You may have had this experience with team development in technology organizations (or start-ups or any such organization) before: something in the team is not working. There are some serious issues that the team needs to resolve. You decide you need to do some form of team development or retreat to work through this. You’re in your workshop, and you know the team needs to tackle this issue to move forward. However, everyone is playing nice in the sandbox, and you’re not getting to the real topic. Every minute seems wasted time because no one addresses the elephant in the room. If only someone would bring up the real issue. Then we could finally have real conversations and move forward…
How do you accelerate that conversation and get to the real issues faster? Here’s one highly effective suggestion (if you’re not subject to a corporate office furniture policy): redecorate the office and assemble IKEA furniture with your co-workers.
Here’s something I noticed, partly from my own experience, partly from friends and partly from visiting the IKEA store. People easily argue when it comes to picking and assembling furniture. There’s nothing wrong with IKEA furniture as long as you know what you’re doing when you put it together and as long as you’re able to cooperate with someone.
Here’s what you need to pay attention to and what you can learn:
Commanding Others Around
when it gets tense, it’s tempting to boss the others around. “Hold this piece,” may seem like the natural thing to say – or yell. Pay attention to your language and tone. Making requests instead of issuing commands works better.
Seeing Other Perspectives
When we’re on one side of the half-assembled furniture, it’s tough to see it from someone else’s perspective. When the pieces feel heavy, we tend to think it’s the other person who holds it the wrong way, has something too tight or has the wrong part. Denying someone else’s reality is such a common pitfall in relationships; it’s unhealthy for a team environment.
Focus on the Task at Hand
Making progress with the assembly can become the all-consuming goal. When the half-assembled furniture requires you to hold it so that it doesn’t collapse, it’s easy to want to get this done. The sole focus becomes to get this done. Remember, there is something at stake that outlasts the furniture and any other task: it’s the relationship.
Focus on Self or Others
Who is the person you’re focusing on? For many in those situations, it’s ourselves. When the pressure is up, the stakes are high, and the spotlight is on us, we put ourselves in the center of our attention. That’s usually not helpful. When you notice your self-attention goes up, tell yourself: pay attention to others, observe them, listen.
Before you embark on this activity, bear in mind that you want to set this up to be a constructive activity. Make sure you have someone observe the process and notice how the collaboration unfolds. This way, you can reflect on what happened. For each observation, ask yourself how this behavior shows up at work or in other parts of your life, and what a better strategy to manage it would. This way, you have a team-building workshop that gets you to the core of the issues real fast – and you get a newly decorated office in the process.
PS: If you want the ‘advanced course,’ try the PAX wardrobe system with its unwieldy drawers and doors or the ultra-heavy LIATORP entertainment center – a guaranteed conflict catalyst.
Take the next step – Team Development in Technology Organization
Team development is critical to developing highly effective teams. Put a date in the calendar, and start planning your next team development (even if it doesn’t involve furniture), and help your organization achieve new levels of performance.
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