeholders care about can enable better understanding and greater engagement on the part of team members. Further, certain team members should be explicitly assigned to meet with and seek insights and feedback from specific stakeholders, and subsequently bring this information back to the team. The purpose is to create a sense of balance between the team’s own internal perspective on itself and how closely others (internal stakeholders, customers) share that perspective. Analogous to a person seeking feedback from others, this has the added impact of instilling a sense of empathy for those counting on the team’s success. It opens the door to further clarity on purpose and expectations and can help avoid setbacks or problems due to misunderstandings about stakeholder requirements. It also can contribute to a more cohesive culture by breaking down walls between potential silos.
The team norms discussed here are just examples of things that a team can do to help it become more highly effective and increase its performance. There are many others, and it is up to the team leader to choose, establish and enforce norms that will be beneficial to achieving the team’s goals. The EQ of the leader and individual team members will affect the execution of these norms and how much of an impact they will ultimately have.
What are some other team norms that you’ve seen work in the past?
