When we think of substandard teamwork, we imagine arguments, unbalanced workloads, and late or low-quality output.
Honestly, that’s the worst of the worst. There’s a wide berth between a group of individuals at war and a unit that works like a well-oiled machine. That’s where most teams at companies currently sit.
There are many methods and models to improve teamwork for greater efficiency and satisfaction on all sides. Here’s a sneak preview: did you know that peer pressure can be a good thing?
Today, we’re breaking team cohesion down into fives. We’ll go over the five behaviors of a cohesive team. From there, we’ll look at the five stages of team development, with tips for using HeyTaco’s peer recognition platform to get the job done right.
Team cohesion refers to how a group of people bond together to work toward a common goal. Bonded team members trust one another and honor their commitments. They’re connected and communicative, naturally operating as essential parts of a whole.
Cohesion thrives in a positive environment, but the challenges define them as much as the wins. They don’t avoid conflict because they know how to work through it, and they hold one another to a certain standard.
The Lencioni model, also known as The Five Behaviors®, presents a framework for creating a cohesive team. Look for these qualities when assessing team cohesion in the workplace.
What does trust look like at work? Just like our personal relationships, it builds over time with observation and experience.
This is the foundation of a cohesive team. Employees who trust one another feel safe putting the success of a project in everyone’s hands. They don’t struggle for control, or gatekeep their contributions. “I did this part all by myself, someone else messed that other thing up,” is a common refrain on teams that don’t have trust.
Encourage these signs of trust among team members:
Cohesive teams are less stressed, share ownership, and make decisions with confidence, all because they trust one another.
Unlike partners and friends, coworkers don’t choose one another. Seemingly incompatible personalities, clashing points of view, and overall differences in work and communication styles are the norm, not an unfortunate fluke.
Every worthwhile, enduring relationship must include healthy conflict resolution. With a foundation of trust in one another’s abilities, we develop the respect necessary to clearing conflict effectively.
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Conflict on cohesive teams IS: |
Conflict on cohesive teams IS NOT: |
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Sticking to work-related issues |
Personal attacks and criticism |
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Finding common ground |
Focusing on differences |
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Maintaining professionalism |
Raising your voice or interrupting |
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Speaking to one another directly |
Going behind someone’s back or excluding them from the discussion |
In short, cohesive teams don’t take conflict on the job personally. They focus on and resolve it in the workplace instead of seeing it as an attack on their existence.
The ability to face and handle conflict correctly lends itself to strong commitment. After all, you can’t accept situations and move forward with stubbornness and hurt feelings in the way.
Commitment on cohesive teams means that once an issue has been up for debate and a collective decision is made, everyone sticks to it. It may not be their personal ideal, but it is the way forward. Signs that a team values commitment include:
Commitment is only going to deepen trust. It also makes the work a priority since the team is moving with purpose.
Trusting your teammates and having great conflict resolution skills doesn’t mean you’ll feel comfortable calling someone out for getting off track. This is the point where many otherwise awesome teams experience serious setbacks.
We were all warned about the dangers of peer pressure growing up. On a team at work, a degree of peer pressure is necessary. It’s important to hold our teammates to a standard. If we don’t:
The first way to address this is to clearly define the standards and make sure everyone’s aware. But most of all, consistent and positive peer recognition keeps holding someone accountable from stinging so badly.
Say you’re used to acknowledgement from teammates. You’ll know that questioning your approach or pointing out that you can do better is done in good faith.
We’ve arrived at our purpose: RESULTS. The catch here is that results refer to those achieved as a group, for the collective.
It can be tricky. We go to work to benefit our individual careers and better support ourselves and/or families. Not everyone can just snap out of that mindset after they clock in.
However, favorable group results propel the whole team forward and ideally, the company. In many scenarios, this has much more impact on career success than keeping an eye on what you alone walk away from a project with.
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Cohesive teams focused on results: |
Teams NOT focused on results: |
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Remain focused on team goals |
Are prone to distraction |
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Do what’s best for all |
Prioritize individual achievement |
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Attract talented new members with their achievements |
Don’t retain high-performing team members |
Ultimately, diverting the gaze from group results to individual results creates an “every man for himself” situation. Leadership and high achievers aren’t likely to opt to move forward with this.
Let’s build a team that can’t be beat. The basic structure here is from the infamous Tuckman Model, with ways to enhance the process with a peer recognition platform.
You’re on your best behavior during this beginning stage. Or maybe, you’re a bit closed off. Either way, this is the stage where teams settle in and size each other up.
Teams in the forming stage need clear directives, objectives, and structure. This is where everyone comes to understand their role and its expectations. They also get to know one another better and start forming that essential foundation of trust.
How HeyTaco helps: Build rapport with fun, easy peer recognition. Drop a virtual taco 🌮in the team chat when someone lends you a hand or shares something valuable.
Adopting the practice early helps it stick, driving engagement and encouraging positive interactions.
Here’s some guidance on launching HeyTaco with your team.
Honeymoon’s over! Or at least, it rained a bit more than you hoped. During the storming phase, our differences become clearer. We have questions or have become confused about certain aspects of our roles and goals.
Time to hone those healthy conflict resolution skills. Listening, clarifying, and accepting feedback become important. Praise and support will also come in clutch as the team works through a lack of progress.
How HeyTaco helps: Use HeyTaco’s analytics dashboard to measure engagement. Identify who isn’t engaging and why that may be. This helps deliver the support and encouragement they may need.
Also, features like Taco Tags can help keep company values in focus. Positive reinforcement helps everyone figure out which qualities to move forward with.
Now team cohesion is really a possibility. Teams can enter a flow state during the norming stage, enjoying better communication and a thorough understanding of their respective roles.
As the name indicates, this is also when the team will establish their own norms. This is something to acknowledge and celebrate, as their “norms” are powerful rituals that create a greater sense of belonging.
How HeyTaco helps: A collaborative reward may be in order. Charitable giving, unique perks, and other incentives are proof-positive that the team is on the right track.
Manage, adapt, maintain. If your team makes it to this stage, you’re really lucky. The group results we discussed during cohesive team behaviors are in focus here. To maintain that focus, we have to adapt to any changes and continue managing any conflicts.
If you want to introduce innovation, this is a great stage to do so. What processes can be streamlined? Which roles can become more collaborative? Is there space for a new idea? Leverage individual strengths to create a more exceptional collective.
How HeyTaco helps: Highlight gratitude givers as well as receivers. Those who receive the most tacos will get the individual recognition they need to feel satisfied with their role. It positively reinforces that working for the greater good (group results) is personally worth it.
Givers make peer recognition work. They keep the team engaged in positive recognition. They are the core of a cohesive team and may even show promise for leadership roles on future projects.
The final, optional phase is where the team disbands. Whether they’ve completed a task or core members are getting shifted elsewhere, this is a time to reflect and evaluate. Celebrating achievements can provide positive closure.
Enjoying the success of team cohesion can elevate expectations for the future. It can also reveal areas to improve upon on other teams.
How HeyTaco helps: It gives team members tools they can move forward with. They know the power of peer recognition and can use it during future forming phases to make the storming a little less, well, stormier.
Yes, positivity can neutralize a lot of the challenges that come with team cohesion. From conflict resolution to accountability, regular recognition makes the constructive part of criticisms ring louder.
It’s also a great way to bond. Gamifying fun, interactive elements of teamwork reduces stress, increases engagement, and makes more people feel like they truly belong.
Introduce it today and watch tacos become the glue that holds your team together.
It’s sort of funny how a lot of teamwork tips come in groups of five. Here are more common questions about team cohesion models and methods.
It varies, but purpose, plan, process, place, and participation work well. We define the purpose of our meetup, plan an agenda, outline the process for it all, confirm where it takes place, and invite participation.
Trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results. The five behaviors of a cohesive team are also called the five pillars at times.
The five Cs are communication, camaraderie, confidence, commitment, and coachability. Each one must be nurtured during every phase of team development and will be evident in all cohesive team behaviors.
Research identifies the big five teamwork model as team leadership, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability, and team orientation.