Spotlight from the The science of building successful teams, Harvard Business Review :
It was interesting to learn that team members human behavioral cues can be measured with quantifiable data -based on tone of voice, body language and frequency of communication- all with a badge! My experience with this topic as an internal consultant includes gauging level of interest and power among stakeholders (example table A.1 below). This article refers to mapping energy, engagement and exploration and that increased quality face-time increases team performance.
In this article I learned that charisma among a group is an important part of determining if a project team will be lead to completion. My biggest take away from the article was that members that are comfortable approaching others and are democratic with their time are the glue to connecting a high performing team dynamic. In order to engage others, you must be engaging through your communication!!! The article also mentions that such things as a scheduled coffee break and a longer table to allow for interaction with people you did not know creates opportunities to increase communication, which increased productivity by 8% (see example table B.1 below).
Conversely, when measuring or defining team success there are agile considerations, such as office environments, language and societal norm limitations. Some organizations are very politically navigated by chain of command, which creates barriers for subordinates to develop relationships. Some project stakeholders touch highly sensitive information, that naturally, creates limitations to what we can communicate and to who. These inter-dependencies should be considered, as well as the maturity level of the organization for transparency. Lastly, geographical complexity in globally expanding markets are pivotal factors.
The basis of the studies conducted with the badge are for face to face communications that are said to be more effective than email and phone calls, however being exposed to more agile environments web conferencing is more efficient and cost effective in preferred ways of working. The study did not include cloud based tools, with these tools we can also measure show rate in meetings, participation times and receptiveness of an audience during webinars that are important data points to consider. Some other measures being taken are surveying groups to measure effectiveness of a webinar by using companies such as Qualtrics. In addition, millennial’s value the work-life balance that transpires from remote communications. Therefore, face to face communications may not be as valuable in the workforce as millennial’s will make up 75% of our workforce by 2025.