Nurturing Natural Intelligence For A Positive And Productive Team Environment

Strike the right balance between AI and NI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now the zeitgeist of our lives – both personally and professionally. Let's face it, for better or worse, AI is the new cool kid on the block. Everyone wants to hang out with it, use it, and show off their fancy tools and their successes.

But while companies are busy swiping right on AI, they seem to be ghosting a critical component of success in the workplace: Natural Intelligence (NI). Natural intelligence is important in team engagement for several reasons – notably in its ability to promote trust, resolve conflict, and improve communication.

Here are a few ways in which natural intelligence can contribute to a positive and productive team environment:

1. Building trust: Natural intelligence helps team members understand and connect with each other on an emotional level. This can help build trust and rapport, which is crucial for effective collaboration, leading to better engagement. Building trust is like hiking up a mountain - it's a journey, and you need to pack the right gear. Just like how you wouldn't climb a mountain in flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt, you can't build trust without the right tools. Building trust is a journey and things such as timely recognition, honest and transparent communications, etc. will help.

2. Improving communication: Effective communication is essential for successful team engagement, and NI can help team members communicate more effectively. By understanding the context, content, and emotions of others, team members can avoid misunderstandings. This is key to strong team engagement. Clear and constructive communication is like a unicorn - we all know it exists, but it's rare and elusive. But fear not, we can increase our chances of finding it by using different modes of communication. Some people prefer to text, while others prefer to send an email or jump on a video call. It's like ordering pizza - some people like thin crust, while others prefer a deep dish. So, provide teams with a communication buffet and let everyone choose their own preferred mode. Regarding communication and pizza, there's no such thing as one size fits all.

3. Resolving conflict: Teams are like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. You could bite into a sweet, creamy center or end up with a bitter, nutty surprise. And just like how different chocolates have different flavors, team members have different personalities and perspectives, which can sometimes cause conflicts. Natural intelligence can help team members manage and resolve conflicts like a master chocolatier - turning bitter battles into sweet victories. Constructive conflict resolution also leads to better engagement among teams. Tools that allow video, audio, chat and rich emoticons can go a long way. Just like how a well-timed trick play can catch the opposing team off-guard, using emojis and GIFs can lighten the mood and help diffuse tension. Active listening techniques like nodding or repeating back what the other person said show that one is engaged and listening. 

Motivation and morale are critical factors in team engagement and productivity. Natural intelligence enables team members to understand and empathize with each other's feelings and motivations. This heightened emotional awareness can help team members provide vital support, recognition, and encouragement to one another, which has been proven to boost engagement and improve motivation and morale within the team.

Tools that allow instant recognition and celebration of team's accomplishments, milestones, etc. will also help in improving motivation. Just like how a touchdown celebration can get the whole stadium hyped, using tools for instant recognition and celebration can boost morale within the team.

AI may be smart, but NI is where the real MVPs shine. Successful organizations know this, and that's why they're harvesting the power of natural intelligence while keeping AI in the game. And just like how a star athlete needs a combination of training techniques to stay on top of their game, developing natural intelligence involves rewards, boosting self-esteem, empathy, and a whole playbook of techniques.

Overall, NI plays a pivotal and indispensable role in team engagement, as it promotes a range of critical factors including trust, conflict resolution, motivation, and effective communication. This leads to greater engagement with improved collaboration, enhanced creativity, and innovation, all of which contribute to greater productivity and success. 

Boosting natural intelligence is no piece of cake, but it's not rocket science either. Here are a few steps that can set organizations in the right direction:
 

Modern engagement platforms with a panoply of features offer an easier way to promote both NI and AI into daily work lives. By utilizing these platforms, organizations can significantly boost their team engagement, thereby greatly improving their productivity and retention.

Vivek Nigam is the CEO and Satish G is the CTO at BeRemote