5 Unexpected Questions Before Remote Teams Meet in Person
Leaders neglect the most important questions to ask before remote teams meet in person. The questions leaders remember:
- What’s the purpose of the meeting? Too many purposes dilute effectiveness.
- What do we want to accomplish? Remember a meeting filled with reports is soul sucking.
- How will we break the ice? We arrive at meetings skeptical about icebreakers.
5 unexpected questions before remote teams meet in person:
#1. How can we create vibrant environments?
Play music when people arrive and during breaks. Stop treating meetings like funerals. Be creative with setup, lighting, and food.
Plan a surprise or two.
#2. How do we want to feel about each other?
Leaders neglect the “feelings” question.
Emotions are energy. Dull meetings lack emotion because no one thought about how people will feel listening to updates all day. (Unless updates add meaning to work and relationships.)
Work is misery when we love the work and hate the people.
Highlight interdependencies.
People forget they need others to succeed. Reflect on ways to make work easier for others. (Not how they can make it easier for you, how you can make it easier for them.)
Why meet if everyone can succeed on their own?
#3. How can we nurture relationships?
People aren’t your greatest resource, trusting relationships are.
#4. How will we maximize physical movement?
Skip the travel when face-to-face meetings are exactly the same as online meetings.
A day of sitting is exhausting.
#5. How can team members contribute to the success of the meeting?
Everyone wants to contribute. Let them. Plan it. Expect it. People walk away excited about the meeting if they contribute. Think about something more than giving a report.
Some of my clients noticed the value of watercooler conversations when they returned to the office. Short spontaneous conversations bring variety and velocity to work.
What are some problems to avoid when remote teams meet in person?
What are ways to enrich experiences when remote teams meet in person?
Still curious:
10 Steps to an Offsite that isn’t Pathetic
3 Words that Make Meetings Great
People Are Not Your Greatest Asset (hbr.org)
All right, Dan, you must be reading my mind! I am traveling to meet my team in person for the first time after year of leading! I am excited and nervous, and this was perfect this morning!
If anyone has advice on fun ice breakers, I welcome it!
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom!
Well, I wish you well, SB. One complaint I hear about these meetings is people would like more time to get to know each other. Off the top of my head…
Have everyone write the name of an animal that best describes them. Draw the names out of a hat and ask everyone to guess who that person is. Ask the person to be ready to explain in one sentence why they chose that animal. Usually, people enjoy talking about themselves.
I’ll add another, SB.
2 Truths and A Lie. Have everyone anonymously write down on the same sheet of paper 2 things that are true about them, and one that isn’t. Mix them up and read the 3 statements aloud. After each set of 3 statements have people guess who wrote it. This provides some time for thought and reflection as well as hearing some interesting stories about each person.
Godspeed!
A couple of thoughts:
1) Everyone submits one fun fact about themselves. Make up bingo cards with the fun facts. Folks have 10 minutes to talk with each other. When you find someone on your card, have them sign their name across the space. Give prizes for bingo: first bingo, first row, first column, etc.). Works best with a crowd.
2) This one is more of a team building exercise. It’s called “Everyone Brings Something to the Table.” You have 5-10 minutes to come up with one item for each letter of the alphabet. It has to be something you can physically put on the table, meaning you have it with you. (We got the letter J because I was willing to sit on the table.) Shows that no one can do it all; you need a team to help. And you need to talk to people to explain what you are looking for and why it is important. (“Hey, we’re only missing a V. Anyone got a Visa card on them?”)
A very simple ice breaker is asking everyone to describe one thing on their bucket list and why. Make it a little more creative by adding “put it in a hat and guess”. It’s simple — everyone can come up with one thing they really want to do at some point in the feature and people’s dreams can be revealing.