Having a healthy team dynamic is essential to any productive work environment. The health of a company strongly relies on team cohesion which allows workers to complete tasks more knowledgeably and efficiently. Without proper communication between team members, organizations typically struggle to collaborate.
Atlassian’s 2021 State of Teams Report contains numerous findings regarding team health over time that can guide leaders looking to create a cohesive work environment and unite employees regardless of work location. This article will give an overview of some of the most significant findings from Atlassian’s Report to help leaders and team members navigate the rapidly evolving work environment.
Does Location Matter to Team Health?
The average workplace doesn’t quite look like it did several years ago. With the increase in hybrid and remote work, many people may assume that such a drastic change negatively impacts one’s productivity and communication with team members. Because team health requires strong team cohesion, it is natural to think a healthy team needs to be in a shared space to get things done.
However, Atlassian’s report indicated the opposite of this idea. Atlassian found that healthy teams existed regardless of location and that different environments did not significantly impact team health. The findings also indicate that remote and hybrid workers experience a slightly higher number of healthy teams. Eighteen percent of remote and 20 percent of hybrid teams were healthy, compared to only 15 percent of office teams.
Common Struggles for Unhealthy Teams
Unhealthy teams share common struggles that prevent members from improving communication and team cohesion. When measuring team climate, Atlassian’s researchers found that only 34 percent of teams indicated positive team health.
The relative lack of team health suggests leaders should take note of the most significant issues that teams face. The most common struggles in Atlassian’s report were a poor connection between team members, fears about trying new things, and self-expression.
Along with this, the researchers found that 57 percent of participants believed that their work team was not operating as efficiently as it needed to. A lack of understanding regarding elements necessary for a healthy team continuously contributes to more disconnected and incohesive teams.
What Drives Team Health?
Leaders must start learning about and implementing the methods that drive team health to combat the everyday struggles facing unhealthy teams. For example, some may focus too much on how location impacts teams without considering other factors that could be causing harm.
While even workers on healthy teams can experience burnout, certain practices can help offset the impacts of burnout. Among the most significant factors for team health found in Atlassian’s study include:
- A shared understanding of the overall goal and clear roles for everyone involved in achieving this goal.
- Ensuring flexible and adjustable planning practices are prepared in the event that adjustments need to be made.
- A work environment that values and celebrates achievements without punishing and condemning failures.
- Opportunities for team reflection.
- Constructive criticism between leaders and team members.
What Should Leaders Work On?
Leaders’ choice of focus areas will depend on the nature of their teams. However, Atlassian researchers determined that leaders should not overlook the following priorities:
- Creating and maintaining empowering values. Leaders should be transparent about their mistakes while crafting an open environment that allows for respectful feedback. Leaders should also open themselves up to team members’ opinions when making decisions.
- Keeping an equitable team climate. Regardless of obstacles your team comes across, it is essential to always recognize the passion and dedication of your workers. Recognizing workers that go above and beyond in their work and encouraging team cohesion is part of showing gratitude. It is also vital for leaders to understand the circumstances of team members to resist bias and to assess team health before making drastic structural changes.
- Support for more innovation. Your team should always be looking to innovate and adapt. A healthy team climate allows for open discussion regarding areas of revision. Along with this, a leader must implement planning and collaboration practices to allow time to explore new ideas with their team and assess calculated risks.
Final Words
Prioritizing team health is essential for the success of any company. Leaders who have not yet achieved a healthy team must dedicate themselves to learning about why some teams struggle to work efficiently and why some don’t! The findings from Atlassian’s 2021 State of Teams Report provide significant insight into how team health impacts organizations.
You can improve team health and encourage communication between team members with the help of Docket. Docket is a meeting productivity platform that gives team members access to numerous features that support high-quality work and team collaboration.
