Editorial
Can stronger social ties between virtual team members help to overcome the Allen Curve? The Allen Curve posits that we’re far more likely to collaborate with those physically close to us. The notion has been born out since the pandemic, with collaboration being one of the things that has suffered as people moved to virtual working at scale.
How can we build those social ties in a virtual environment? Academics from Wharton propose the concept of “fast friends,” which they believe can speed the bonding process, even when the exercises are done over virtual platforms, like Zoom or Teams.
A Team-Building Exercise
The exercise aims to encourage self-disclosure as a means of helping us know one another, thus building the trust that helps to foster collaboration. The first step is to create a list of progressively deeper questions to ask. The researchers provide 36 questions to get you started, but say it’s perfectly OK to create your own. The questions aim to move beyond small talk and encourage more thoughtful responses as the session progresses.
The next step is to outline the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Explain that the goal is to help them develop meaningful relationships with their colleagues, to benefit the team's effectiveness, as well as their health. The questions come in three groups, with each group taking around 15 minutes to answer. While it’s not necessary to answer all of the questions in each set, it is important that the questions are attempted sequentially, starting with question 1, then question 2, and so on.
Participants should understand this is a voluntary process. Indeed, research from University of East Anglia highlights how forcing processes on people can backfire. The study found that mandating participation in team-building activities often has the opposite effect, and worsens cohesion across the team. The Wharton researchers emphasize that participants should know they can stop at any time or skip questions they feel uncomfortable answering.
Related Article: Teams Can't Exist Without Connection. Build It Through Rituals
Facilitate Random Connections in Virtual Work
A decade or so ago, the concept of “lunch roulette” was formed to help people make new connections at work. The idea came from networking guru Keith Ferrazzi’s concept of never eating alone, which randomly assigned participants with a colleague to share lunch with. The concept has become popular in the virtual working world, with Slack having an app to facilitate lunch dates.
The randomness of the pairing is important, but the Wharton researchers highlight how hierarchical and power differences can stifle discussions. They suggest pairing participants at the same organizational level to ensure there is a degree of comfort between them. You may also want to consider age and gender when pairing up participants.
The researchers advocate using Zoom's breakout room feature, or a similar platform, to split the group into pairs or trios. You should then share the questions by email, using a cloud storage link like Google Drive or Dropbox, or using the chat function. They suggest using the timer function to signal when it’s time to move on to the next set of questions.
Related Article: 8 Steps to Build Greater Trust Within Your Workplace
One Approach to Improve Virtual Collaboration
To add a scientific element, ask participants to rate their level of trust or connection with their partners at the start and end of the session on a scale from 1 to 7. There’s no obligation for them to share their ratings with either the organization or each other, but obviously there are benefits if they do. After the session, managers should check in with participants via email to see how the exercise affected things like team cohesion, well-being, trust and work outcomes.
The researchers suggest managers bring everyone back to the main room after the exercise for a collective debrief session where participants are encouraged to share their thoughts.
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The study shows that when we engage in acts of self-disclosure, we activate parts of the brain that are associated with reward processing. The very act of opening up can also help to produce oxytocin and even synchronize the brain activity of participants, all of which can boost trust and encourage cooperation. In an age where collaboration among virtual teams is so challenging, these sessions may be something to consider to help overcome these challenges.
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