Team Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Jean Greaves

Author:Jean Greaves
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TalentSmart

10

Make Better Use of Team Time

Time flies when you’re having fun, and it crawls when you feel bored. Both time-bending experiences are backed by science and suggest that time is a curious force to be reckoned with in your team’s work. To make the most of your time, first tune in to everyone’s feelings. Then, adjust your use of time accordingly.

Team meetings offer one great place to tune in. Once “repeat indefinitely” gets dropped in your team’s schedule, the routine creates feelings of boredom as people go on autopilot. Reengage your weary team members with refreshing changes that fit the work. Try reducing how often you meet for a while, and give yourselves the gift of time. Or, if you have a meaty topic underway that will irritate everyone not to finish, stop mid-course and move the topic to a devoted second session. You may also find that changing the length of your meeting can make a big difference. Your thirty-minute weekly check-in could be more efficient and energetic in twenty minutes, or the fifteen-minute logistic-based update is better longer to allow people to share and troubleshoot their challenges. As you see team members’ energy waxing or waning, pay attention to what those feelings are telling the team, and adjust your approach.

Another team arena to tune into feelings and time is on an individual level. How do your team members use their time across the work week? Each person may not have complete control over how they make room for thinking time, time to get things done, meeting time, or bonding time, but they will have definite preferences that fit their personal rhythms. As a group, discuss ways to maximize when and where you fit in these very different types of work. What are the days and times of day that help you capitalize on how you feel (e.g., most able to concentrate and focus)? By discussing how to make better use of your time openly and formally, the whole team will learn each other’s specific individual preferences. These insights will help everyone respect and optimize important rhythms that propel the work that they do.

Add one last way to protect each other’s time: Make it okay or even a team norm to say, “Now is not a good time. How about later?” With open-door policies, people often feel like they can’t turn someone away without being rude. The problem with this is that one person’s break time can be another’s crucial time that week to concentrate.

Time and emotions go hand-in-hand, so tune in to how you’re feeling to notice how you’re using your time and your teammates’ time. Likewise, make better use of your team time to help manage how you’re feeling.

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