You often hear people bandy about the terms “climate” and “culture” as if they mean the same thing.
They don’t.
Culture is the deeply rooted set of values that manifest into every aspect of the organization’s character. Culture doesn’t change quickly. Climate, on the other hand, is a snapshot of the team experience at any given time.
Climate changes like the weather.
Swedish researcher Göran Ekvall identified ten dimensions that affect team climate. Nine make it better. One makes it worse. Unlike culture, where a team leader can hardly make a dent, climate is a place where team members can have a big impact. Look at the ten dimensions. Where are your team’s strongest? What needed the most attention? What actions can take to improve things?
According to Ekvall, leaders are responsible for up to 67 percent of the team climate, but every team member has the power to change what’s happening. So read carefully.
Ten Dimensions that Affect Team Climate
- Challenge and Involvement: People find the work challenging— hard but doable. They are involved in helping shape the daily operations and long-term goals of the organization. People find joy and meaning in their work.
- Dynamism and Liveliness: The atmosphere is filled with positive energy. Work is dynamic, and people are energized by new events, novel approaches, and different ways of thinking.
- Playfulness and Humor: People are at ease. Conversations are peppered with humor, laughter, and spontaneity.
- Freedom: People have some autonomy over how their work gets done. With more discretion over their day-to-day activities, they take initiative to acquire and share information.
- Risk-Taking: People move forward in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity. They can put their big ideas forward and undertake bold initiatives even when the outcome is unknown.
- Idea Time: People have time to think creatively—to test hunches or hypotheses and elaborate on new ideas, even those that are out- side the original task or plan.
- Idea Support: New ideas are treated with curiosity and interest. Management listens to proposals. Coworkers try out new ideas in a constructive atmosphere.
- Trust and Openness: People feel safe at work and in their work relationships. Communication is open and straightforward. Initiatives go forward without fear of ridicule or reprisal in case of failure.
- Debate: People actively put forward different views, ideas, experience, and knowledge. Many voices are heard. People challenge assumptions, opinions, ideas, and the status quo.
While the first nine dimensions support a productive climate, the tenth one destroys it.
- Conflict: This is when emotional tensions are palpable. Individuals or groups dislike or hate one another. The atmosphere is one of war- fare. Plotting, trapping, gossiping, and backstabbing are common.
Did you notice that “debate” and “conflict” are on opposite sides of the list? Ekvall found that debate is an asset. Conflict is a liability. Debate happens when you fight over an idea or issue. The goal is to achieve a better solution. Debate can get passionate, but afterwards, you go out for pizza. In conflict, the fight gets personal. People attack each other’s identity, not just their ideas. Conflict hurts. Afterwards, you don’t want to go out for pizza. You want to go out for revenge.
It’s encouraging to know that a team can turn things around by attending to the right things.
“A team climate is going to happen whether you attend to it or not,” says creativity and innovation expert Marysia Czarski. “So be mindful of it, be alert, be present, and then generate it.” When Marysia works with teams, she uses Ekvall’s insights to help leaders identify their team’s strengths and zero in on a few climate dimensions they could improve.
She asks teams to do a quick sort.
- Which dimensions are strong for you and your team?
- Which ones really need attention?
Choose one of the dimensions that really needs attention and, with your team, come up with some simple, often no-cost or low- cost, things you could do to improve on that dimension.
Here’s to sunny weather.
This article is an excerpt from Good Team, Bad Team, by Sarah Thurber and Blair Miller, PhD.
