Working in a Team Environment

The feeling you get when you walk into a space with other people, and with a team, is an element of team culture. Team culture is the standards, behaviours, values and beliefs (often unwritten) by which the team operate. The team culture can be positive or negative or can be inclusive or can cause exclusion.

Have you ever heard the term ‘clicky’ when discussing a group of people who typically do not welcome other or new people into their group? This can also happen in an ECEC service environment.

Watch the following videos to learn more about team culture:

“Locating yourself – a key to conscious leadership” by The Conscious Leadership Group. When watching this 3-minutes video, place yourself as a leader (even if you do not have a leadership role):

“Pseudo Vs Authentic Teams” by The Conscious Leadership Group: This 3-minutes video will help you understand the different teams you may meet in the workplace:

Gossip and bullying within the team

The ECEC sector is a people-focused and relationship-based sector and therefore on occasion it can cause some clashes or issues within teams. Gossip can cause damage within teams and can be devastating to individuals who feel they are being bullied.

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that they do not engage in bullying or gossip behaviour. Remember you can refer to the ECA Code of Ethics as well as workplace policies.

Instances of gossip and bullying need to be identified to ensure necessary changes are made to improve the culture. As an educator, you can contribute to this in a significant way by simply choosing to practice gratitude and being kind to others.

Watch the following 3-minutes video by The Conscious Leadership Group titled “Are you willing to end gossip?” to understand what gossip is, the detrimental effects it may have and how to avoid this behaviour.:

Read the following about team culture in the workplace to understand workplace cultures and how to build a positive and efficient team culture within your workplace.

You will spend approximately 33.9% of your waking life at work with your work colleagues and leaders! Why not make it a positive experience?

* Calculations consider 8 hours of sleep and 38-hour workweek

Teamwork

Working together as a team with children in the forefront of our thinking is important in the ECEC sector. When we put children first, it ensures we keep our focus on a positive solution to any differences of opinion because you can simply ask ‘what is best for the children?’

Some strategies to ensure the team works effectively, like cogs in a well-oiled machine include:

• Communicate clearly
• Determine roles and responsibilities
• Celebrate each other’s success
• Be kind and appreciative
• Be supportive
• Know your role and be accountable
• Put children first
• Share your ideas and listen to other people’s ideas
• Have fun together (in a professional way)

Professional dialogue

When working in an early childhood education and care sector team, it is important and valuable to engage in regular planned and unplanned discussion, dialogue and sharing feedback and ideas. Services often have planned opportunities for educators to engage with each other to discuss things relevant to their role and support decision making and quality improvements such as staff meetings and mentoring meetings.

Why is professional dialogue and reflective practice important?

Because it keeps us moving forward, improving and stops us from getting ‘in a rut’.

A great way to engage in professional dialogue and to reflect with an open mind is to explore issues and ideas with the Traffic Light Reflection routine. People can offer their ideas and listen to each other whilst considering a range of options and possibilities.

You can read more about the Traffic Light Reflection routine.

Download and read the following article by researchers Kym M. Simoncini, Michelle Lasen and Sharn Rocco titled “Professional dialogue, reflective practice and teacher research”. The article analyses the importance of reflection and professional dialogues in the process of continuous improvement.

Having strong communication skills is very important in early childhood. Recognising how best to communicate in a particular situation can make a difference in the outcome of the communication.

Being able to communication to other Educators, families and parents, management and the children is a vital part of your role as an Educator. The communication you have with management will be different to how you chat to parents and inform them of their child’s day. The communication you have with the children will be different from how you work as a team and communication with the other Educators working alongside you.

You will be required to communication both verbally and in written form.

• Communication with other Educators – written and verbal. Examples would include daily discussions about the children, written communication about shift changes, collaboration in staff meetings.
• Communication to parents/families – written and verbal. Examples would include telling families how their child went at the end of the day, written communication about individual children’s development and daily diary information about each day for parents and families
• Communication to Management – written and verbal. Examples would include communicating verbally to your Manager/Director about the daily happenings at the service or written communication in the form of appraisals/staff meeting follow ups.

Watch the following 3-minutes video by Project Management Videos titled “7 secrets for effective team communication” to learn some useful strategies of effective communication within the team:

Developing strong communication skills can support you in many areas such as ideas sharing, giving and receiving feedback and conflict resolution. It is important to have a diverse range of communication techniques in your repertoire.

Example

Communication skills required for conflict resolution are different than the communication skills required for a planning session with colleagues.

Body language is important in the ECEC sector, in particular between colleagues. Children can sense when staff do not get along or are demonstrating uncomfortable body language. We should all be aware of the impact that body language has on our colleagues.

Watch the following 2-minutes video by Business Insider titled “How to read body language” to learn more about body language:

Example

Imagine for a moment that you have two work colleagues in your team.

The first colleague arrives at 9:00 a.m. and walks in with a smile on their face, greets everyone and has a spring in their step. They offer to help and ask how the morning has been. This would have a wonderful impact on your workday.

The second educator arrives at 10:00 a.m. and is very grumpy, they use a gruff voice and often speak under their voice when you ask them to do something. They raise their voice at the children and complain openly about the jobs they must do. They rarely smile or ask anything about you, and they seem more focused on themselves than they are on the children. How does this impact the day?

As an educator, it could be you who positively impacts other people’s day with your body language, communication skills and overall energy.

Like the children, we display cues about how we feel and what we are thinking. These cues can be both verbal and non-verbal.

Cues we might display at work

Non-verbal cues

• Body language
• Stance
• Eye-contact

Verbal cues

• Tone of voice
• Type of language used
• Who you say certain things to
• Clarity of meaning

Active listening skills

Active listening is something that you can practice as a professional. It is important in the ECEC sector to be an active listener. You can practice active listening by reflecting on each conversation you have with colleagues and ask yourself the following question: Was I present when they were speaking?

Next time you are talking to someone, try to catch the thought you are having and put it aside. When they have finished speaking, you can then contribute that thought to what they have said. Then, you become an effective part of the conversation.

Watch the following 3-minutes video by Kate Ewing titled “How to Practice Active Listening” to learn how to become a better listener:

When we are not actively listening, people can feel like we are shouting our ideas, advice, feedback or opinions at them.

Have you ever heard someone repeat your words as you say them or had someone jump in on your point and tell you that you were wrong when you have not finished talking? This can cause issues in teams and contribute to a negative culture.

Considering perspectives before providing and receiving feedback

Each person in the team plays an important role in giving and receiving feedback and it is important to recognise first the perspective you hold prior to giving feedback. All too often, we jump in with an accusation or feedback such as ‘if you do it this way it’s better’, however there are many ways to enhance the result of giving feedback such as asking questions. For example, a question such as ‘I’m curious about why you do it that way?’ allows the person to respond without feeling blamed or they need to defend themselves.

Before you give someone feedback, pause and consider if you are blaming them. If you are, consider how you can shift tact and instead be curious about why they did what they did.

Watch the following 3-minutes video titled “Brene Brown on Blame” by RSA on why we blame others and how it can sabotage relationships:

Watch the following 3-minutes video titled “Brene Brown BRAVING” by Hot Pursuit Nation to learn more about trust and reliability as key factors in human interactions:

Be brave and decide to discuss the issues that come up when they happen. Do not push issues under the carpet. There is a saying:

‘If you put the fish under the carpet it will rot, but if you put the fish on the table, you will all share dinner.’

There are many opportunities to seek and share feedback with colleagues and leaders. Sometimes you might engage in a review process with your manger where they will ask you for feedback about their leadership or you might be asked to provide formal feedback about a colleague in a 360 degree review. (A 360 review is a performance evaluation tool that solicits feedback about an employee from all directions: their managers, co-workers, and direct reports.)

Example

You can share feedback and engage in discussions:

• During the day whilst working together
• Via written communication
• In reflective discussions
• During meetings
• In your appraisal

Watch the following videos about giving feedback and the importance of doing so:

“How to give actionable feedback” by Impraise:

Communicating effectively and clearly

Being clear in communication, both orally and in writing, is crucial in a team environment. One way to ensure your communication is clear is to clarify with the other person if they understood what you said and meant.

For example, if you are about to leave the room and let the other educators know, but you see that no one looked up or acknowledged you, you would repeat what you said and check they heard you. You might say their name and wait for their attention before you say ‘I’m just going to drop this in the laundry. I’ll be back in a moment, are you okay here for a minute?’ Then, wait for your colleague to say ‘yes’.

Asking open and closed questions is important too in clarifying meaning when speaking with the team.

Example

Closed Question:

If you wanted to swap shifts with someone and the Director asked you to check with them, you would ask them nicely as such: Are you okay to work 9:00 a.m. tomorrow and I’ll work the 10:00 a.m. shift

The value of this being a closed question, is that it only has one option – the answer would be either yes or no. If they said they could do 9:30 a.m. that would not work because ratios are being impacted

Open Question:

You might ask the team: What would you like to play in the yard next week?

The value of this being open is that everyone can contribute their opinions.

Follow the lines of communication when there is an issue to ensure that it is resolved effectively. All services have a grievance procedure for managing conflict and disagreements.

What is a line of communication? It’s very similar to the organisational hierarchy.

When it comes to grievances and lines of communication, there may be requirements to put some things in writing.

Example

If you are making a formal complaint about someone you work with after following the grievance procedure of discussing the issue with them, then you may be asked to put your complaint in writing and signing the document.

When there is a grievance, one thing to remember is to never share this information with people who are not involved or part of the grievance procedure. Especially not sharing your grievances with families or on social media. It is important to remain professional at all times and follow procedures.

Go to Little.ly Early Learning Centre’s website, log in to the Educator Hub and review ML3 – Grievances and complaints Policy/procedure on how to proceed in case of a grievance. What should have Sian done before talking to the Director? How should the Director respond based on the policy?

TIP: Sian should have initiated a professional discussion with Yindi outside work duties to avoid impacting the ratio within the room. This professional discussion could have contributed to talk about issues from both parties’ point of view and find a mutually acceptable solution. If they are unable to find a solution and continue working in a professional manner, they can then initiate a meeting with the Director to seek guidance. Sian may also send her complaint to the Director in writing. The Director, according to the Grievance policy, should review the circumstances, discuss grievance with all relevant parties, give an opportunity to respond and provide mediation between Sian and Yindi if required to discuss solutions.

Early childhood education and care is a profession and requires educators to present as such. Some of the ways you can ensure that you present as a professional include:

• Dressing appropriately
• Speak in a professional manner using appropriate language
• Greet everyone who arrives at your service (remember customer service)
• Smile and remember body language and facial expressions
• Follow the service standards around presentation, uniform, body art etc
• Pull your hair back to ensure food safety standards are maintained
• Keep your nails short
• Consider the message your make-up sends to children

When considering how to dress appropriately, educators can consider the duties involved in the role.

Example

You will need to be active during the day, you will be outside during the day, and you will need to be able to present in a professional manner.

‘Children see, children do’

Imitation is a crucial aspect of skill development, because it allows us to learn new things quickly and efficiently by watching those around us. Most children learn everything from gross motor movements, to speech, to interactive play skills by watching parents, caregivers, siblings, and peers perform these behaviours. Therefore, as an educator, you need to be mindful of your own behaviour whenever you are working with children. Lead by example! Make your influence positive!

This 1-minute short video demonstrates how children copy adults’ negative and positive behaviour.

WARNING: The video may contain unsettling images.

Be responsible for your own wellbeing

We all need to ensure we take care of ourselves and maintain our health and wellbeing. As educators, you can be in a physical and emotionally challenging role on occasions. Ensuring you focus on your wellbeing is an important part of being an educator.

Part of our role as educators is to provide children with education and support around physical, mental, social and emotional health and that is why it is an important consideration for our own practice. To inspire children’s engagement with their own wellbeing and health, we have to demonstrate this ourselves.

According to Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Adults (18-64 years) we should:

‘’Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderately intense physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorously intense physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week. Perform muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.’’

Taken from: Health.gov.au (2019). Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines and the Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.

The great part about being an educator, is that you can be physically active throughout the day.

Example

• Climbing with children on the equipment
• Having running races
• Doing yoga
• Dancing

To support your emotional wellbeing there are many ways you can do this. Some examples include:

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Journaling
• Being in nature
• Exercising
• Spending time with friends
• Emotional Freedom Technique Tapping
• Practising forgiveness and much more

One great way to support your well-being is to practise gratitude.

Watch the following 2-minutes video by Tremendousness titled “The science of gratitude” to learn about “attitude of gratitude”:

Use the following questions to check your knowledge. You can check the correct answer by clicking on the 'Answer' button:

Q1: Identify THREE things that can influence team culture. 

Q2: Explain why collaboration is important. 

Q3: Identify FOUR strategies educators can use to communicate effectively. 

Q4: Explain why health and wellbeing are important.