Team-building: what managers need to know
Can we talk about “team-building” and how it can so easily do just the opposite?
It’s essential for nonprofit staff to work well together. And especially for teams within that structure. And I know (from long experience) that nonprofit work, in particular fundraising, is often not 9-5 work.
Extra hours just seem to pile on. An event here. A donor meeting there. A board meeting instead of lunch.
We usually take it in stride.
But when staff friction rears its head – and it always does – too often the answer is…
More time together.
“Let’s plan a night out!”
No. Let’s not. Here’s why team-building “fun” hurts:
The chances are very good that some of your staff are parents with children who need them. Or are children with parents who need them. Or… amazingly enough, have interests they want to pursue beyond their job.
So suggesting they give more of their time to solve a management issue is just a bad idea.
If you need staff to get along better, fix that during work hours. Get involved instead of leaving them to bump heads. Make some decisions about the issues they’re having. (Are resources not properly shared? Are their budgets too low to do what you’re asking them to do? Are your expectations not realistic?)
Working people have other responsibilities.
Whether those are to a child or to a hobby doesn’t matter. That’s their time. Don’t ask for it unless it really matters.
I think I mentioned a brief moment of panic a while back. For just a second, I went back in time. I forgot that I wasn’t working at a nonprofit anymore… and instantly my body tensed up. That’s not healthy, folks. I’ve been my own boss for more than a decade.
I can remember – physically – the heartbreak of being asked to choose between my children and the work I loved. And the worst of it was the boss was a mother herself!
When I was having difficulty with childcare, her response was to strip me of my position. Then to move me out of my office. I was still nursing a baby at the time, and I think she thought sharing an office would make pumping too embarrassing. I did it anyway.
Other bosses have been happily oblivious to staff lives outside the office. Those team-building activities were supposed to magically fix what were actually management problems.
During our time.
How working parents are treated also affects their children. And if we don’t care about other people’s children, we don’t have a functional society.
From Harvard Business Review:
…the data showed that parents who experienced more autonomy on the job and who had more-supportive supervisors and coworkers were in turn warmer and more engaged when interacting with their infants. And this has major, long-term implications for those infants’ development, as a vast body of research has shown that warm and responsive parenting in a child’s first year of life boosts their level of attachment with their parents as well as their emotional regulation, social skills, and academic achievement. Indeed, when we checked back in with these families years later, we consistently saw that the children of employees who had had more-positive work experiences in their first years as parents had better reading and math skills, better social skills, and fewer behavioral problems in the first grade. Importantly, all of these results held for both mothers and fathers: Any parent’s experience in the workplace had a direct and measurable impact on their kids’ development through infancy and early childhood.
Staff turnover hurts your fundraising results.
So even if you don’t care about the people reporting to you, you need to be aware of what they need to be their best.
Expect people to bring their best selves to their work. But don’t make it impossible for them. Give them the tools – and flexibility – they need. If you sense friction among your staff, deal with it right away. It won’t magically get better.
And please, give parents and other people with caregiving responsibilities a break. They’ll give you their best if they know the organization values them and their time.
We all learned through Covid that flexibility with work hours and location can help valued staff members stay on top of their work. It can help them thrive… and that’s good for your bottom line.
When I left the job I mentioned above, I had been there for more than a decade. I had built tons of relationships with donors – especially board members. All that work on behalf of the organization… gone.
You really don’t want that. Plan ahead, and work through problems as soon as they appear.
Team-building? How about people-supporting instead?
Your people are your best resource. Care for them.
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