One of the activities I picked up briefly during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 was magic. Geeky, yes, but unapologetically so. Suffice it to say the world is not in danger of me becoming a magician. I did, however, learn some structured thinking that has been incredibly useful in the years since.
There are two main parts to any magic trick: method and effect.
The interplay of Method and Effect is where the real magic happens. Methods are not magic, and effects are not possible without methods. There are many standard methods used in magic, and effects can often be achieved with different methods, such as making a coin disappear (effect) using sleeving (method) or palming (method), or maybe even a combination of the two.
Now that that magic theory is out of the way, what does it mean for team productivity in different work environments?
If we think about team productivity in terms of the effects that need to be achieved to create and sustain a productive team, we can then look at the different methods that could be used to achieve those effects and variations depending on whether a team is face-to-face, remote, or a hybrid of the two. As with magic, there are other methods that can be used to create these effects, but I am calling out variations of one method to illustrate my point.
Maintaining visibility of work is key for any team. This visibility should be ready at hand and not require time spent looking or asking where work is in the process.
Kanban is purpose-built to provide teams with work visibility. I recommend this method for any team, but there are some variations, depending on a team's context.
Face-to-Face: I may be old school here, but for a team that is face-to-face 100% of the time, nothing beats a physical Kanban board on a wall. The barrier to entry is $10 at Officeworks, and the information is always readily available.
Hybrid: I have worked with teams that maintain a physical board in an office setting while making a digital version available for online team members. There is some double-handing here, but digital whiteboard tools like Miro and Mural help as they are very organic and easy to update. You can remove the double handling by having an always-on video feed of the physical board open in a video conferencing meeting. A side benefit of this is the collaboration method.
Virtual: Virtual teams are good candidates for dedicated tools such as Trello. Digital whiteboarding tools can also be useful, but dedicated tools have the added benefit of automating the collection of team productivity metrics.
Nothing leads to team productivity more than the team being aligned on their work and how they're doing it. Building and maintaining that alignment is an incredibly important part of teamwork.
Collaborating in workshops does take time, but it also saves an exponentially greater amount of time. Collaboration looks very different depending on the team context, but here are some variations.
Face-to-Face: For a F2F team, F2F workshops are the go. As with any workshop, having an unbiased facilitator to guide the team through a structured thinking process is key.
Hybrid: For hybrid teams, I always suggest coming together in person for key collaboration moments where alignment on work is being created. This is not always possible for a variety of reasons, and when that is the case, double down on the facilitation. It takes about 2x more time to prepare for a hybrid workshop. It is critical for all activities, breakout groups and materials used to be inclusive for both remote and in-person attendees. Have good tech on hand as well. A large screen to see remote participants (encourage video on) and good sound to hear and be heard.
Remote: Workshops for remote teams can be easier than hybrid, and remote collaboration still relies heavily on facilitation, but also on trust. The time spent in a workshop should be dedicated, and the team should build trust in each other to not be doing other things while in the workshop. Where possible, turn cameras on, and definitely use remote whiteboarding tools. There is prep time required in laying out the templates for the workshop in these tools as well.
Most team time management methods translate pretty well across different contexts of teams. My favourite examples are below.
One of the biggest killers of team productivity is ineffective meetings. I suggest turning all meetings into workshops, ensuring there is an unbiased facilitator who is there only to lead the group through a structured thinking process. All of these sessions should have:
Further, try meeting-free-days, and where possible, schedule meetings off-axis (starting at times other than the o'clock and half past).
Block time out across the team for collaborative work, individual tasks and breaks. Be aware of the synchronous (work that must be completed together) and asynchronous (work that can be contributed to at different times) work. Synchronous work should have a time block to avoid distractions from other areas, whilst asynchronous work should also have it's time block, although the team may be working on different things at different times.
Regularly retrospect as a team and uncover the actions that will have the greatest positive impact on your productivity. The team itself knows how to achieve optimal productivity and those things that impact it the most. Use the metrics available to you (time spent in meetings is a great one), and occasionally dedicate a retrospective to the team's time management practices.
This is just a quick list of methods and effects that go into the magic of a productive team. What are some of your favourites that I missed? The key thing is to think about the effects you want to achieve as a team and to use the methods, or variations, to achieve those effects.
For details on these and other methods, head to our free downloads page for step-by-step posters. If you'd like to have a chat, or book me for a magic gig, please reach out.