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Virtual coffee break1/6/2024 ![]() ![]() This helps break down barriers between remote team members and create a more open and connected environment.īut reports suggest 65% of virtual teams have never participated in virtual icebreakers or trust building activities during meetings. With more and more people working remotely, teams are finding virtual icebreakers can spark friendly, informal interactions online. Looking through that lens, the thought of conducting a daily virtual coffee break or a five minute check in at the beginning of meetings might just be a worthwhile investment.German Best virtual icebreaker games for remote team meetingsĬreating a strong bond with your teammates builds better communication and trust. In the worst-case scenario teams can become dysfunctional and ineffective. The truth is that work is accomplished through effective collaboration, negotiation and communication and when relationships fray, those critical skill areas tend to break down. While some of these habits may seem like trivial luxuries that we can’t afford during days filled with important meetings and endless task lists, remember that strong relationships are a key element of (if not a prerequisite for) long term task effectiveness. If you’re an individual contributor, proactively integrate daily/weekly activities to enhance relationships with peers, customers, suppliers, senior leaders and other key stakeholders. ![]() If you’re a team leader, think about how you will embed activities into your team’s processes to ensure that those bonds are being encouraged. The physical distance creates a natural inertia away from authentic light-hearted personal connections and toward days filled bouncing between solitary work and task driven meetings (sprinkled with occasional administrative/logistical headaches along the way). Indeed, a key challenge for physically dispersed teams is that the relationship building will rarely happen naturally. ![]() Leaders need to encourage informal bonding time too and recognize that a lot of idea sharing, innovation and problem-solving takes place during informal time.” Informal time, along with informal messaging during the day, can be used to have fun, check in on each other’s emotional health and promote social bonding with that sense that we are all in this together. This promotes the social and emotional health of the team and encourages the team’s social cohesiveness. “Invite colleagues to have virtual coffee breaks during the work day to catch up more informally. Taken together, these virtual breaks don’t just promote team bonding, they also provide a nice mental break for the individual that can enable them to recharge and ultimately increase their productivity. Leadership advisor Niamh O’Keeffe recommends incorporating virtual coffee breaks into the team’s day. Niamh O’Keeffe, Leadership Advisor and Author of Future Shaper: How Leaders Can Take Charge in an Uncertain World Taking virtual coffee breaks with team members or other colleagues can be a great way to encourage. Be sure to check in with each team member individually to offer support at the level that they may need. Every team member is being impacted by this situation differently.From “quarantinis” to Xbox online tournaments, it’s important that the team bonds over lighthearted activities. ![]() Spend some time having fun with team members and having “virtual morale” activities.Start your meetings by asking “How are you feeling and what is distracting you?” Create a trusted space to acknowledge how team members may be feeling during these anxious and fearful times.These brief virtual connections can try to compensate for those hallway chats, elevator smiles and other small relationship building points that occur so naturally in a traditional work environment. Miri Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of carving out time for intentional one on one connection. Miri Rodriguez, Global Head of Internships at Microsoft and Author of Brand Storytelling: Put Customers at the Heart of Your Brand Story Take time to connect on a more personal level Mikaela Kiner, Executive Coach, Founder and CEO Reverbģ. You won’t necessarily know who needs help when, so offer it to each other frequently.” Offer help and make sure everyone knows about resources like your employee assistance program (EAP) and other coaching or mental health services. Watch for signs if anyone is behaving different than normal, or reacting more strongly than others. Parents need extra time and support right now. Also, there may be people on the team who will feel more anxious than others. Parents with kids at home are going to need a lot more flexibility right now, so don’t hold that against them. “Recognize that everyone responds differently and some people may need more time to adjust. ![]()
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