{"id":443725,"date":"2019-07-18T14:50:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T18:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?p=443725"},"modified":"2023-01-14T01:05:50","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T06:05:50","slug":"new-work-new-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/collaboration\/new-work-new-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"New Work. New Rules.  (Full Story)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Amazon. Airbnb. Uber. Netflix.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>These disruptive brands changed the world. They didn\u2019t just deliver new products to the market\u2014they upended it and on the way caused a lot of collateral damage. Technological disruption has been credited with reducing the lifespan of S&amp;P 500 companies from 60 years in the 1950s, to less than 20 years today, according to Credit Suisse.<\/p>\n<p>Companies are in a race to understand what consumers need and then deliver something more innovative, more fantastic, more life-changing than their competitors. So it should come as no surprise that leaders are turning their focus toward teams and building a culture to promote the diverse thinking and creativity only they can deliver to drive innovation.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"u-shaded u-shaded--light\">\n<p>Get the summary of <strong>New Work. New Rules.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button-dark\" href=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/teams\/\">Take me there<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-444529\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558371113\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120606-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Why Teams? Why Now? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The business case for increased collaboration keeps getting stronger. A new study conducted by Steelcase found 90 percent of people say collaboration is essential to create new and better ideas. Leaders are even more convinced: 93 percent believe it\u2019s essential to successful idea generation.<\/p>\n<p>Teams innovate faster, achieve better results and report higher job satisfaction, according to a recent New York Times article about Google\u2019s Project Aristotle. Profitability also increases when people collaborate more. Other studies confirm Google\u2019s conclusions. Companies that promote collaborative work are five times more likely to be high performing, according to the Institute for Corporate Productivity. Conversely, the lack of collaboration is blamed for workplace failures by 86 percent of participants in a Salesforce survey of corporate executives, employees and educators. This drive for increased collaboration is causing the amount of time people spend in team-based work to explode, ballooning by 50 percent in the past two decades, according to Harvard Business Review. Today, people are spending over half of their day collaborating with others, according to the Steelcase study.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world now requires rapid responses focusing on creativity, innovation and design, rather than solely on delivery. To achieve this, work will increasingly be project-based rather than segmented by department, and will need to take place across teams and silos,\u201d reports AM Cham\u2019s EU Future of Skills report.<\/p>\n<p>Steelcase researchers and designers have been studying collaboration for more than 20 years. Most recently, they studied high-performing teams in North America, the Middle East and Europe to understand the macro shift toward a new kind of teamwork. They saw teams focused on two predominant types of work:<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Idea Generation:<\/strong> Imagining and creating new products, services and solutions.<br \/>\n<strong>Flawless Execution:<\/strong> Developing and bringing ideas to market quickly and predictably.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of their focus, these teams are under pressure to solve complex problems and do it faster. Unlike their predecessors, who could focus on an individual task as their contribution to the overall team, these new teams are hyper-collaborators. The research and design team saw people whose days are filled with a never-ending exchange of information and ideas, activating peer-to-peer learning and fostering curiosity and connection with customers. Working in rapid cycles of iteration, tasks are interdependent and their projects fluid. This interdependence and pace is fundamentally different than the way teams used to work. And, as the study showed, it\u2019s not easy.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-444531\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558371265\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0117795.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What\u2019s different about teamwork now? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThink about the difference between a swim team and a soccer team,\u201d says Gale Moutrey, vice president, Workplace Innovation and Brand Communications at Steelcase. \u201cSwimmers stay in their own lane, but soccer players interact and transition constantly, relying on each other to win. Teams today need to do that, too \u2014 navigate a fast-paced flow, bouncing between team members, iterating and improving on each other\u2019s ideas. Everyone is accountable to keep work moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of these teams have adopted design-thinking methodologies and agile behaviors to structure their work. Previously relegated to IT or creative teams, these methods are no longer only for early adopters. Many teams are adapting practices like daily stand-ups, sprints and workshops to help them move faster and stay more closely connected to their customers. By understanding these activities and behaviors, we can design spaces to help these teams work in new ways.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-444533 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558372353\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120609.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Think Like a Designer <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A methodology for creative problem solving, design thinking is physically and cognitively active. Teams are leading workshops, brainstorming, filling walls and whiteboards with content and coming together to share their ideas. Team members sit together so they can interact with each other in real time, build cohesion and work faster. They also need moments of retreat from the group to focus, absorb information and process their own ideas. People stand, sit, draw, gesture and move materials and objects. The work is dynamic and fast-paced.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-444534 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558372581\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120607.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Agile Revolution <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Agile is a set of values and principles derived from software development and now used by lots of industries to improve speed, flexibility and customer focus. Agile teams structure their work into a sequence of activities that guide them to execute quickly, monitor progress and re-adjust workflow. Their practice includes daily stand-up meetings, pair-based work, sprint reviews and sprint retrospectives. These teams constantly shift between modes of work, working alone and together as the task demands.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Struggle Is Real <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Amidst this intense style of teamwork, the researchers and designers realized that most workplaces were getting in the way of teams, or at least not making work any easier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost offices are still predominantly designed to support individual work and a linear process,\u201d says Julie Barnhart- Hoffman, principal design researcher for Steelcase. \u201cSpace is usually allocated on a per-person basis, instead of a team basis. And it\u2019s almost always organized by department, versus cross-functional project work.\u201d<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"print-only\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,dpr_auto,q_70,h_656,w_1166\/v1558372719\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120612.png\" \/><div class=\"slick-slider light-slider not-initialized mosaic-slider\" data-type=\"module\">\n\t\t<div class=\"first-slide\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mosaic-right mosaic-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-fixed content\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-image has-ppp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex-image extend-right\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,q_auto,f_auto,h_492,w_875\/v1558372719\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120612.png);\"role=\"img\" aria-label=\"New Work. Old Office.\"><span class=\"u-visual-hide\">New Work. Old Office.<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a data-saved-state='0' data-item-id='444539' data-type='attachment' class=\"can-save ppp-link icon icon-ppp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/download\/?url=https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372719\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120612.png\"  data-social-media=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372719\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120612.png\" data-social-title=\"New Work. New Rules.  (Full Story)\" href=\"#\"><b class=\"u-visual-hide\">Open image tooltip<\/b><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-companion content-well\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>New Work. Old Office.<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Most offices are still designed for linear work and don\u2019t enable the workflow, activities and behaviors required for design thinking and agile methodologies.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image-companion -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .slide -->\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mosaic-right mosaic-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-fixed content\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-image has-ppp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex-image extend-right\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,q_auto,f_auto,h_492,w_875\/v1558372718\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120617.png);\"role=\"img\" aria-label=\"No Place to Call Home\"><span class=\"u-visual-hide\">No Place to Call Home<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a data-saved-state='0' data-item-id='444538' data-type='attachment' class=\"can-save ppp-link icon icon-ppp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/download\/?url=https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372718\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120617.png\"  data-social-media=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372718\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120617.png\" data-social-title=\"New Work. New Rules.  (Full Story)\" href=\"#\"><b class=\"u-visual-hide\">Open image tooltip<\/b><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-companion content-well\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>No Place to Call Home<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Teams need to work in close proximity with easy access to their information, but they often don\u2019t have a \u201chome\u201d where they can do this.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image-companion -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .slide -->\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mosaic-right mosaic-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-fixed content\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-image has-ppp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex-image extend-right\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,q_auto,f_auto,h_492,w_875\/v1558372716\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120616.png);\"role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Lack of Control\"><span class=\"u-visual-hide\">Lack of Control<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a data-saved-state='0' data-item-id='444537' data-type='attachment' class=\"can-save ppp-link icon icon-ppp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/download\/?url=https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372716\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120616.png\"  data-social-media=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372716\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120616.png\" data-social-title=\"New Work. New Rules.  (Full Story)\" href=\"#\"><b class=\"u-visual-hide\">Open image tooltip<\/b><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-companion content-well\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Lack of Control<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>People feel a lack of control over their environment and struggle to balance their individual work with the demands of the team\u2019s work. Most spaces are designed with fixed furniture and walls that can\u2019t adapt easily or quickly to the changing activities people do throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image-companion -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .slide -->\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mosaic-right mosaic-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-fixed content\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-image has-ppp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex-image extend-right\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,q_auto,f_auto,h_492,w_875\/v1558372715\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120613.png);\"role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Ideas Get Stuck\"><span class=\"u-visual-hide\">Ideas Get Stuck<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a data-saved-state='0' data-item-id='444536' data-type='attachment' class=\"can-save ppp-link icon icon-ppp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/download\/?url=https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372715\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120613.png\"  data-social-media=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372715\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120613.png\" data-social-title=\"New Work. New Rules.  (Full Story)\" href=\"#\"><b class=\"u-visual-hide\">Open image tooltip<\/b><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-companion content-well\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Ideas Get Stuck<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Solving big problems requires big ideas, but most collaborative spaces are designed for sharing information which means people tend to sit, listen and participate more passively. These spaces quietly discourage people from becoming physically and emotionally engaged in problem-solving activities.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image-companion -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .slide -->\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mosaic-right mosaic-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-fixed content\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-image has-ppp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex-image extend-right\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,q_auto,f_auto,h_492,w_875\/v1558372713\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120614.png);\"role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Tools Fall Short\"><span class=\"u-visual-hide\">Tools Fall Short<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a data-saved-state='0' data-item-id='444535' data-type='attachment' class=\"can-save ppp-link icon icon-ppp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/download\/?url=https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372713\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120614.png\"  data-social-media=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1558372713\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120614.png\" data-social-title=\"New Work. New Rules.  (Full Story)\" href=\"#\"><b class=\"u-visual-hide\">Open image tooltip<\/b><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cover-image-companion content-well\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Tools Fall Short<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Most people have multiple personal devices but less access to technology for group work. When large-scale collaborative technology is available, the design of the space can become a barrier between people and the device, limiting their access and engagement with content on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .cover-image-companion -->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .slide -->\n\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .panel-type-slider -->\n<p>According to Barnhart-Hoffman, many organizations don\u2019t provide teams with their own \u201chome\u201d where they can \u201clive together.\u201d This is critical to build team cohesion. Teams need to be able to socialize and externalize their thinking with each other and make their work tangible and visible. They also need to be able to shift easily between individual and group tasks. Today, many have to rely on traditional conference rooms (usually a rectangular table with a display screen at the end) for group work. These spaces are not designed to support the kind of physical movement that happens in agile and co-creation work; these spaces are better suited for formal interactions, like leader-led sessions to share information. Also, since most conference rooms are shared among multiple teams, people can\u2019t leave work in progress on the walls or whiteboards to keep work flowing.<\/p>\n<p>Even when teams had a space to call their own, Steelcase researchers still saw teams struggling. \u201cThe work being performed by these teams is fluid. But their spaces aren\u2019t,\u201d explains Barnhart-Hoffman. \u201cThey need the ability to change their space and adapt it quickly to their changing tasks. They just don\u2019t have the control they need to move easily from activity to activity and can\u2019t reconfigure their space at will if their team make-up, needs or priorities change.\u201d The result, she says, \u201cis that teams lose momentum and can\u2019t keep work flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steelcase researchers also observed people struggling to find privacy \u2014 a perennial issue in open plan spaces \u2014 which is exacerbated by the pace and level of activity within the team. Individuals need places for reflection and focus in the open plan and teams need to control their visual and acoustical privacy to mitigate distractions. Without any boundaries to protect them, researchers saw how easily they were interrupted by people walking through their space and disrupting flow.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pull-quote pull-quote-center \"><p>\u201cMost offices are still predominantly designed to support individual work and a linear process. Space is usually allocated on a per-person basis, instead of a team basis. And it\u2019s almost always organized by department, versus cross-functional project work.\u201d<\/p><cite>Julie Barnhart-Hoffman<span>Principal Design Researcher, Steelcase<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<p>If the open-plan office draws the most worker ire, technology is a close second. In fact, three of the five top barriers to collaboration are related to technology, according to the Steelcase study. Team meetings frequently start with some frustrating experience involving technology, often related to sound and sight lines. Teams can\u2019t access the information they need or visually display their work. And, remote teammates often struggle to participate equally in meetings, especially when the activity requires team members to stand and move around the work.<\/p>\n<p>Another problem: The most common technology used by team members is for individual work or display, but not for co-creation or interaction. The Steelcase study found when large-scale collaborative technology is available it\u2019s more often available to executives than to the individuals who make up the teams and who do most of the collaborating. Steelcase researchers also observed the design of the space created friction between people and technology\u2014whether it was the shape of a table or a cushy chair that people didn\u2019t want to get out of\u2014 the space became a barrier to people interacting with content on the screen or at the whiteboard and resulted in disengagement.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Office Reboot <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The notion of teamwork is not new, and for most of the twentieth century teams functioned like an assembly line, focusing on areas of expertise and the division of tasks. The work was hierarchically structured and space was designed to support that hierarchy. Inspired by Frederick Taylor\u2019s \u201cThe Principles of Scientific Management,\u201d organizations stressed efficiency, dividing work into individual tasks, and designating clear boundaries between those tasks. The Taylor model made sense in its day, but, for the most part, the siloed work style it fostered ended up slowing things down, causing errors to be overlooked and opportunities to be missed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-444540\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558372882\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0117790.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Many corporate offices today still reflect this linear approach to work. With floor plans focused on individual work, the typical configuration used to include private offices around the perimeter with \u201cbullpen\u201d areas located in the center, according to Barnhart-Hoffman. To facilitate idea flow, that paradigm gave way in many organizations to open offices\u2014according to the Steelcase Global Report, 69 percent of all offices now have an open floor plan. Teams began working at benches, using conference rooms to review their progress toward milestones. But, for the most part, work in these settings was an independent pursuit, interspersed with team meetings and moments of water cooler conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Without question, the need to reboot the corporate workplace is overdue. While the processes and activities teams do today have dramatically changed, their spaces have not. Today work is more matrixed and work gets done through networks and lateral relationships. Employees who once operated in different universes must come together in interdependent, fluid teams. The spaces that best support this kind of work are designed specifically for teams, while embracing the needs of all those individuals who make them up\u2014\u201cme within we.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForget the old adage that there is no \u2018I\u2019 in team,\u201d says Moutrey. \u201cTeams are made up of individuals. We need to design for multidisciplinary teamwork in a way that also gives the individual what they need to do their best work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-444541 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558372927\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0117782.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Getting the balance between team and individual needs just right is tricky, and sometimes the first iteration of the space isn\u2019t quite right. Giving teams ways to control their environment is key to allowing them to adjust and discover what works.<\/p>\n<p>Barnhart-Hoffman worked on the agile work prototype for the Steelcase IT team and says that empowering users\u2014the people who actually occupy the spaces\u2014to reconfigure their settings within the flow of work is crucial. \u201cThere\u2019s a growing demand for user control over spaces\u2014people want to be able to adapt spaces at the pace of the project, and to give team members agency in defining how the \u2018me\u2019 and the \u2018we\u2019 need to work together at a given time,\u201d she says. \u201cGiving individuals and teams more control over their spaces also contributes to a sense of team cohesion and builds culture and trust. But right now in most leading organizations employees need to file a request with facilities and usually wait weeks or months for the changes they\u2019re asking for.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pull-quote pull-quote-center \"><p>\u201cForget the old adage that there is no \u2018I\u2019 in team. Teams are made up of individuals. We need to design for multidisciplinary teamwork in a way that also gives the individual what they need to do their best work.\u201d <\/p><cite>Gale Moutrey<span>Vice President, Workplace Innovation and Brand Communications, Steelcase<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<p>Project work moves through different phases and each phase has its own set of activities. As the type of work the team is doing changes, the team\u2019s capabilities and composition also change. \u201cIt\u2019s important that the space can evolve with the project,\u201d says Barnhart-Hoffman. \u201cTeams may have a specific deadline, but they define the scope of work. That kind of autonomy has to be mirrored in the environment. Workers can change their proximity to one another or move products around to suit the activity at hand and the way the team wants to work,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<h3>What Teams Want<\/h3>\n<p>So, what do teams expect and need from their work environments? According to Steelcase researchers, companies should consider these three things to help their teams excel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-444544\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558377273\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120618.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Build a Home for Teams<\/strong><br \/>\nThe role of team space is bigger than just supporting the work itself. It\u2019s also about the human dimension.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Space \u201cFeels Right\u201d:<\/strong> The team space should reflect and encourage the type of practices and working style of the team.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Build Trust Together:<\/strong> By building something or \u201ccooking\u201d together, teams foster a sense of identity, cohesion and trust.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Introduce Playfulness:<\/strong> Playful interactions help teams challenge concepts by inspiring new ways of thinking and testing unusual approaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-444546\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558377641\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120608.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Flex Space to Process<\/strong><br \/>\nTeams need a dynamic space that keeps up with their process and keeps them in flow.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Adaptability &amp; Immediacy:<\/strong> The space should let teams in rapid cycles reorganize in a natural, spontaneous way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Showcase the Flow:<\/strong> Teams need a place to create a \u2018stage\u2019 where content is curated and prioritized.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-444547\" src=\"https:\/\/steelcase-res.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1558377702\/www.steelcase.com\/2019\/05\/20\/19-0120611.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Empower Teams<\/strong><br \/>\nTeams need control over their environments to cope rapidly with individual preferences and project needs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>No Wait Environments:<\/strong> Changing current space and furniture should be addressed like a software request \u2014 it\u2019s what\u2019s needed to move a project forward.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tweak Space to Personal Preferences:<\/strong> Empower teams and individuals to make quick adjustments to their space on demand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shifting Role of Facilities:<\/strong> Easily adaptable neighborhoods allow facilities management to act as advisors instead of gatekeepers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe teams felt strongly that learning happens by being connected to one another, by overhearing and overseeing, which seems counter to all the negatives we hear about open offices,\u201d says Barnhart-Hoffman. \u201cThis is how we capture multiple points of view and embed learning within the process. But, this level of intense collaboration must also balance the needs of the \u2018we\u2019 with the needs of \u2018me.\u2019 People want their desk to be a \u2018me place\u2019 where they can customize their computer, monitors and keyboard to personal preferences. They want storage for personal items as well as shared team resources, like tools, snacks, etc. And they want ways to control their own privacy so they can focus and develop their own point of view. This requires an environment that can anticipate change and adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Human Advantage <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For hyper-collaborative teams it\u2019s all about the human experience. Building trust and cohesion among teammates is crucial. This requires people to work in close quarters and meet face-to-face as much as possible, and not rely too heavily on email and other tools to communicate, so they can solve problems faster. As Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan says of his company\u2019s agile workplace: \u201cWe use what we like to call high-speed voice technology\u2014we talk to each other. Face-to-face, in real time. It\u2019s amazing. The hardware was pre-installed at birth, you know\u2014vocal cords.\u201d When people are present in a space where they can get to know each other, trust each other and learn and grow together, innovation is far more likely to happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teams are under more pressure than ever, expected to untangle complex problems, deliver fantastic results and do it all faster than their competitors. Today\u2019s teams are hyper-collaborators who navigate a fluid, fast-paced flow of interdependent ideas, redefining both teamwork and me work. Their work has changed dramatically, but their workspaces? Not so much. Steelcase researchers reveal how to create spaces that give today\u2019s revolutionaries what they expect and need to excel at work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":444525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"topic":[47676],"class_list":["post-443725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","industry-workplace","topic-collaboration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Work. New Rules. (Full Story) - Steelcase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Work. New Rules. 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