How Teams Bond

Have you ever worked for a team of strangers?

Not literal strangers. Outside of maybe being an extra on a film set, it’s highly unlikely you showed up for work day after day not knowing anyone. But a team of strangers meaning a team that just refuses to bond or hasn’t been given a chance to bond. It’s draining to work on a team that just doesn’t connect with each other.

How teams bond has a dramatic effect on how well they work. Research shows that team bonding significantly enhances the performance of teams. Moreover, feeling like you are part of a team can significantly enhance your individual performance as well.

In this episode, we’ll outline four ways teams bond and offer suggestions to kickstart that method whether you’re in a leadership role or just a member desperate to turn your group from strangers into a well-functioning team.

0:00 Introduction
1:25 Uncommon Commonalities
3:35 Regular Rituals
5:24 Shared Pain
7:08 Prosocial Purpose
8:31 Conclusion

It’s tempting to think of these as one-time actions, or perhaps a few time actions. But the truth is that bonding a team takes time and takes repetition. Just as regular rituals have to be done, regularly, so do the other methods in this article. Teams need to be regularly reminded of their purpose, and past pain. Teams need to have regular moments of “hanging out” in order to build uncommon commonalities. The more repetitions, the more the bonding, and eventually the better performance on a team—a team so bonded they can’t help but do their best work ever.

//DO YOUR BEST WORK EVER
If you liked this video and you want to help your team do their best work ever, check out the free resources we've compiled at https://davidburkus.com/resources

//ABOUT DAVID
One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.

He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.

A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.

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//MUSIC
"Appreciate That" by David Cutter https://www.davidcuttermusic.com