LOUISE GILBERT
Founder & Director
MAKE WORK WORK FOR YOU – NEW BOOK AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER
A large part of my business as a leadership coach involves team facilitation and advising leaders on team dynamics.
As we approach the next year, hopefully with a sense of enthusiasm as the beginning of a fresh calendar year always gives us the chance to reset, restart or reinvent our teams.
So, now is the time to do some work and thinking about what needs to be done to address the team’s dynamics you are involved in.
Whether you are a leader or a member of a team, we all know when the team dynamics are off; and that they can range from being slightly counterproductive to downright toxic!
Team dynamics are the invisible forces that either propel your team to success or hold you back.
In my book, Make Work Work for You I talk at length about how to enhance team dynamics and effectiveness. How to achieve performance, and growth and wellbeing
(You can pick up a copy and read more here)
Top Tips for Enhancing Team Dynamics
Rotate and move team tasks for ultimate team wellbeing.
Team Tetris is about intentionally reconfiguring and balancing team workloads, not just as a reactive move, but as a proactive step to support wellbeing, growth, and performance.
By making small, strategic changes, teams can ensure each member is doing work that suits their strengths and interests, preventing both overload and underload. This enhances job satisfaction, reduces burnout, and aligns individual contributions with team goals.
It’s about making deliberate choices to get everyone in their optimal “lane” so the entire team can flow smoothly and thrive.
Makeover your meetings—give your meetings an extreme makeover by decluttering the agenda and adding elements that boost engagement and wellbeing.
Meetings are all about direction, discovery and dynamics.
Giving your meetings a ‘makeover’ can significantly improve how your team collaborates. Set clear objectives, respect everyone’s time, and ensure that every voice is heard.
A heart can’t pump blood if it’s broken. Relationships are everything – they’re the foundation of any effective team.
It’s about building trust, showing empathy, and understanding each other’s ‘stress languages’—how different people show they’re struggling and how best to support them.
One of the key practices from the book is understanding and leveraging ‘stress languages’ within your team.
Each person reacts differently under pressure, and by recognizing these signals, you can create an environment where support is proactive and personalized, enhancing overall team wellbeing.
“Shift your role, shift the pattern.” In Make Work Work for You, I emphasize the importance of gaining role clarity to shift the patterns shaping your team and to improve dynamics for performance.
When roles are unclear, tasks are often duplicated or neglected, leading to inefficiencies.
By co-creating clarity around roles, including understanding the roles people unconsciously step into—like “fixer” or “helper”—teams can reduce friction and increase collaboration.
When everyone knows their role and its purpose, the team can run smoothly, like a horse staying confidently in its lane.
5 Steps to Play Team Tetris:
1. Map Tasks and Enjoyment: Each team member maps out their tasks and indicates what they enjoy most.
2. Review as a Team: Gather together to review how roles and tasks are distributed.
3. Identify Imbalances: Look for areas of overload, underload, or mismatched skills.
4. Make Small Shifts: Adjust roles and responsibilities based on strengths, interests, and workload balance.
5. Experiment and Iterate: Test new configurations, gather feedback, and make ongoing adjustments.
Team dynamics aren’t set in stone; they’re adaptable. With intention and creativity, 2025 can be the year your team finds its perfect fit, making work truly work for everyone.
Get in touch if you want to be intentional with your team.
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Founder & Director