The Feng Shui of Team Building:

I hate to sound “new age.”  I mean, I really hate it.  Touchy-feely is fine in many contexts, but seems tragically out of place in the competitive world of business.

Except…Sometimes we get good advice where we least expect it.

“Feng Shui” has come, these days, to mean the way we arrange our living space to achieve harmonious balance. To its original practitioners, it was even more than that; encompassing not just the objects in your living environment, but, more broadly, WHERE you lived and where you planted your crops.  In the art and science of team building, where you meet and how you arrange that workspace, will help determine your productivity and success.

Meet offsite or onsite?  In the plant or at headquarters?  Schedule the same meeting space every time, or change things up?  Where you go has an impact on the mind-set and character of your meetings.  For example, meeting at the plant has the advantage, obviously, of being close to the action.  Team members in the production end don’t have to travel and are in a familiar environment.  On the other hand, meeting in the plant and away from the corporate HQ could mean misunderstandings that make it more difficult to gain approval for key decisions or delays getting specialized input (from the Exec. or Legal departments, for example).

Some meeting facilitators will schedule sessions at a “neutral” site; away from company property altogether.  This option, though it makes interacting with senior management, or production staff, problematic, offers the advantage of emphasizing the importance of the team’s work.  Away from the work environment, many people feel less territorial pressure and are therefore more able to think “outside the box.”  It places them in an ivory tower and can foster innovation.

Choosing the place is only half the battle.  Arranging the meeting room itself can make or break a meeting environment.

Sometimes the little things, which seem so obvious when emphasized, escape us entirely when our mind focuses only on agenda.  It may seem elementary to note here that a rectangular table arrangement will give authority to whoever sits at the “head.”  Or that a round table will foster interaction by creating the impression that, like the Knights of King Arthur’s court, all on the team are equally valued and that all input is important.  Personally, I almost always use a round table if possible, even in team environments with a clear chain of command.  If a round table is unavailable, a perfect square (or as nearly as possible) works almost as well.

Now and then, some specialized seating arrangements are required.  If a particular meeting will focus on a speaker, a rectangular table arrangement works well.  If team members are to receive specific technical instruction, a “classroom” arrangement, with tables in rows facing the podium or viewing screen is best.  When the group is to break up into smaller sub-groups, offering each sub-group it’s own table (or even small room) adds emphasis to each assigned task.

I’d like to say that any of this is new, or original.  But, it isn’t.  It is, however, important.  The key here, as always, is finding better ways to get the job done; and productivity can be influenced, positively or negatively, in a variety of ways.  If a little Feng Shui can grease the wheels of progress, then I’m all for it.