Are you getting through to your team? If you are sitting shaking your head and you feel like you don’t get back what you put in, then perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at the ways you can improve the connection you have with your team.

It’s okay if your team needs some nurturing. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman coined the phrase ‘forming, storming, norming and performing’ to describe the developmental stages a team progresses through on their journey to top performance. It may be that your team are on the journey to the top so, take a look at these factors that can improve team communication.

Body language

Your body language can speak louder than your words, it reveals your true feelings and emotions. If you want to connect with your team then nonverbal cues are the first point of call. To get results from your co-workers, learn to assert your position within the team by using direct eye contact and hand gestures with the people you are talking to. Instantly, this presents you as an enthusiastic leader who wants to see results from their team.

Communicating your passion and sincerity for the task at hand through your body language may result in your team mirroring your actions. Mirroring is a social phenomenon where people copy others actions. Commonly, this is an unconscious behaviour but it signifies empathy and synchronisation. So, use your body language to engage your team and share your drive.

Personality profiles

It takes a range of people to make a brilliant team. But have you ever considered that this may be impacting how effectively you connect with your team? Understanding someone’s personality allows you to look closer into their work behaviour and optimise their strengths whilst bettering their weaknesses.

Completing a DISC personality assessment may be the solution to getting better results from your team. The DISC model is the most popular behavioural assessment tool in the world. It presents four main personality types;

  • Dominance: Direct and guarded, fast-paced and task-orientated, focuses on problems and challenges, assertive.

 

  • Influence: Direct and open, fast-paced and people oriented, focuses on people and contacts, persuasive.

 

  • Steadiness: Indirect and open, slow-paced and people oriented, focuses on pace and consistency, supportive.

 

  • Conscientiousness: Indirect and guarded, slow-paced and task-orientated, focuses on procedures & constraints analytical.

You can claim your free DISC personality assessment at ActionCOACH to identify and understand your own and others’ DISC style to develop better team communication and create growth opportunities.

To find out more about how to claim yours, get in contact here.