Cookies and Embracing Change

Photo by Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian 

It can be easy to think of “different” as not as good. If something is working and out of the blue someone wants to alter it, we humans have the urge to push back and resist the change. This tendency can get in the way of moving forward and embracing new opportunities.

To illustrate, we will tell the tale of Susan’s chocolate chip cookie journey. Susan had been making chocolate chip cookies for a long time. They were delicious (this is not her bragging, it is the accolades she received from friends and family). The cookies were just the right balance of chocolatey goodness with good sink your teeth in dough. 

Then things changed.

Diet preferences shifted and people were looking for healthier options (we know not the thing to be thinking about with a cookie!). A good friend developed an anaphylactic reaction to gluten and had to instantly change his eating habits. In conversation, he mentioned how much he missed a good cookie. 

Susan was on the hunt. She tried some recipes and she saw exactly what he meant. They were either kind of plain or grainy.

Yuk!

Then she happened on a recipe where the cook detailed how to make the consistency just right. Susan tried them and they were delicious.

Success!! She had met the challenge of finding a recipe that would meet the changing needs within her social group.

But wait! Not everyone was looking to shift to a new reality. They were in the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mode. When they looked at the plate marked gluten free cookies, they avoided it. They had grown up with traditional cookies and didn’t want to venture into the mysterious gluten free world.

With some encouragement, Susan’s friends and family decided to take the risk. They gingerly took a bite expecting this change to be, well, nasty. With questioning faces they took bite after bite. After bravely sampling several cookies, a blissful realization took hold. These cookies were indeed pretty wonderful. In fact, this recipe soon became the preferred chocolate cookie recipe for all occasions.

This baking tale is akin to what is happening in the business world when it comes to team building. In our last blog we talked about the challenge business leaders are facing as they evaluate their team building approaches. Post pandemic, team building recipes may need some tweaking in order to meet the needs of a diverse workforce.

To find the right mixture of ingredients, we have to start by asking the question:

 With the business model changes in the post pandemic world, is team cohesion still something companies should work toward?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Research shows a strong correlation between high team cohesion and productivity:

• 86% of executives feel a lack of collaboration is responsible for company failures.

• 75% of employees see teamwork and collaboration as essential to their success.

• Organizations that promote collaboration and communication are 4.5 times less likely to lose their best employees.

• Companies with a fully engaged workforce are capable of generating twice the revenue.

• Team building can improve work ethic and innovation up to 10 times.

While many look to the pandemic as the main culprit in changing how team cohesion is achieved, the pandemic may have just fast tracked a transition that was inevitable. As new generations enter the workforce they are seeking different things from their professions.

One of the primary motivators of the current workforce is defining their work-life balance. They are looking for companies who understand that this is of primary importance. This requires a new way of thinking about things. Events like meeting up for happy hours after work or forming softball teams may not have the same cache as they did in the past. 

And that is okay.

Rather than seeing this shift as something negative and mourning the loss of the ‘good old days', business leaders can work to put fresh eyes on team building, investing resources into alternate activities that will more consistently resonate with employees.  

Take a step back and look at your current team building program:

• Are you doing the same activities you have been doing for years or have you adapted them as your workforce has changed?

• Are your current activities energizing your team, yielding more innovation and/or productivity?

• Do the team building activities strike the right balance between effectively using company resources and increasing employee satisfaction?

To help you address these questions our next blog will provide some ingredients that you can include in your employee engagement menu to deliciously meet your goals.

A good start may be bringing some delectable gluten free cookies to your next company gathering. Check out the recipe that Susan found.