Team Collaboration: A #BufferChat Recap
This week on #bufferchat, our community discussed team collaboration — everything from dealing with conflicts to favorite ways to build trust between teammates.
Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join in to whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)
This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 18 participants; reach of 1,004,287
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 97 participants; reach of 1,363,536
Q1:How many people are on your particular team? Does your team have a name? ?
From the community:
A1. I’m a social team of one and I’m a badass. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/FC6hliNSri
— Laura Wilkinson (@solaurawaslike) October 25, 2017
A1. We created our data “universe” so it’s only fitting that we call ourselves Guardians of the Galaxy. #bufferchat
— Donnie II (@DonnieHaflich) October 25, 2017
A1. We have a 4 member graphic design team who are known as “Doodle Officers” ? #bufferchat
— Digital Polo (@digitalpolocom) October 25, 2017
A1: 13 in our team. We are the Alaska DIRTTBags, we are a DIRTT Partner:) #BufferChat
— Raul Rovira ❄️ (@RaulARovira) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: Who do you work most closely with on your team? How do you work together?
From the community:
A2 #bufferchat: we all work very closely since we’re all one-(wo)man teams. We have our own pieces & then work together to make it cohesive.
— Laura Bauman (@laura_bauman) October 25, 2017
A2: Because we are a small team we all work really close. However the way we communicate varies depending on the person or topic #bufferchat
— Dark Mark Media (@darkmarkmedia) October 25, 2017
A2: PR and content creation! Our team goal is to break down silos and be more collaborative! #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/BUaBOdT2II
— Lendio (@Lendio) October 25, 2017
A2 I work closely with all team members we make sure we all work together on different things, I am even married to one!! ?? #bufferchat
— Hannah Corlett (@Hannah_Corlett) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: Anyone have great tips for structuring meetings or brainstorms with your team? What works really well?
From the community:
A3: Making it a safe space to share ALL ideas – nothing is a bad idea when you’re brainstorming!! All positive motion counts! #bufferchat
— Cathryn Erbele (@YMCACathryn) October 25, 2017
A3: personally we do:
– Previous week wins
– Struggles
– Agenda / Goals #bufferchat
— Candy Corny☕️ (@DevaniAnjali) October 25, 2017
#BufferChat A3 We cater #brainstorm sessions to the style of our clients. Fact-finding questions are key. (And whiteboarding always!) pic.twitter.com/uPTUNyAiau
— Firefli (@fireflimedia) October 25, 2017
A3: Whiteboard. Pros, Cons & ‘Most Voted’ columns. The ideation session should be followed by ‘Now how to proceed’ session #bufferchat
— Pritama Sarkar (@am_titli) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: What are some awesome tools that support team collaboration, and how?
From the community:
A4: Our best tool is the extensive knowledge each team member has in their field. It makes for an awesome learning environment! #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/7iUAErjkIN
— Lure Creative (@LureCreativeKC) October 25, 2017
A4. @SlackHQ is a game-changer for gamedays. Allows for our team to share photos & graphics for social & app for many people. #BufferChat pic.twitter.com/5zAPKCLdx0
— Geoffrey Blosat (@GeoffTBlosat) October 25, 2017
A4: There’s obvious ones, but @Assembla is fantastic for project management, and @ThePersonalCRM for managing meetings/reminders #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/PzsKASAIpG
— Ben Campbell ? (@Ben_Soup) October 25, 2017
A4 Perception is a fantastic tool. Being keen to the needs of your team goes SO FAR in keeping healthy relationships and collabs #bufferchat
— The Budget Backpack (@TheBdgtBckpck) October 25, 2017
A4 Pen and flipchart – can’t beat pen-on-paper creativity #bufferchat
— Jack Cooper (@heyjackcooper) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: What’s your advice for working through conflicts within a team?
From the community:
A5. It’s also important to respectfully discuss conflict. No attacks, but sticking with “I feel” statements is super helpful. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/a789HiWO8v
— NAWBOBrowardPB (@NawboBrowardPB) October 25, 2017
A5 team conflict resolution: listen with the goal of understanding/empathy; don’t argue or wait for your turn to speak. #bufferchat
— comfortwriter ??? (@ComfortWriter) October 25, 2017
A5.2: Teams should learn each other’s communication styles/preferences to avoid potential miscommunication + conflict. #bufferchat
— Anne Mercer (@Anne_E_Mercer) October 25, 2017
A5: Let everyone say their piece.. Talk about the possible miscommunications that occurred and work toward resolution #bufferchat
— ?Codi? (@Codishaa) October 25, 2017
A5. Remember the branding meeting I talked about in the last answer, it led to an intense argument between me and one of my designers. We both stuck to our opinions. We resolved it by discussing examples and case studies. “When in doubt, look for inspiration”! #bufferchat
— Digital Polo (@digitalpolocom) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: What are some ideal ways for a team to get to know each other and build trust?
From the community:
A6: Have an outing where all friends & family can come. Most are more willing 2 participate in these events – learn about others #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/eIXv3rqIow
— Ben Campbell ? (@Ben_Soup) October 25, 2017
A6: Play board/card games. Eat together, of course. For remote teams, have video calls once in a while without any agenda. #bufferchat
— Chandresh (@thisischandresh) October 25, 2017
A6: We have an open office and a picnic table for people to eat lunch at. It’s a great way for people to get to know each other #bufferchat
— Bryn Hafemeister (@brynhafemeister) October 25, 2017
A6. The concept of team outings/retreats works wonderful too. Both on a personal level and a professional level! #bufferchat
— Arun Sathiya (@arunsathiya) October 25, 2017
A6: It can help bond to share outside-of-work pieces of your personality, like books you’re reading or your Saturday plans. #bufferchat
— Katie Lewis (@kathryndlewis) October 25, 2017
A6 We have a bubble gum bonus machine, where we get to pick out a prize for the team when we complete projects #bufferchat
— Becca (@beccasocial) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Q7: Do you have any awesome team collaboration successes to share?
From the community:
A7: when we all come together to fix a problem is always very rewarding. Everyone works their socks off! #bufferchat
— James McKinven (@jmckinven) October 25, 2017
A7.2: When all our agency’s sites got hacked (? ?) + the team rushed in on a Sunday to fix it all. Talk about #teamwork. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/ZgN8J83g0Z
— Anne Mercer (@Anne_E_Mercer) October 25, 2017
A7: You know you have a winning team when everyone enjoys their time: work or play. A happy company culture = happy clients. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/xQF3GPcHaf
— Lure Creative (@LureCreativeKC) October 25, 2017
A7: Everyday we highlight awesome projects throughout the company & the people who made it possible. It’s nice to be celebrated! #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/ggq6qzUqLK
— Lendio (@Lendio) October 25, 2017
A7: Sappy as it sounds, every project our team has collaborated on has been gold. Getting insight+feedback from others is great #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/Kp8ZuhO3Gu
— sienatdk (@sienatdk) October 25, 2017
See all the great answers to question 7 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!
Image sources: UnSplash