Three BIG ways to build better rapport within your team

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Three BIG ways to build better rapport within your team

How asking open-ended questions will help your team perform better
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Hi there

Have you ever been in a post-race debrief and walked away thinking “my driver/engineer just didn’t get what I was trying to say there, at all”?

Have you ever been in a team meeting and walked away wondering if anyone actually understood each other? ie Was there any point to this meeting at all?

Well, having people understand each other better is often down to having decent rapport in place. Rapport exists when people feel they’ve a good working relationship with others.

Here are three big ways to build rapport in your race team:

1st Way

Stop asking so many closed questions

A closed question is one that can only be answered with a yes or a no. “Did that rear bar change reduce the exit traction problem?” is a closed question. The answer to it is not going to hold much value for you. You may be better off when you know the answer, but not by very much. If you have the time available, there are much better ways of asking questions to glean information from team members.

2nd Way

Ask open-ended questions

An open-ended question begins with one of only five words, ‘how, what, why, when, where?’

“Since we made the rear bar change, how was the traction on exit?” is a much better way of asking the question we asked earlier. The potential answers will tell you much more about the latest handling of the car.

Extra tip 1 – Sometimes, replacing ‘why?’ with ‘tell me why?’ is a softer and more effective way of keeping rapport.

Extra tip 2 – In the open question above about the rear bar change, we’ve used a simple but powerful technique called pre-framing, to open up the relevant files in the mind of the person answering the question. More on this another time!


3rd Way

Seek to understand, before trying to be understood

Don’t try and mind-read. Unless it’s a burning issue of safety or you’re dealing with a youngster who’s still learning, take the small amount of time to understand the other point of view before you go steaming in with yours. I know it’s racing and time is precious, but you’ll actually save time in the long run.


* The Mindset for Racing Finish Line *

With rapport, you can say anything and it still have some meaning. You already know this. Just look around under any race awning and see the team members, all of whom know each other really well, taking the mickey, having a laugh and still (for the most part!) getting a quality job done.

Building rapport is key to communication and communication is key to the performance of a race team. Will you take action and create better rapport in your team? Almost everyone will say “we do all the above already” but I bet, when push comes to shove, you don’t do it enough.

You know what the top guys do and what you should be doing, don’t you?

Enjoy your racing and never give up.

Regards

Mike

Mike Garth
Helping karters, racing drivers and motorcycle racers perform better
+44 (0) 7737 655 912
www.sun1400.com
Sun1400: Sunday 2pm - Ready to race?


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