Each person on a team was chosen in some way because of willingness, skill, ability or some combination of these. What is important to one may not be important to the other, but we should always listen. Here are some questions of self-examination to gauge, for ourselves, how we are communicating. All these questions are designed to promote improvement, so don't take them as a threat, but see them as an opportunity to grow as a person and a team member.
___ Do we consider how the idea expressed by another helps the team achieve its goals?
___ Do we maintain eye contact until others are finished speaking?
___ Do we maintain eye contact with others when speaking to them?
___ Do we include everyone in our statement by acknowledging that they are listening?
___ Do we end a conversation by expressing our opinion that the current line of conversation should be set aside for a later time?
___ Are we in touch with our own core understanding and feelings and how they affect us?
___ Do we connect with another person as a person rather than a cog in a system?
___ Do we frequently encourage others?
___ Do we express our discontent when it first appears?
___ Do we provide possible solutions concurrent with expressing a defect or shortcoming?___ When others are speaking, are we thinking of what to say next?
___ When others are speaking, are we thinking of something else entirely?
___ Do we turn away from the person speaking?
___ Do we see the words of another as calculating or offensive?
___ Is our goal in conversation to show that our own point of view is right?
___ Is our goal in conversation to prove others incorrect?
___ Do we force an end to a conversation by changing our attention elsewhere?
___ Do we check out, emotionally or intellectually, while others are speaking or working along side?
___ Have we hidden resentments and decided not to address them at all?
Here are some questions to ask ourselves as a team.
___ Are there spaces of silence between statements, indicating that the previous thought is being absorbed?
___ Is there frequent encouragement of one teammate to another?
___ Are the ideas of team members written down and published internally?
___ Is there a recognition of experience within the team, such that those with experience are trusted?
___ Do we stay focussed on one subject at a time?
___ Do we formulate the problem before addressing the solution?
___ Are we happy to keep records?
___ Do we frequently reformulate our goals and match our activities to them?___ Do we dwell in the shortcomings of our environment?
___ Do we come and go without any notice or indication?
___ Do we cut corners and leave no records that a corner has been cut?
___ Do we leave important work undone without discussing the assignment of its responsibility?
___ Do we work on things in secret that are not acknowledged as important to the team?
After such an honest appraisal of ourselves we should congratulate ourselves
and consider revisiting these questions regularly. Feel free to add questions
that the team agrees is conducive to internal honesty.