Informal conversations are just as powerful as formal meetings

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February 26, 2014

stock-footage-ambitious-team-of-city-business-executives-walking-back-from-a-successful-meeting

The best predictor of team performance is its informal communications patterns. In high performing teams members are good at conducting short, sharp, one- on -one ‘off-line’ conversations, where they talk and listen in roughly equal measure, face one-another and use energetic gestures. They connect directly with each other and not just the leader, and periodically conduct explorative conversations outside of the team in order to bring information back.

Social time should account for more than half of team communication. Members of high performance teams have high degrees of trust and confidence in each other, established through personal interaction from social exchanges.

When leaders are involved in social time, then informal conversations become even more effective. Social environments provide employees with the perceived safety to ask questions, speak openly, contribute to and challenge a leaders’ thinking. This increases trust and stops employees from forming negative and cynical attitudes, giving leaders much greater control over the influential ‘rumor mill’.

Social time need not cost money.  The way in which the workplace is designed will improve the pattern of informal communications. For example, centralizing the location of coffee machines, encouraging lunch time running groups, replacing meeting rooms with innovation hubs and removing office partitions, all contribute to greater energy, engagement and exploration in ‘off-line’ conversations.

For more information, please order your free copy of CO Solution no. 1- Contemporary and Cost effective solutions for Competitive advantage.

Extracted from Co solution no. 1-Contemporary and Cost effective solutions for Competitive Advantage- pg 68-75.

 

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