Transitioning from one job to the next is a major life choice. Not only will it impact the direction of your career and financial position, it will also dictate the individuals you are surrounded by for 40 or more hours each week. Just as important as it is to ensure that your ducks are in a row with regards to your development and the attractiveness of your future employer, you’ll want to be sure that the folks you’re joining are professionals in every sense of the word.
Lest not forget, they have to be good company! You’re going to get to know them better than you know some of your relatives, for better or worse. You’ll hear all about the ups and downs of their personal lives, their likes and dislikes. And, at some point, you’ll have to work with them on projects that have deadlines.
In order to have a productive working relationship it’s all about the know, like, trust. Not only do you need to think about how your customers need to know, like and trust you, but your coworkers as well. So when they’re venting about their neighbors dog or bragging about their kids, take note and BE interested. Not only that, be genuinely interested and open to learning more about them. After all, you attract more bees with honey…
Here are 4 work culture activities that build camaraderie and help you to get things done!
1. Find your competitive streak
Group activities are awesome for building camaraderie. Whether you plan a corn hole tournament, a whiffle ball game or charades for a group, you’ll learn quite a bit about your coworkers by playing off their competitive side. If they’re good sports or sore losers, fair and honest, and how well they work in teams.
2. Collective goal setting
Working towards a common goal is a great way to build solidarity. Set goals that are aimed towards the efforts of the entire group. If there are several areas of focus in your department, implement a plan that if each area achieves their individual goal, the department will be granted a monetary bonus or a company sponsored happy hour.
3. Break bread
Seems simple enough, right? Grab a bite to eat while on your lunch hour. Oddly enough, many of us work together for years and never think to take a minute to get out of the office and eat lunch together. Setup a one-on-one lunch with a coworker you don’t know that well – chances are that you’ll get to know a whole lot about them in an hour or less.
4. Flattery gets you everywhere
A few months back, the team I’m on did an exercise where we were presented a list of 10 famous quotes. With that list, we selected the quote that resonated the most with us personally, then one that reminded us of someone on the team. We then went through the list and gave everyone a chance to express which quotes they selected for themselves as well as their peers. It was eye opening to see how much appreciation we had for one another, and really gave us a Ra-Ra moment.
