With all the changes we're seeing to the workplace these days, and how teams have had to flex, it's only natural to ask what makes an effective team in the workplace. If you're looking at employee upskilling you might be surprised at the hidden process that deeply influences team effectiveness, and how easily it can be learned.

What makes an effective team in the workplace?

Ever notice how some teams seem to gel, and others don’t?

Or how things are going along swimmingly with your team, and then one day, faced with a new challenge, things go off the rails?

There’s a good reason for this.  

The hidden process you didn’t know you needed for an effective team

When faced with a challenge, each of us has a specific way of thinking through challenges that feel more natural and effective. 

It’s a hidden process – a universal creative process – that influences our mindset. 

It’s unique to each one of us, and it shows up as “thinking preferences”. 

Your mindset has a lot to do with team effectiveness - it influences how you collaborate, innovate and manage to respond to new challenges.

Here’s how they show up when you find yourself facing a challenge:

• You may want to clarify the challenge
• Or start imagining possibilities for how to solve it
• You may want to assess and evaluate your options for overcoming the challenge
• Or throw yourself into action to find a solution fast.
  

These “thinking preferences” are a great way to get your problem solved until other people get involved.

When other people get involved, they all bring their thinking preferences to the table too.

And if your thinking preferences are different from others on your team, or vice versa, it’s easy to see how ineffective communication, misunderstanding, and frustration arise.

And as we all know, ineffective communication, misunderstanding, and frustration do not create productive collaboration, innovative solutions, or fantastic project outcomes!

So, what does?

Mindset matters

Understanding what the four thinking preferences are – and which ones make up your mindset.

When you do, you can:

• Learn how to enhance your effectiveness and begin to work more collaboratively with others in return
• Reduce conflict, tap into the power of diversity, and build better teams
• Go beyond simply tolerating other people’s differences to leveraging them to get better outcomes in your projects, goals, and teamwork.

When I first found out about “thinking preferences”, I was intrigued. They explained so much. And I've been using these on my teams and teaching them to my clients ever since. 

Once you know about “thinking preferences”, and see them at play on your team, you can’t unsee it. You see it all the time. 

And you learn how to work with them so you get the most out of teamwork.

So that hidden process you didn’t know you needed for effective teams? It becomes a pathway to improved performance, better working relationships and stellar business results. 

Want to enhance your ability to drive team collaboration, stimulate productive innovation, and develop better solutions to complex business challenges?

Discover what makes you more — or less — effective as a leader and contributor...so that you can enhance your ability to drive team collaboration, stimulate productive innovation, and develop better solutions to complex business challenges.

What does your mindset reveal?

Written by Janice Francisco

About BridgePoint Effect

BridgePoint Effect is a boutique consulting firm with a bold vision to transform the way leaders and their teams collaborate, innovate, and deliver outstanding results.

We help frustrated leaders who know their teams can achieve more. 

We offer a framework, practical toolkit and high calibre coaching that gives you the structure, skills and support needed to build an effective team.

Let's get your team achieving more than you ever thought possible.