Navicet Blog Want Better Work-Life Balance? Check in on How Your Team Communicates

Lack of clarity on agreements and expectations for team communication dynamics is one of the most common causes of stress in working relationships. When we don't set social norms and team agreements with intention, they get set for us to a default – usually from the preferences or habits of one person, or unchecked assumptions about how others prefer to work. Whether you’re working 100% remote, back in an office, or a hybrid model – and whether you’re a co-located or global team — each environment offers unique opportunities and constraints. The problem with default communication norms is sometimes it only works well for one person. Without an explicit agreement or discussion about how we want to communicate together, undesirable patterns of behavior can persist over time, even when they don’t work well for anyone on the team. Instead of suffering the consequences of the default, teams can set their own intentional communication norms and gain agreement for how to work together. Use these four steps to surface hidden assumptions and build intention.