Teaming up in times of coronavirus

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Teaming up in times of coronavirus

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Monday, 22 february 2021 | Redacción CEU

They have a common goal, are governed by principles of collaboration and solidarity and constitute the organizational structure par excellence. Who are they? We are talking about work teams. The success of companies depends to a great extent on these groups of people, because only through their synergy can the objectives of these firms be achieved. And if we add to these diverse groups of individuals the current pandemic situation, with social distancing and a lot of uncertainty, everything seems to get very complicated. Is it as difficult as it seems to keep a team together in times of coronavirus? How to get team up in a context as adverse as the current one?

In recent years, the world of Human Resources has begun to appraise performance collectively. They have gone from using a people-centric approach, in which the unit of evaluation is the employee, to a team-centric approach, in which the unit is work teams themselves. In this new and much more shared vision of work, managers have also moved from setting individual goals to setting goals for the entire organization. Once they are defined, they can be divided into smaller objectives split up into different business units or teams. However, the essence remains the same: goals need to be achieved through collaboration and teamwork.

Logically, this new approach has influenced the way we work. Employees have now more autonomy when it comes to carrying out their work, even by setting their own goals to achieve those of the company. This does not mean that the figure of the leader has lost strength within the team, but that there is just a different work process. Nor does it mean that employees do not have to report their progresses to their superiors or that their individual inputs are no longer important. If the individual does not communicate, the team loses. If the individual fails, the team fails too. On the contrary, when a team worker meets the target they contribute positively to the achievement of their team’s goals, and therefore, of their company’s.

Cohesion with social distancing

The arrival of the coronavirus put all companies to test, even those already working with this approach. Not only did work teams have to set new goals in a much more hostile and uncertain context than usual, but they also had to learn to work in a completely new way.

Telecommuting has spread over the last few months and many team members, and even entire teams, must now work from home. This fact is causing this new way of working, which is much more autonomous and flexible, to be gaining more and more importance currently. And this is a challenge for the people who take command.

Leaders must create good teams, keep them together (even though they are many kilometers apart from each other and do not see each other for months) and make them run like clockwork. To do this, they need to understand both the limitations and advantages of this new way of working, and preparing, because it is highly likely that, in the future post-covid scenario, the hybrid model will be the most popular model.

How do you team up in a setting like this?

Clear Goals

A ship cannot navigate well to its destination if the crew has doubts about where to go. The captain of the ship, who represents in this case the leader, has to set a clear and shared goal. From it, they can set other smaller and even individual goals aimed at achieving that final objective. In today's context, leaders might experience a lack of control. This usually happens when there is a communication problem. We recommend you read our tips to communicate effectively in a pandemic.

Defined rules

A gear works well when all the elements involved in it fulfill their functions. The members of a team need to know how they fit in with it to achieve their mission. Likewise, working with flexibility and autonomy does not mean working without rules. Work teams must know their methodologies, schedules, delivery dates and other rules that govern them. This way, they will not end up working in a disorderly, random or chaotic way. The figure of the leader is again key in this regard.

Action-oriented culture

On several occasions we have talked about how important it is for a leader to practice active listening, but many times ideas remain just that: ideas. A cohesive and united team is action-oriented. They put those ideas into practice, change, evolve, learn and, sometimes, they also fail, but this is the opportunity teams have to grow. Following this premise, an important sense of commitment and trust is generated, even in an adverse scenario. In order to achieve all this, a leader will also have to know how to recognize the work and effort of the team members.

The potential for difference

When creating a team it is very important to select the right people, so that all of them fit in with the team properly. This does not mean that they are all the same, in fact the more different the team members are, the easier it will be to find new approaches and innovate. This also means that differences can arise in teams. Leaders have to be prepared to intervene at the right time, respond in the correct way and manage with calm and judgment any disagreements that may arise. A good leader must teach the team to accept those differences and take advantage of them.

Remote team building

It has always been said that group activities outside the office may help strengthen a work team. But what happens when the activity of the company is already carried out outside the office? Although the boundaries of the personal and the professional are somewhat blurred, remote work remains professional territory. This does not mean that team building cannot be practiced remotely either. For example, some companies send their employees surprise boxes with food to share a breakfast. Leaders can also take advantage of the new digital scenario by means of online escape rooms, virtual board games, picture challenges and any other original idea that they can think of.

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