Build aligned, compassionate and effective teams across borders with KLSP Exchange Theatre

In Between The Lines, Fred struggles with the approach of his colleagues at beginning of each meeting: he likes to get straight to business, while Daniela, Ling and Syafiq enjoy catching up and checking in with each other before starting to address the task at stake.

It is often these minor frustrations that create tensions in teams. That's why an essential step is to establish team norms in order to build a strong team: How does the team want to collaborate and work together?

1- The challenge in diverse teams

In a diverse team, each team members approach to desired behaviors maybe be quite different to start. In addition, despite adherence to the organisational culture, there might be a difference between how people think they are expected to behave, and how they actually prefer and choose to behave. If the company culture is close to their national culture people easily embrace it. Otherwise they interpret it and accommodate.

2- The impact of culture

"Accommodating" will not help to create a strong and aligned team where team members are comfortable to be open, transparent and vulnerable. On the contrary it often reinforces the "us-and-them" mentality, where people are distrustful of each other. Subgroups within the team do become hindrances to effective collaboration and performance. That's why creating team norms that are embedded in the company culture AND that take into account each individual's perspective and cultural background within the team is crucial.

3- So what?

How to tune in to our colleagues' mindset and how to understand each other's approach better? How to share our own perspective in a compassionate yet powerful manner?

This is where KLSP Exchange theatre can help:

1. It presents the different Perspectives in a complex situation.

2. It makes participants become Aware of the impact of their behaviors on others and get them to reflect on the intentions, needs and concerns that guide these behaviors.

3. It encourages Compassion to understand the intentions, needs and concerns of colleagues.

4. It Engages participants to improve the situation, and take the first step towards setting up team norms that address all perspectives / expectations within the group.

Listen to our interview on BFM 89.9 (https://www.bfm.my/podcast/enterprise/resource-centre/ent-rc-all-the-office-is-a-stage)

and watch our trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_feVpKG620)

to understand how KLSP Exchange Theatre works.