I have always been a major proponent of team culture. Liking the people you work with (or at least tolerating them) can provide huge ROI's. Sometimes you come into an existing team culture and might either adapt or express your own culture. I intend to provide some solid team culture experience I've had and continue to pursue.
Take Inventory
What is the current team culture? What does the team want for a future culture. Is the team culture productive or counter-productive? Use team retrospectives to grow this side of your team. It is surprising that people that like each other tend to work better together.
Anyways, here is a list I use to build team culture.
Boardgames
There is nothing better than getting great minds alike to either solve fun problems together or working against each other. Boardgames are unique in the fact that you talk. Getting to know your team and building the culture of the team is a very important part of a successful team integration. Deeply integrated teams tend to operate at a higher capacity than dysfunctional and siloed teams.
How can you do boardgames at work when most of us are remote? Table Top Simulator is your answer. There are other options out there, but Table Top Simulator is king. Actually being able to manually play a game with zoom is kind of an amazing experience and a great team builder.
After Hours Team Outings
These are hit and miss and can easily end up in someone drinking too much and becoming a talk of the office. But consider your team culture. Would this embarrassment actually end up as a fun stab in the future, or will this affect the employees standing. This is all based on your culture.
Inclusiveness
If I was on a team and didn't feel included in the day to day discussions and decisions, I would not feel like a part of the team. This would directly affect my cultural impact on the team. Everyone should be included. Best, worst, no matter. Everyone is the same. Everyone has the same goal: success.
Team Conferences
This is a very expensive way to build culture. That said, it is also very effective. Bringing your team together in an intense learning situation can create a strong trust bond which is imperative for cohesion.
The How
I could keep going but I wont. I mainly wanted to get my opinions on how I view teams through culture. I would rather work on a team with good culture than a team where everyone is too serious. Team culture can be fun. If you don't have fun at work, find a way. Team culture can make work awesome.
So how do you go about setting up a team culture session in a remote world?
- Boardgames - Steam/Tabletop Simulator + Zoom
- Videogames - Any online server + Zoom
- General - Zoom
Your thoughts
What do you think about team culture? Some of us thrive in isolation and other need that connection to people. I personally need that connection and conversations to keep me interested. What other ways could you grow team culture remotely?
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