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How well do you know the people you work with? We might know who mainlines black coffee (yet is still late to meetings!), but how well do we really know the people with whom we spend so much of our lives?
Research shows genuine relationships at work lead to higher productivity, lower stress, and happier humans overall. To know our colleagues is to make our team stronger and more effective. Crucially, it makes everyone’s working lives just more… enjoyable.
THE EXPERIMENT
Play a (secret) game of ‘Office Mastermind’. Speciality Topic: the people I work with.
Think about someone on your team and reflect on these questions:
- What do you know about the key people and relationships in their life?
- Where did they grow up and which aspects of their background are most important to them?
- Which pivotal life moments do they regularly reflect on?
- What makes them laugh and what’s their favourite genre of music?
- What do they do to de-stress or let off steam?
- What creative outlets or side projects are they most passionate about?
- Which sports, books, movies, TV shows, or games do they love most?
- Where do they dream of traveling, or would they love to revisit?
- Which political or social causes are they most passionate about?
- How do they define success or fulfilment in life?
Where are you drawing blanks, and how could you fill in the gaps (in a way that doesn’t feel weird or intrusive)?!
How well do you think close colleagues could answer the above questions about you?
Share this experiment – forward it to a colleague. Have the chat! Fill in each other’s blanks, and close those gaps between you.
WHY TRY THIS?
Getting to know your colleagues supercharges your work life –
Trust: the ‘secret sauce’ of team success! Understanding your co-workers is the first step toward building trust, and trust is the glue that holds teams together.
High-trust workplaces report 50% higher productivity and 76% more engagement. Plus, having a best friend at work makes you seven times more likely to feel engaged in your job.
Friendship: a stress-busting superpower Workplace friendships significantly lower rates of stress, burnout and depression.
Creativity and Collaboration Knowing your colleagues well leads to better collaboration; causal interactions often lead to the best ideas.
It Feels Good Getting to know someone boosts oxytocin and dopamine, improving trust, motivation, and (let’s face it), making you nicer to each other!
You don’t need to be a Mastermind to see the benefits of getting to know your colleagues. What questions could you be ask to get to know the people you work with?
Start small with a quick game of ‘This or That?’