Extraordinary teams excel at fostering relatedness among members. New research cited in The Harvard Business Review suggests such teams have found subtle ways of leveraging social connections during the pandemic. Doing so requires creating opportunities for genuine, authentic relationships to develop. 
 
Based on his organization’s research, Ron Friedman, Ph.D, psychologist, author, and founder of ignite80, a performance development company, presents five key characteristics of high-performing teams that highlight the vital role of close connection among colleagues. Successful teams:

1. Aren't Afraid to Pick Up the Phone: Many people avoid the phone but calls strengthen relationships and prevent misunderstanding, contributing to more fruitful interactions among teammates.
2. Are More Strategic With Their Meetings: High-performing teams avoid the common pitfalls of poorly run meetings. They are 39% more likely to require pre-work from participants, 26% more likely to introduce an agenda, and 55% more likely to begin with a check-in that keeps team members apprised of one another’s progress.
3. Invest Time Bonding Over Non-Work Topics: Discussing non-work topics helps identify shared interests, which fosters deeper liking and relatedness, In other words, the best teams aren’t more effective because they work all the time. On the contrary: They invest time connecting in genuine ways.
4. Give and Receive Appreciation Frequently: Recognition is often a more powerful motivating force than monetary incentives. High performing teams are rich in appreciation.
5. Are More Authentic at Work: High-performing teams are significantly more likely to express emotions (both positive and negative) with their colleagues. They reported being more likely to compliment and joke with their teammates. In emails, they were more likely to use exclamation points, emojis, and GIFs. In short, they were more likely to express themselves.

 
How has your team been fostering connections during this period of hybrid work? To join the conversation, click "comments" above (just below the picture).  We'd really love to hear from you!

If you’ve been swearing more in the past year or so — even at work — you’re not alone. The corporate and financial research platform Sentieo recently combed through a database of around 9,000 conference call transcripts looking for expletives. They found 166 transcripts that contained them from 2021. That's a significant jump from previous years. Just 104 transcripts contained profanity in 2020, 112 in 2019, and 92 in 2018. So swearing at work appears to be up.  
 
Frustration with the pandemic and a work-from-home informality may both be factors in the rise of swearing. Our question: Is cutting loose with language always a bad thing? Experts quoted in Inc. say “not necessarily.”
 
Michael Adams, author of In Praise of Profanity, argues that swearing has many useful social functions including “bringing us together.” There’s an intimacy to profanity precisely because it is somewhat taboo. "Bad words," Adams writes, "are unexpectedly useful in fostering human relations because they carry risk.... We like to get away with things and sometimes we do so with like-minded people." Adams believes that swearing can also help us appear slightly more vulnerable and more authentic — both useful qualities in relationship building.
 
No one is suggesting you begin your next Zoom meeting by imitating a drunken pirate. But for those who are savvy enough to navigate delicate situations, an occasional swear word, science attests, may have genuine utility.
 
Have you ever uttered swear words at work, and how do you feel when co-workers do so? To join the conversation, click "comments" above just below the picture — we'd love to hear your thoughts!

Poet Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Writing in Inc., Marcel Schwantes, founder and Chief Human Officer of Leadership From the Core, notes that this is very true of leaders. The great ones, he says, take care of their team in ways that makes everyone feel inspired and understood.

"The journey toward leadership greatness never ends,” says Schwantes, “but it does have a starting point. And sometimes the beginning of the journey requires some tough questions you need to ask yourself to raise your own bar." Can you answer yes to most — and hopefully all — of these?

• Are you approachable? Approachable leaders share information and have a genuine open door. They show their human side, exhibit humor, and advocate for their teammates.
• Do you foster an environment where people feel psychologically safe? Harvard research shows that when encouraging leaders let employees know they are free to speak up, experiment, give feedback, and ask for help -- it leads to better learning and performance outcomes.
• Do you lead with integrity? Are you reliable and truthful, holding yourself to a high standard others want to emulate? Are you true to yourself, and do you follow through with your promises?

Were you able to answer “yes” to most of these questions? Which ones might you work on? To join the conversation, click "comments" above, just below the picture.  We'd love to hear your feedback!

Jeff Zucker’s departure from CNN a couple weeks ago, has stirred up talk about office romance. Writing in The New York Times, Joanne Lipman, author of That’s What She Said: What Men and Women Need to Know About Working Together, and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, say the situation “points out how difficult it is to regulate office romance and how unevenly corporate policies around consensual relationships are enforced.”

​When it comes to trying to manage this issue “the rules are all over the place” and “enforcement is inconsistent.” A 2021 survey for the Society for Human Resource Management found that more than a third of Americans have or have had a workplace relationship, and the majority did not disclose it to their managers.
 
There is no consensus in corporate America about what is considered acceptable. Most companies do not allow relationships between a supervisor and a direct report, “but that is just a baseline for a reasonable policy.” A 2019 Vault.com survey found that 41 percent of employees aren’t even sure what their company’s position on workplace romance is, and so don’t report an office relationship for fear of being penalized. What’s more, the beginning of any relationship can be tenuous. If employees aren’t even ready to tell their friends about it, can they be expected to know when to tell their supervisors? Is one date or one flirtatious email exchange the threshold?
 
Companies owe their employees clarity, contend Lipman and Sonnenfeld. “Organizations need to specify what constitutes a relationship, to whom and when to report it, and in what circumstances it requires an adjustment in position for one or both people.” What's more, the rules need to apply to everyone.
 
Office romances have existed for as long as offices have been around. It's time to figure out how to deal with them.
 
Do you know your organization’s policy on office relationships, and do you think it is clear and reasonable? To join the conversation, click "comments" just below the picture above.  We'd love to hear your feedback!

New research from Gloat, a workforce agility and talent marketplace platform, confirms that nearly half (48.1 percent) of employees are thinking of leaving their current jobs, highlighting the internal labor crisis many employers are encountering. Gloat's study revealed two big reasons for the current exodus, which should surprise no one: Better pay and a desire for more growth opportunities.
 
Writing in Inc., Marcel Schwantes, founder and Chief Human Officer of Leadership From the Core, notes that while offering every employee their desired salary is most likely not an option, leaders have considerable room to create growth opportunities that align with employees' personal and professional goals. To this end, they should:
 

• Dismantle barriers to internal career opportunities:  The Gloat survey confirms that nearly two-thirds of respondents (65.1 percent) don't see their current place of employment as offering the options and opportunities they are seeking. Career development is no longer just about being promoted to the next position; it's also about trying on various hats and acquiring new skills. “Employees are interested in pursuing opportunities that align with their skills and interests and that empower them to create a career path on their own terms.”

 

• Communicate your company’s values to employees:  Only one-third (34.1 percent) of the newest members of the workforce (18- to 24-year-olds) think they have the same values as their employer. Jobs are increasingly seen as part of one’s identity, so if you want to hold on to top talent in the current environment, it’s crucial that your people believe in the work they're doing. 

 

• Step up DEIB Efforts: When it comes to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), actions speak louder than words. Employees want to see their organizations step up and make real strides toward ensuring that more women, persons of color, LBGTQ, and older employees have opportunities to grow.

 
What is your organization doing to create more internal opportunities and better communication about company values? To join the conversation, click "comments" above this article, just under the photo.  We'd really like to hear from you!