Creating a Welcoming Team in Practice
Co-written by Laura Pallone and Erica Dohring
Over the last few months of working together, members of our product team noted how it’s one of the most psychologically safe teams they’ve ever been a part of. We took some time as a group to reflect on the top things we felt contributed to that feeling. Our hope is that by writing them down, we remember to focus on them ourselves. We also want to share with people interested in improving their team atmosphere.
Make Sure Everyone is Heard. We’re really thoughtful about actively listening and yielding the mic. We try our best not to start speaking until we are sure someone else is done. If we happen to accidentally (often a result of laggy internet), we are as gracious as we can be — i.e. “I can hold my thought — you go.” We also look out for folks who may not have yet gotten a word in, advocating something like, “I think [this person] had something to say. [Person], do you want to jump in?” This leads to balanced conversations despite having a mix of quieter and more extroverted personalities.
Acknowledge Experience and Identify Growth Opportunities. We really value the diverse specializations each of our team members have. For example, in conversation, we might say “[This person] has analytics experience, and I’d like to hear them weigh in.” Or “[This person] has a lot of contextual knowledge about the way things work at the company. Let’s check in with them.” The mindfulness that others have shown of our individual contributions furthers our feelings that we are appreciated members of the team. In addition to appreciating what skills team members already have, we also looked out for growth opportunities. “[This person] wanted more experience with [y]. Let’s make sure they get to work on that.” No one knows everything coming into a team and by matching opportunities with target growth areas, we increase expertise across the whole team.
Be Empathetic. When a team member opted to share that they hadn’t slept so well the night before or had a lot going on in their personal lives, our team rallied around to show empathy and support. Everyone has bad days and hectic periods in their personal lives. Our empathy encompassed both positive and negative events. We loved celebrating new pets, new homes, or nerding out over a neat fun fact. All this being said, we completely respect any and all details a team member may want to keep private.
Overall, caring, paying attention, and being gracious can go a long way. Our hope is to share these reflections not only so that we can remember to maintain these behaviors, but also to help others who might be wanting a higher sense of psychological safety on their teams. Try these practices out for yourself and let us know how it goes. Thank you to the wonderful team members that helped create this great team environment.
