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Working in teams is a necessary part of life. 

If you work in an organization, you probably work with an onsite team or a remote team. If you’re a consultant, you might be part of a project team. It’s possible in your personal life you’re part of a volunteer team. Working in teams happens all the time. And an essential activity with teams is communication. 

Teams that learn how to consistently communicate well can perform at a high level. And teams that don’t … well, they will struggle. I believe the keyword here is consistently. Even high performing teams can have communication misunderstandings. When that happens, team leaders will need to help the group. Even if the team leader doesn’t get directly involved, they might coach and support the team as they work through the disagreement. 

Here are six keys for effective communication. Keep them in mind when differences occur.

Establish trust. If a team is having a misunderstanding, it’s important to maintain trust between team members. A lack of trust could have an impact in future communications. You know, “I don’t trust them so why should I believe anything they say”. Building trust is hard and this might have to be addressed first before dealing with the actual misunderstanding. 

Provide relevant information. When trying to work through a misunderstanding, there are often two different things you’re dealing with. First, whatever the misunderstanding is about. Let’s say it’s about information presented during a meeting. Providing good data / information can help to bring clarity. The second thing is why the misunderstanding happened. Was it the way the information was presented? Did someone feel disrespected? Both issues must be addressed.  

Listen with empathy. Sometimes the reason for a team misunderstanding is hurt feelings. Depending on who is involved in the misunderstanding, the team members involved should listen with empathy in communication with colleagues. For instance, if a team member felt embarrassed by something said during a meeting, chances are the other team members would not want to feel the same way. Therefore, this should be discussed. 

Acknowledge the other person’s point of view. A step in building trust and moving past misunderstandings is acknowledging the other person and their feelings. Simply dismissing the other person’s views doesn’t show value for the person. I know that we’re in a very social and politically charged environment right now. It’s important to remember that we can validate a person’s emotions without agreeing with them or sharing their beliefs. 

Provide feedback. There could be times during a misunderstanding when one person has to provide feedback to someone. Maybe there was a public confrontation during a meeting, and it needs to be addressed along with some feedback on how to handle such situations in the future. Remember that feedback should be specific, well-timed, and respectful of the individuals involved. 

Demonstrate understanding. Paraphrase is a communication skill that allows others to know you understand the message. It can also be helpful in reducing future misunderstandings. Paraphrase is not the same as what I call “parroting”, which is just repeating what the other person said. Paraphrase is when you repeat the message using your own words. Use paraphrase to confirm that you understand what’s being said. 

Whether you’re a team member dealing with a disagreement or a team leader coaching someone who is involved in a misunderstanding, these six keys to effective communication can provide reminders about how to work through those conversations and move forward.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of New York, NY
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30/03/2025 – 12:02 /Sharlyn Lauby
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