Management 3.0 — Personal Maps
Nowadays, interactions with our work colleagues are mostly virtual, by videoconference, telephone, or messages. Face-to-face interactions have been practically eliminated, and with it the spaces forgetting to know our team beyond the professional sphere, because before being professionals we are people, and if we want to form high-performance teams we need not only professionals, but a human group that knows, trusts and is cohesive.
A great exercise to get to know our team better is to capture in personal maps what you know about them and to put in your personal maps what you want them to know about you.
What is a personal map?
The personal map is a simple but powerful technique that allows anyone who can hold a pen, or in this virtual world, use an app or move a mouse pointer, to visualize the relationships between concepts.
When can we use it?
We can use this technique when we want to promote trust based on getting to know each other. It is ideal when we are starting a new team or when a new member joins.
How to elaborate a personal map?
First, you can start by presenting your own personal map so that other team members can learn from it. You can also share a template with your team if you are having a virtual meeting. In it is a face-to-face meeting, each person blank sheet of paper with markers so that they can make their own mind map, placing their name in the center of the sheet and relating the sections they wish to share.
At the end of the time, invite the participants to present, we can indicate that each one present their own personal map or we can organize pairs to exchange their personal map, share and have one present the other.
You can learn more about this practice on the Management 3.0 website:
https://management30.com/practice/personal-maps/
And the day came…
Before the session
Logistics: For this exercise we need to define the date and time, duration, tools, facilitation techniques. One hour, using Miro, using the time box.
Objective: To get to know my team better and to share this technique so that it can be used with other teams as well.
During the session
I started the session by explaining the agenda of the meeting and setting the contact and expectations.
I shared my personal map and shared the template.
As each participant was presenting their personal map, the other participants were paying close attention, as information new to them was being shared.
The team found commonalities, as in objectives, hobbies, etc…
All team members participated and found common interests and goals, such as in the studies they wanted to pursue or the languages they wanted to learn.
Here is my personal map
Lessons learned.
This technique is very simple but powerful in improving personal relationships in a team, by allowing team members to get to know each other better on a personal level.
This exercise boosted the morale of the team, as it allowed for interaction not related to the work tasks to be seen.
It is important to keep the camera on and avoid any distractions, as we want the team to be present.
Conclusion
It can be used at any time, but it will provide more value with a team recently formed or when there is a significant change in the team, like a new team member joining.
It can be used with collocated or distributed teams; it helps the team members to know each other, break the ice and know their colleagues not only at the professional level, but also at the personal level; as a result, you will see improved communication and performance.
I would like to thank Erick Masgo for sharing his Management 3.0. knowledge, experiences and all the great practices and tools we learned from taking the training with him. I highly recommend his class.