communication | TechWell

communication

How to Run a Productive and Effective Remote Team

With remote work becoming the norm, now is a good time to consider how you can help your team do their best without causing burnout. Fortunately, remote work may actually improve productivity. After all, it's one of the factors that largely contribute to job satisfaction.

Travis Jamison's picture
Travis Jamison
Two goats butting heads Is It Really ‘Us vs. Them’?

Teams often view executives as being "against" them and making decisions that are clueless at best or nefarious at worst. Usually, neither is the case, but there's no way of knowing true motivations if there's no discussion. Teams and directors need to repair their communication rift. This is a tale of two perspectives.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
Employee receiving feedback Seeking Feedback the Right Way

Receiving negative feedback can be uncomfortable. You may immediately get defensive. But to grow personally and in your career, you need to be able to receive feedback—both good and bad. Here's how to recognize the three types of feedback you will get, and know how to solicit it and respond to it in the right way.

Allison Scholz's picture
Allison Scholz
Person about to shoot a rubber band at a coworker Is There a Place for Pranks in the Office?

Some people think pulling pranks in the office is the height of hilarity. But they should remember that what they view as funny may not be viewed that way by those on the receiving end. There are many opportunities in the workplace for a joke to backfire. Before you think about pulling a prank, think it through.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Text with red proofreading marks For Professional Communication, Check Your Grammar and Punctuation

If you want to be taken seriously at work, you should pay careful attention to your grammar and punctuation in proposals, formal emails, instructions, presentations, blog posts, resumes—pretty much any important written communication. If you frequently make style and usage mistakes, your credibility can take a hit.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
ScrumMaster facilitating communication between an agile team and stakeholders Understanding the ScrumMaster's Role in Team Communication

Some agile teams believe the ScrumMaster is the sole point of communication between them and the product owner, so the team can abdicate any responsibility to communicate with stakeholders. That couldn't be more wrong. It's actually the ScrumMaster's job to enable communication and coach or guide the team to solutions.

Alan Crouch's picture
Alan Crouch
Team member sending an email Stop Email Overload and Communicate Better

Many of us fire off correspondence to groups and distribution lists that include more recipients than necessary, and we overcommunicate without stopping to think about exactly what needs to be conveyed. Here are some ways organizations and teams can cope with the influx of information and communicate intentionally.

Richard Estra's picture
Richard Estra
Team member questioning leader about the project plan How to Question Leadership without Seeming Confrontational

Good leaders sometimes make decisions based on incorrect or incomplete information, and when that happens, we have a professional obligation to encourage them to reconsider. However, correcting them in a confrontational way can be a career-limiting move. Here are four factors to consider when speaking up to leaders.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall