Social Contracts for Hybrid Teams
Are you working with a team of people that you don’t know well and who come from other parts of your organisation? Or maybe you’re in a team that is dysfunctional and has a high turnover? Or in a high-performing team in a stressful environment with impending deadlines?
If one of these scenarios applies to you, then having some common ground rules around how you communicate and connect might make all the difference. The idea of creating a social contract to form an agreement between team members in a group about how to behave within their group context is not new.
Recently though, social contracts have been impacted by remote and hybrid working practices. So even if your team has one in place, it could be time to revisit it and see what still stands and what needs to be revised.
We suggest that to kickstart your review, you should get curious. Here are some questions you could ask:
- How has our mission changed?
- How do we continue to build and keep trust when we’re working remotely and sometime asynchronously?
- What are our needs, specific to our hybrid environment?
- How can we collaborate best in our hybrid environment?
- What ways of working does our team need to let go of to reach a higher level of performance?
- What are the generational considerations our team needs to consider for the success of this team? And do they need to be made explicit in our contract?
- How will generative AI impact the social engagement rules we have for each other?
- And taking into consideration all of the above, how do we hold each other accountable, and what are our guidelines for courageous conversations?
- How do we (and should we) use radical candor in a hybrid team environment?
Once you’ve explored the breadth of your current context and how you agree to work together going forward, it’s time to get specific. Brainstorm any new considerations that might be immediately relevant to your hybrid/remote situation. For instance:
Hybrid meetings are being enhanced by audio intelligence filters, smart lighting, allowing us to feel like we’re almost in a room together. Your social contract might need to take into account how these advancements may change or improve your interactions. Set up a test and learn priority about what AI has to offer hybrid team communication and don’t be afraid to experiment and ask for feedback. This also applies to being aware of the potential impact of the evolution of the IoT, edge computing, and digital twin technology.
With new technologies in mind, get really clear about the optimal communication touchpoints for your hybrid team. Ensure that everyone is on board with not only the frequency of catchups but also the mediums/platforms they want to use. Find out what works best for your remote members, as hybrid meetings can become difficult for those online to follow. Arriving at a consensus about what works best will go a long way to helping you embed the aspects of your social contract that are impacted by the quality of your communication. Don’t assume that your current method is working for everyone.
Explore the best ways for the team to build a continuous connection with each other in the small ways that matter. The hybrid environment requires us to be more intentional about getting to know each other. Creating a sense of belonging and positive familiarity for everyone in the team will inspire buy-in to the social contract, and that may require adapting some of your current practices. Strive to minimise the divide between those online, and those in the room, using the technology mentioned above, and balance being task-focused with being human. Identify a relationship-building cheerleader among the group, and give them permission to facilitate and drive the team connection.
As the foundation of your optimal performance, your social contract should never be set to forget but needs to be prioritised and highly visible.
