Keeping the Game in Play

Uniting Your Team Through Emotional Awareness

A lot of what goes on in group discussions is about what’s not being said. Prolonged discussions about seemingly minor things are just one signal that suppressed emotions are taking control and steering the team way off course

How well a leader can raise team awareness of what’s happening emotionally will greatly impact the group’s ability to perform. 

The more emotionally aware your team is, the more productive and cooperative the discussions, resulting in better overall performance. Plus, you can respond to upset caused by disagreements more readily, and prevent it from escalating into interpersonal conflict. And don’t we all want that?

Studies have shown that more emotionally aware teams are more successful at negotiating challenges together than ones that are less emotionally aware. Teams which can more readily tap into their emotional state can solve problems without developing severe disagreements and roadblocks that prevent members from openly sharing their ideas.

According to Management Consultant Smaranda Boros, the good news is that it is pretty straightforward to improve the emotional dynamics of a group. For teams who are struggling to regulate these emotional undercurrents, here are a few things she suggests that can be done to prevent unspoken resentment and upset.

1) Have a “check in” at the beginning of meetings – that is, ask how everyone is doing, 

2) Assume that undesirable behavior takes place for a reason. Find out what that reason is. Ask questions and listen. Avoid negative attributions

3) As the work proceeds, tell your teammates what you are thinking and how you are feeling about the process

4) When you make decisions, ask whether everyone agrees with the decision

5) Question the quickness of taking a decision

6) Ask quiet members what they think

For longer term projects, Boros suggests taking regular reviews to check in on the rest of the team. “Even if it's just a five-minute moment that you take at the beginning, or at the end of teamwork, to ask ‘How was the atmosphere today? How was our energy? Do we need to change anything?”, she says. In this way, that charged atmosphere can be neutralized before it becomes explosive.

As a result of following some standard procedures, it becomes easier to regulate feelings and nip conflicts in the bud. This in turn creates an atmosphere in which everyone is able to find a way to be in the team and to “jump in” to contribute.