29 Apr 5 Steps to Kick Start Your Team Post-COVID

The light at the end of the COVID tunnel is getting brighter (thank you science and vaccines), this means teams will be coming back together. Prepare yourself. Things will be different. Team dynamics will not be the same because we have all experienced this pandemic collectively and individually.

1. Come together

Create space and time for your team to gather outside of your regularly scheduled meetings. We’ve managed over video – zoom fatigue is real! Now, we need to reconnect as full human beings, engage all the senses. Not back in the office yet. Why not meet at a local park for some socially distanced team-time. A virtual option is to use an online whiteboard (think Miro or Mural) where they have free icebreaker/team-building templates you can use.

2. Get reacquainted

Maybe you have someone new on your team or everyone is the same, let’s remind each other of what we’re good at, where we struggle, and what things we’re working on. Try out a personality test and share the results. Get to know each other in a new way.

3. Create or reaffirm your team’s mission

You know why your team exists. What it is here to do. Now, cast your eyes to the future. In two years, your team is the jewel in the company crown. Or your organization is the envy of all its peers. What did you do to earn that esteem and position? What have you accomplished? Did you crush the competition? Did you triple revenues? Did you drop costs by 50%? Play with what this could be and then have the team stand behind that one big thing. Your mission.

4. Determine how you’re going to get there

Your team now has something to target. How are you going to get there? You need a plan. Below is a screenshot of an exercise I use: Post a Path.

How to use: the “Start” line is your current state. The “Finish” line is achieving your mission. Every team member has one row to list the steps they think it will take to achieve the mission. The number of steps will vary between team members. They don’t have to have 9.

This exercise really taps into individual expertise and experience. You and your team are going to come at this from different angles. Good! Now, pick the top 3-5 steps. These become your strategic priorities for the next 6-12 months.

5. Make a plan

Each strategic priority has specific, detailed steps to get it done. Flush those out, including:

• who will do it (assignee)
• what they need to get it done (resources)
• what could derail it and what you can do about that (risks)

Use a tracking tool: a Kanban, or a Gantt chart, or a simple task list. Keep it simple, get super techy…..it doesn’t matter so long as it’s easy to use and you keep it up to date. With this tool, you have a touchpoint for every team meeting. Review it together and keep it updated to stay on track.

Think of this moment as your pre-race, pre-game huddle. Completion of these 5 things sets you and your team up for a fresh, energic start. You’re in the starting block, ready to hit it hard.

Don’t forget, as a leader, one of your tasks is to “catalyze a clear and compelling vision that is shared by the group and is acted upon,” (Beyond Entrepreneurship 20.0 by Jim Collins & Bill Lazier, p 41).

The above was adopted from Red Blaze Solution’s Strategy Sprint Workshop.