How to improve team communication

Expectations and norms can help, but it’s even more important for your team to practice awareness. When an individual understands who they are at work and understands who others are like around them, they get a clearer picture of how to interact with one another.

Think of someone who doesn’t show up to a meeting because it has no agenda. On the one hand, they should be considerate of others. On the other hand, the person who organized the meeting should have taken into account that some individuals need more details while others don’t.

Understanding the needs and personalities of different members of your team prevents scenarios like this, even if you don’t have a specific policy in place.

Check out the interactive below to see if you can demonstrate awareness.

It’s difficult to develop awareness of other people. Sometimes we assume they think one way, but in reality they think a different way. Tools like PI’s Behavioral Assessment can take away the guesswork, allowing for a smoother and more functional team.

Improve trust

Improving trust also improves every other aspect of communication. 

When people trust each other, they’re less likely to take actions or comments personally. In turn, this enables for healthy conflict and growth among the team.

Relationship guides can improve trust by providing insight on how employees will handle interactions. When employees know why their coworkers act the way they do, it becomes easier to build relationships and trust one another.

If you’re interested in learning more tips for improving trust, you can check out our course on developing trust in teams.