Spend time on a regular basis connecting with each other without talking about work.

Acknowledge and embrace that everyone, regardless of gender, has emotions that influence their thoughts and decisions.

Acknowledge or express appreciation to each other frequently.

• CAUTION: Appreciation should be an everyday activity, not just at retrospectives and group meetings. Ideally, every interaction should start with appreciation for the other person. 

• WARNING: Because of our brain biology, appreciation is not easy; it’s a lot easier to see what’s wrong with what another team member said or did; but beginning conversations with problems often creates more problems. 

Beware of making assumptions and ask clarifying or confirming questions to ensure that what you think is happening is actually happening.

• CAUTION: If the other person says that your understanding is wrong, slow down and listen; they may be wrong but they may also be right. 

Avoid dismissing others’ contributions and build on what has already been contributed.

• TIP: Address one piece of feedback at a time; avoid chaining multiple points of feedback together (e.g. “...and another thing…”).