People move faster when they understand the etiquette and tools needed to collaborate. This exercise maps individuals’ work styles and preferences to inform team ways of working norms and build understanding.
The team leader should review and adjust the map and host a meeting and introduce the exercise as mapping preferences. Following the meeting, the leader should determine what works best for the team based on business needs and document the team’s ways of working to answer questions such as:
When does the team meet? What are the expectations for video or in-person attendance?
How are decisions generally made and communicated on the team?
How does the team use Email, Slack, and Text to stay in touch?
Where and how does the team store files?
Where and how does the team track progress to goal?
This exercise was developed for a team of 15 managers doing a team reset offsite at a Global Tech Company.
| Prompts | Example Team Member | Team Member 2 | Team Member 3 | Team Member 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work Style & Habits | ||||
| What time of day are you most productive? | Morning | — | — | — |
| What is your ideal ratio of meetings to work time in a day? | 30% | — | — | — |
| What motivates you to do a good job? | Completed projects and happy partners | — | — | — |
| What has worked well for you to stay connected in a virtual team experience? | Mix of formal and informal connections | — | — | — |
| Do you keep a to-do list? Where? | Unfortunately like 3 | — | — | — |
| How do you and your team track your progress? | Running list at top of team meeting notes Google Doc | — | — | — |
| Collaboration & Communication | ||||
| What does advocating for your perspective or team look like? | Distributing leadership | — | — | — |
| What do you need to disagree then move forward in a complex project? | Time to process, context to communicate out to team | — | — | — |
| How do you approach problem solving when you are unsure of the solution? | Talk it out | — | — | — |
| What is your initial reaction to… | ||||
| 📹 Video Calls | 🤮 | — | — | — |
| 📞 Phone Calls | 😍 | — | — | — |
| 💬 Text Messages | 😶 | — | — | — |
| ⚡ Slack | 😶 | — | — | — |
| 🤝 In Person Meetings | 😍 | — | — | — |
| 📊 Spreadsheets | 😍 | — | — | — |
| 📈 Reporting on Progress to Goal | 😍 | — | — | — |
| 📧 Emails | 😶 | — | — | — |
| 📄 Memos and Documents | 😍 | — | — | — |
| 📑 Slides | 😍 | — | — | — |