Mo Fathelbab knows a thing or two about team building.
After leaving behind his inspiring position as the Executive Director of the Young Entrepreneur’s Organization, Mo founded the Forum Resources Network, a venture that guides executive-level forum groups through a process of personal and professional transformation by providing expert meeting facilitation, training and resources.
Regardless of whether you’re a C-level executive at your company, anyone who works in a team environment can benefit immensely from Mo’s helpful tips for building a powerhouse dream team and sustaining stronger relationships in the workplace:
Be Vulnerable
Across the board, one thing Mo is certain of about relationships is this: People get nowhere without vulnerability.
A good leader understands that their team should never be expected to share more than they do. However, there are plenty of avenues to connect to your team that may not be as challenging as you’d imagine.
One suggestion Mo puts forth is to sideline your instinct to give advice when an employee comes to you with a problem. When you merely give advice, you rob your team of the chance to know you.
Instead, opt for a more personal approach! When a colleague or employee comes to you with a problem, reflect upon your own similar past experiences, and share how you overcame the hurdle they’re currently facing. In doing so, you’ll become humanized in their eyes, and may even influence them with your story.
Avoid Cliches
While trust falls and treetop treks are novel and exciting, they shouldn’t be solely relied upon as a company’s team building strategy. Real team building is confronting the tough questions, together.
Ask yourself and your team, do you foster a relationship with your coworkers where you can count on one another? Do you feel comfortable stating your honest opinions? Do you have an authentic relationship to these people in your office that you communicate with every day? If not – there’s room to grow!
In Mo’s book, The Friendship Advantage, he provides readers with a relationship testing tool to help assess their interpersonal relationships and uncover areas in which they could improve in order to have more meaningful connections in the workplace. We encourage you to try it!
Are you a student looking to further your development as a leader and enter the exciting world of entrepreneurship? Check out more stories from Student Works participants and alumni on our Leaders of Tomorrow Podcast!
