Harness the Power of Micromessaging

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By: Anna DeBattiste

Susan could not quite put her finger on it, but she felt as though things were not going well with her new boss. When she came into his office to speak to him about an important issue, he would keep typing and look up at her only briefly. “Go ahead, I’m listening,” he would say. In staff meetings, it seemed like he paid a little more attention to everyone else than to her. When it was her turn to speak, he would rarely make eye contact, and would sometimes glance down at papers in front of him. “That’s a good idea, Susan,” he would say in a distracted, insincere voice before moving on to the next person. But when one of her colleagues had an idea, he would respond with enthusiasm, smiling and nodding his head at them and asking questions about the idea. She wished she could ask her boss why he seemed to treat her differently than the rest of the team, but she just couldn’t—it would be silly. What would she say? “Uh, excuse me, I notice that you look away when I’m speaking but you don’t look away when Charlie is talking to you…” That would never fly. He would think she was too sensitive and prone to imagining things. It would probably just make things worse if she brought it up.

After a while, Susan began to avoid his office and keep her ideas to herself. She started using email more frequently when she needed to talk to her boss, and when she had an idea for improving the quality of her team’s work, she mentally shoved it under the carpet and went on with whatever she was doing.

“Micromessages” is a term coined by Dr. Mary Rowe of MIT to describe small, subtle, semi-conscious messages we send and receive when we interact with others that have a powerful impact. 

Dr. Rowe first used the term in the course of studying various negative impacts on students of color. To describe a pattern of ongoing, negative micromessages she used the term microinequities; to describe a pattern of positive, valuing messages, she called them microadvantages.

An understanding of these concepts is critical to creating a high performance team. Dr. Rowe’s intent was to surface micromessages; to bring them up to the level of conscious awareness so that we can talk about them without feeling silly, or overly sensitive. She wanted to make them “discussable” so that we can acknowledge their very real impact on performance. I am sure I do not need to tell you the end of Susan’s story: she moved on.  Maybe it was because her performance began to slip and she was let go, or maybe she simply found a new job and left voluntarily before it got to that point. Either way, her story represents wasted talent.

Usually, when we send our work groups out for training in how to communicate better with each other, that training will include a component of understanding non-verbal behavior. But the concept of micromessages goes beyond mere non-verbal behavior.  Micromessages are composed not only of body language, gestures and facial expressions, but also of tone of voice, word choice, and our perception of what was not said as well as what was said. Very often, we are completely unaware of the micromessages we send when we interact with someone, and very often they are influenced by our hidden biases or our feeling that someone is different in some way, and we simply are not comfortable with that. Here’s a detail I left out of Susan’s story: she is the only female on her team. All of her teammates, as well as her boss, are male. Does that shed some different light on the story?

It’s not hard to imagine that Susan was probably right to think she could not have a frank discussion with her boss about how she felt. It’s very likely that he is not aware of the negative micromessages he’s sending to her, and might indeed feel that she was being overly sensitive if she tried to discuss it. So what is the answer? How do we make micromessages “discussable”?

Dr. Rowe has taken the first step for us by naming and describing micromessages. The next step is to educate your work groups about them. Put your entire team in a room to explore the powerful impact of micromessages on performance and you will be guaranteed of at least one thing. The next time one of your employees feels like something is not quite right, he or she will know how to address it with the team—in some way other than by withholding ideas, withdrawing from the group, and eventually finding a new job.

By: Anna DeBattiste

© 2015 Alliance Training and Consulting, Inc.

 

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A Team Manager’s Checklist

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By:  Dale Mask

This checklist identifies critical factors in team effectiveness.  As team leader, you have the responsibility to ensure a yes response in all areas.

Step #1:  Use this checklist to target team success.

Step #2:  Rate each area on a scale of 1 to 5, 6 or 7 (the highest number being the best rating). To get the team on track, give particular attention to the low scoring areas.

I. Team Goals:

___ 1. Does your team have clear goals?

___ 2. How will the team know when the goals have been achieved?

___ 3. How will success be measured?

___ 4. Are the goals seen as important to the team?

___ 5. Do the goals challenge the team to use their skills and abilities?

___ 6. Does the team have a high level of commitment to achieve the goals?

Area Rating: _______

 

II. Team Support:

___ 1. Does the team feel management will support the team efforts?

___ 2. Does the team get the information they need to accomplish the goals?

___ 3. Is recognition for effort and accomplishment provided for the team and its members?

___ 4. Are risk taking and creative thinking supported?

___ 5. Is the team leader open to team input?

___ 6. Does the leader listen to individual team member concerns?

Area Rating: _______

 

III. Team Communication:

___ 1. Does the team communicate effectively?

___ 2. Is there conflict within the team?  How effectively is conflict resolved?

___ 3. Do team members feel comfortable discussing key issues?

___ 4. Are different points of view respected?

___ 5. Does the team keep a record of issues raised and decisions made?

Area Rating: _______

  

IV. Team Culture:

___ 1. Do team members trust and respect each other?

___ 2. Are team members treated with dignity and respect?

___ 3. Is there a climate of professionalism?

___ 4. Do team members understand their individual roles responsibilities?

___ 5. Do team members encourage each other?

___ 6. Is knowledge shared effectively within the team so that each member can be moresuccessful?

Area Rating: _______

 

V. Team Performance:

___ 1. Do team members have clearly defined and measurable standards?

___ 2. Do team members have the skills required to do their job?

___ 3. Are team members required to adhere to team standards?

___ 4. Does the team actively seek information about how well they are doing?

___ 5. Does the team ask for customer feedback?

___ 6. Does the team have a concern for continuous improvement?

___ 7. Does the team make an effort to review and eliminate outdated policies and procedures?

Area Rating: _______

 

Ongoing evaluation of these areas and continuing to answer the questions in a positive manner will allow your team to operate at top levels.

By:  Dale Mask

© 2015 Alliance Training and Consulting, Inc.

 

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The 12 Essential Characteristics Of Teamwork

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By: Anna DeBattiste

Here’s a great question to ask a candidate in an interview: Describe the best team you have ever participated in. What made it good? How about the worst team you have ever been on? What made it bad?

The answers are usually revealing and will give you a good idea of whether the candidate truly understands how to be part of a great team. Here are some characteristics of great teams:

1.  An effective team has a name, and a shared and published mission statement. An effective team has a sense of shared identity.

This does not mean that the organization has mission statement posters in the hallways. It means that the team has a sense of mission and purpose that is clear and focused and passionate, one that guides all of the team’s activities.

2.  An effective team has both values (underlying core beliefs) and norms (standards of behavior) that are known by and agreed to by all team members. Norms are explicit and based on values.

For example, one of your team’s values might be effective communication. Then the team would have multiple norms that support that value, such as “All new team members will be announced and introduced via email,” or “We will always try to say what we are really thinking during discussion of new ideas.”

3.  An effective team has members who respect and trust each other. Members listen actively and empathetically to each other, seeking first to understand.

There are two parts to this characteristic. First, teammates must be willing to be vulnerable to each other in order to have trust.  They must be willing to admit mistakes and express their opinions. And second, a truly great team understands the two-way process of communication. If I do nothing but advocate for my own position without trying to understand where others are coming from, I cannot work effectively with my teammates.

4.  An effective team has a tried and true method of problem solving. Conflict is not personalized; it is treated as the friction between ideas, not people.

Strong teams welcome conflict, knowing that great ideas come from diversity and debate. They learn how to argue without making it personal. And they learn that there are different conflict management approaches for different situations.

5.  An effective team agrees on each member’s roles within the team, and how those roles contribute to the mission or goal of the team. Roles are suited to member’s personality types and skill sets.

It’s always a good idea to give your team some sort of assessment tool to help them get to know each other’s personalities, communication and work styles, and preferences. Myers Briggs, DiSC, and Tracom’s Interpersonal Styles model are examples of good tools they can use.

6.  Members of an effective team have complementary skill sets, and know how to leverage their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. 

This begins with putting the right team together. It continues with making sure teammates have the tools, resources and culture that encourage them to get to know one another well.

7.  Members of an effective team celebrate successes together, and share both praise and blame. 

Great teams know that celebration is important to maintaining momentum, and they look for opportunities to celebrate accomplishments. They also know that pointing fingers at each other is destructive to the team.

8.  Members of an effective team seek out and value diversity on the team, and use their diversity to engender creative thinking.  They are not afraid to express different ideas.

This begins with trust; the willingness to be vulnerable. And again, teammates must understand and believe that conflict is important and desirable. They must not be afraid to say what they really think to each other, especially when they disagree.

9.  Members of an effective team are others-oriented, rather than self-oriented. They focus on their relationships, both with customers and with teammates, and they continually seek to improve and strengthen those relationships. They frame issues from the perspective of the team rather than from self-interest. Effective teams are inclusive.

Effective teammates know that the mission, values and goals of the team are what matter, not personal recognition. They measure success against team goals, not individual goals. 

10.  Members of an effective team have a sense of belonging and a sense of resonance about their team experience. They have a feeling of cohesion and a sense of pride about their membership on the team.

This characteristic is derivative of all the others. If the team is doing things right, the sense of pride and cohesion will follow.

11.  Members of an effective team expect and hold themselves mutually accountable for a high level of performance. Effective teams continually review and assess their effectiveness.

Great teams have short-term goals and objectives, in addition to a mission, values and norms. They hold regular meetings to review their progress against these goals and objectives.

12.  Effective teams embrace change when they need to.

A team that communicates well and values new ideas will welcome change as long as it represents progress. They understand that the world around us is constantly changing, and to be successful, we must change with it.

By: Anna DeBattiste

© 2015 All Rights Reserved Alliance Training and Consulting, Inc.

 

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