What drives collaborative behaviour in teams?
A key component of an effective global team is an inclusive work culture. Thoughtful cultivation of a culture of curiosity, trust, and a global mindset significantly influences the level of teamwork and collaboration that takes place among inclusive global teams.
Measure
Cultural change can have a positive effect on the sense of collaboration and inclusion among intercultural teams, but it is important to assess where you are as a team so that you know where you want to go. RW3 CultureWizard’s Inclusive Virtual Teams course speaks to global teams who would like to find strategies to collaborate more effectively across virtual workspaces. We look at several dimensions of an inclusive team culture, including Team Structure, Culture, Trust, and D&I. At the conclusion of the Inclusive Virtual Teams course is the Team Assessment, which measures how well your global team includes its diverse team members. Metrics like this team cultural assessment are critical to gauging where your team currently stands as an inclusive intercultural team so that you have a sense of direction for your internal cultural shift.
Assess
Analyse your team structure and the role culture plays in individual behaviour. What are the basic rules and etiquette of team gatherings, emails, and calls? How are people giving feedback and sharing updates? Consider cultural differences in communication styles. Who needs more context? It’s important to ask ourselves questions to build awareness of different work styles. A gap analysis of these differences can lead to a new set of team norms and behaviours that work for everyone, thus creating a new “team culture.”
Build Trust
Remember that successful collaboration cannot happen without establishing trust. Some cultures build trust through getting to know their colleagues as human beings. Relationship-oriented team members appreciate several minutes of conversation that enriches a sense of collegiality. Other team members trust facts, figures, and results prior to trusting colleagues with their own ideas. Create culturally appropriate, virtual-friendly ways of building trust among team members, such as allowing for several minutes of conversation and questions amongst each other before a meeting.
We can promote an inclusive work culture and encourage successful collaboration by assessing the differences in workstyles and finding creative strategies to shift the dynamics for more effective results.
Schedule a demo of our Inclusive Virtual Teams course to leverage the diversity of your global teams, and measure your team’s success as you work towards a cultural change for higher collaboration.
