P ERCEPTION OF WHAT CREATES A SENSE OF BELONGING WITHIN A TEAM

I asked the question What do you do as a leader to create a sense of belonging and sanctuary within the team?

Many leaders mentioned the importance of keeping the focus on the joint goals and the vision of the team deliveries. One leader said, “I work on creating a common goal. And being a guide in terms of goal achievement and how to”. A few leaders said they treat people differently depending on their different needs. Many informants also said that they are clear on goals and what different team members should contribute with. Most of the leaders meant that acknowledging the persons in the team for who they are was important to create a sense of belonging. Most leaders also believed that knowing the employees on a personal level and not only for work related items was important. One leader said, “I create activities with the team that are not all job-related. I try to be personal with them and show interest in them as the individuals they are. They need to be seen, both personally but also professionally”. To create a sanctuary within the team many of the informants were in agreement that availability of the leader was vital for the team to function well and most of them said that they try to be there for the team. Competency and mastery of the assignment were other important factors that the leaders meant contributed to a sense of belonging. One leader said, “I have respect for my team members competencies and I put together the “right” people. I try to find the optimal working methods for this particular team, adopting things”. Another said, “the purpose with the meetings is building a strong relationship with each other. I celebrate wins and I familiarize myself with the team and we do things together”.

I asked the question How does your team achieve group cohesiveness?

One leader said, “they create trust by discussing “what do we need to achieve together”. They ask each other for advice. They need to be able to trust each other. All of the leaders talked about creating a ‘one team’ approach where the group of individuals thought and acted as one unit. A few examples are, “they work together and take a joint responsibility as ‘one team’.

“The solve tasks together. They lift their eyes onto the “bigger picture” and the bigger team, the ‘one team’ approach. “They are removing obstacles together”. “Setting up time lines and follow up, “how far have we come together”. “They work together on tasks. Make use of each other’s competencies”.

I asked the question How do you as a leader contribute to a team’s knowledge of how work is to be performed?

Many of the informants responded that they give guidance and asks questions to make sure the team is on the right track or goes in the right direction. For example, with, “constant guidance and direction”, “I am making sure by asking questions that the team has the right direction”, “I help clarifying the tasks”. One leader said, “communication when there is a misunderstanding on what is to be delivered”. Another one said “I am heavily involved as a leader. Personal follow up on projects”. Some leaders mentioned coordination and connecting the team members with others to achieve more knowledge of the tasks as a mean to contribute to a team’s knowledge of how work is to be performed, one of them said, “I am trying to create a relationship for the team to the tasks that are to be performed”. Another example is, ”connecting people with others to achieve knowledge”. It was also lifted up among the informants that some of them facilitate for their teams, they act as a sparring partner and they coach the team from experience. Examples are, “facilitation, I ask questions”. “Being a “sparring partner”. A factor that seemed important for many of the leaders asked was that they keep themselves updated on the team’s work. One leader said, “I am part of the process from start to end”. Another gave the example of, “I keep myself updated on the teams’ work”.

I asked the question How do you as a leader contribute to the team’s ability to collaborate around the work?

Many of the leaders mentioned that they themselves set the plans, help specifying tasks, set responsibilities and set up the right forums to collaborate in. Examples are, “I set up the right forums to collaborate”. “I set goals for them”. “I plan and set responsibilities”. And “I help them specify tasks”. Some of the leaders were acting more as a guide or a coordinator than deciding on task assignment and responsibility setup themselves, “I let everyone take responsibility and I help them assign tasks among each other”. “I help coordinate within the team”. And “I act as a valve for frustration, the team can come to me with any frustration they

might have”. Several leaders meant that following up on the team work was important for a good collaboration in the team. One of them said, “I track progress and follow up actions”.

Another one said, “I follow up on team work”. One of these also meant that following up on the team members and their tasks contributed to avoiding conflicts arising in the team.

I asked the question What makes a team member feel like the leader care about them?

All of the leaders said that it is critical that the leader is available for the team member. All also believed that it is imperative that the team members are seen, they mentioned items like that they talk together, that the leader is aware of and focus on the delivery of each team member.

That the leader shows interest in their work. One leader said, “call them by their first name.

Another one mentioned, ”show interest in them”. Many of the informants also said that it was important to have feedback from the leader in order to feel cared for. One leader said, “to get a thank you for performance. Or “giving them positive feedback”. One said, “a tap on the back in front of others in the team”. It also seemed significant to have an open dialog and discussing the private settings outside of work, for example family. One leader mentioned delegation of responsibilities as important. And many mentioned that standing up for a team member, lifting the heavy workload off them, that they get help and the support they need and taking the “tough”

news towards the customers” for them was an important factor that contributed to making a team member feel that the leader care for them.

I asked the question Is there anything that keeps team members from doing their best?

Many informants mentioned external factors, such as family and friends, and that these could impact the way a team member performs. Some said that also personal conflicts or chemistry within the team would influence performance of the team. One said, “bad team spirit or atmosphere”. And “not liking the people in the team”. Many also mentioned that if you do not have the ability to carry out your tasks, reasons that were mentioned were: too complex tasks, unrealistic expectations, they do not have the right competency and wrong type of assignments, this might demotivate the team member and lead to poor or lower performance. Other factors that were mentioned by several of the informants were, not understanding their role in the team, and not understanding the context in which they are in. They do not see “the big picture” and their work feels unimportant. It was also mentioned several times that for a team member to do their best they have to be seen, they cannot be ignored, not by the leader, nor the team members.

This was supported by the following statements: “they need to feel part of the team, one leader said, “there are conflicts within the team”. Another one said, ”they are ignored, and experience

sharing is lacking”. Poor chemistry within the team or with their leader was also mentioned as an impacting factor.

I asked the question What makes team members feel included?

The theme of being seen as an important factor for doing our best is re-iterated in this section.

Many of the leaders meant that being seen, getting an important role, being relevant, feeling important and been given attention are critical factors for creating a sense of inclusion in the team for each member. A few examples are, “they are seen by the team”, “they are relevant”, and “everyone gets an “important” role”. It was also mentioned from most of the leaders that having a clear assignment, having clear roles and responsibilities and having ownership of their tasks would contribute to a team member feeling included. One leader said, “they are being delegated responsibility”. Another item that seemed essential for team members to feel included was that members are invited to initiatives and relevant work tasks. That there is a transparent view on everything and people get the same information and one leader said for example, “they are being involved in the strategy of the assignment or business to know the way further. They are involved in forming the road map. They are responsible for influencing what happens next”.

Some leaders also mentioned that having a good group dynamic, knowing each other well, having things in common with others in the team and that feels safe in the team are imperative to feel included. This can be connected to another statement from the same leader, “the culture in the company plays a big part in this (making team members feel included), as it has to be set in the core of the business, seeing the members of each team”.

I asked the question Is there anything that can make team members feel excluded from the team?

Communication is important in the sense that when lacking communication from the leader or the rest of the team, the team member feels excluded. One leader answered, that when "the leader avoids communicating with some and not others”, team members might feel excluded.

Another leader said, when “excluded from important discussions” the team member might feel excluded. One leader mentioned that when the team environment feels unsafe and you do not dare to bring things up, the team members may feel excluded from the rest of the team. Another one said when there is a large portion of a team that shares a culture the minority of that team might feel excluded, he/she said, “Teams that are of a cultural mix where large percentages are from one single country or culture (dominant cultures) can make other “minority” groups or individuals feel excluded”. It was also mentioned that the team is not seen as a community and therefore contributing to exclusion feelings.