It's about the good and the bad...

Like all relationships, having a strong "core" team (those you work with daily) requires time and attention. 

This is probably one area we are all familiar with and do often: team building.

Those activities that support us getting to know each other. Having fun, laughing, and sharing experiences. Using the good times to strengthen the team, knowing there will be challenging times the team must navigate through.

In Dr. Greaves' book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, she discusses how effective teams in this area have a "we" mindset. These teams have invested time into learning about each other and how the team functions as a whole. They have methods in place to capitalize on using positive emotions to increase productivity and work through the more challenging times.

Here are a few strategies to increase those internal relationships:

• Value the small things. Small touch points ("thank you," "I appreciate that," etc.) throughout the day add up.

• Respect each other's differences. Knowing and using each team member's strengths benefits the entire team.

• Remember the wins. Thinking about the bright spots (what worked and why) will boost the mood, remind everyone of their competencies, and reinforce a "can do" attitude.

• Be open to feedback. Practice giving and receiving feedback to each other regularly. This will create a culture of authenticity and growth rather than fear and resentment.

• Have that tough conversation directly. We all tend to vent to a colleague. But, when venting becomes the norm, it's a signal that we need to talk with the person directly and respectfully.

Stay tuned for next week as we wrap up this most important topic with playing "big" team.