{"id":124667,"date":"2024-03-12T17:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T21:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=124667"},"modified":"2024-03-22T13:32:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T17:32:13","slug":"working-in-a-team-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/working-in-a-team-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Working in a Team Environment: How to Make It Healthy & Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s it like working in a team environment? What makes a team environment healthy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve started delegating work to your team members to tackle key projects, Claire Hughes Johnson recommends you continuously develop a healthy team environment. There are two primary modes of doing this: offsites, which are multiple-day events outside the office, and regular meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading for more on the two modes that create an environment your employees are comfortable in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Mode #1: Offsites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hughes Johnson explains that offsites can transform mere groups of employees into a unified team<\/em><\/strong> by offering a chance for deeper connection than is possible in the office. To execute a successful offsite, she recommends that you implement three strategies while working in a team environment: using a common scheduling document that lists the order of activities before the offsite, beginning your offsites with vulnerable check-ins, and utilizing an agenda that keeps each individual offsite activity structured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the offsite even begins, Hughes Johnson advises sharing a scheduling document with all of your team members that outlines the itinerary for the offsite, clarifies its purposes, and provides room for feedback. Such documents have several advantages: They make team members feel included, for example, and ensure that your offsite is oriented around a central purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve made it to the offsite, she recommends starting each day with a quick briefing in which team members share their candid feelings about the offsite and their goals for the day. For example, you might share that you\u2019re anxious about the offsite because you don\u2019t want to be away from your family, but that your goal is to grow more comfortable with your team. Hughes Johnson writes that such briefings are crucial for fostering vulnerability among team members, and can also help remind them of their driving purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, for each individual activity at the offsite, Hughes Johnson recommends that you reiterate its purpose and agenda before beginning. She suggests that this agenda will help provide a structure that maximizes your chance of meeting your goals for every single activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Strategies for Running Effective Offsites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Hughes Johnson\u2019s advice for running offsites, business leaders offer several further strategies<\/a> for ensuring you make the most of your offsite. For example, you should: <\/p>\n\n\n\n