Many of us know what it’s like to be part of a dysfunctional team. Draining and unproductive are a few words that spring to mind. But can teamwork actually be (dare we say it?) fun? Well we think so!Many of us know what it’s like to be part of a dysfunctional team. Draining and unproductive are a few words that spring to mind. But can teamwork actually be (dare we say it?) fun? Well we think so!
Teams that work can find resolutions and drive results quickly and efficiently, all the while improving the workplace as a whole. So, whether it’s a disagreement with a coworker or yet another unproductive staff meeting, how can you help your team to achieve real teamwork? And how do you know when your team is clicking?
Teamwork is a challenging, ongoing process, but investing in your team can have a huge payoff. We can think of this in terms of something we’re all familiar with: our comfort zone. Imagine how you feel in your comfort zone: you’re relaxed, calm, and in control. Outside of this zone, you probably feel stressed, uneasy, or maybe even scared. Breaking out of your comfort zone may be a struggle, but the results can be rewarding and reveal opportunities that otherwise would have been missed, such as earning a promotion at work or making a connection through a networking event.
Designed for teams that prefer to use personality-indicator tools based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types, like the MBTI® instrument, The Five Behaviors™ Powered by All Types™ takes the concept of our comfort zone a step further. The All Types profile provides an estimation of one’s comfort zone for each of the personality dimensions: extraversion and introversion; sensing and intuition; thinking and feeling; judging and perceiving. For instance, the comfort zone for someone who is strongly introverted may only slightly extend into the extraverted side. This means it might take a lot of effort for them to do something extraverted, such as host an event.
It’s important to note that your comfort zone simply refers to your natural preferences and tendencies. If you are slightly extraverted, it may require more effort for you to stretch toward the opposite end of the spectrum and slow down in a quiet environment. The Five Behaviors Powered by All Types profile helps you understand your own strengths and stressors and how to relate to others. This gives you and your teammates an advantage for improving your working relationships with each other in an efficient and meaningful way.
With that said, depending on where your personality falls on the scale, breaking out of your comfort zone can take a significant or small amount of energy. But no matter where we fall within the personality dimensions, we all bring value to our team. By recognizing the value in joining a variety of personalities to meet a common goal and actively working to refine teamwork, teams experience more productive meetings, faster decision-making, and yes, even more fun!
Based on the leadership fable The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by best-selling author Patrick Lencioni, The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™ provides a model consisting of five core pillars of teamwork: Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Results, which any team can bring into their organisation. The programme is paired with a personality assessment, Everything DiSC® or All Types™ (an MBTI® compatible assessment*), which helps participants better understand their own personality style as well as how to effectively work with the diverse styles of their teammates. Understanding the value that each personality style brings to the team is essential to developing teamwork.
If you’d like to learn more about The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™ come visit us at the World of Learning Conference & Exhibition, stand #D70 or check out our website: www.fivebehaviors.co.uk.
*Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Myers-Briggs, MBTI and MBTI Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Myers & Briggs Foundation in the United States and other countries.