Nurturing Connections: The Similarities Between Caregiving and Team Collaboration
We’re all caregivers in one area or another in life – whether you care for a person, an animal or a group. Despite this, the conversation around caregiving in the workplace almost always centers around things like maternity leave, and maybe mental health support, if your workplace is really staff-focused. But truly great workplaces have caregiving built right into their bones. That’s right, this “soft skill” is actually key to team collaboration – and we can pull lessons from one realm of caregiving into the other.
Here’s 6 Ways Great Teams Incorporate Caregiving for Better Collaboration:
Building Trust and Communication
Just like a household thrives on trust and open communication, a team also needs these elements to function effectively. As a caregiver, you learn to understand and respond to needs, just as you would with team members to ensure everyone feels heard and valued. At PointNorth, we make it a point to communicate openly and compassionately with each other, and I’m so grateful for that.
Nurturing Growth and Development
Caregiving involves guiding development and supporting growth, much like how you mentor and develop team members’ skills. Both require patience, encouragement, and recognizing each individual’s unique strengths and areas for improvement. I can remember being so scared for my first performance review at PointNorth, but after learning that these opportunities aren’t meant to be “gotcha” moments and truly focused on growth, I felt so relieved and supported.
Time Management and Prioritization
Work requires time management and prioritization to juggle various responsibilities, such as managing deadlines, meetings, and tasks within a team. When you’re acting as a caregiver, you may have a day where your childcare falls through, your dog or cat needs to go to the emergency vet or someone in your life needs you in an urgent way – prioritizing them is important and there’s been numerous times while at PointNorth that I’ve felt seen and told to take care of my family.
Providing Support and Encouragement
Just as a caregiver offers emotional support and encouragement, a team leader provides support and motivation to colleagues, helping them navigate challenges and stay engaged and productive. This has been a huge one for me in the last nine months. Team members have stepped up to help me in ways I never expected. From unloading things from my car, to assisting with kitchen restocking and taking on other various tasks, seeing how much people at PointNorth are willing to step up for a person in need is really amazing to witness.
Creating a Safe and Inclusive Environment
A nurturing home environment where someone feels safe and included is essential for their well-being. Similarly, PointNorth fosters safety, inclusivity, and respect by leaving space for us to share the thoughts and experiences that shape us. Knowing what’s feeding into the way we think, act and process information allows team members to thrive and contribute their best work.
Acknowledging Wins and Showing Appreciation
Working in a fast paced environment at a small and scrappy firm, sometimes it’s hard to stop and smell the roses. At home when the to-do list feels infinite and there’s laundry and dishes as far as the eye can see, it’s easy to feel defeated. Working with folks who lift you up and living in a home where teamwork is a part of daily life, this makes doing both jobs so much easier.
How Can You Incorporate Caregiving?
Decades of research have confirmed what we all know intuitively: the better you care for the people around you, the better work you can all do together. So, how can you incorporate caregiving into your collaboration?
