Workshop Title

"Strengthening Mutual Support in Remote Teams"

Problem

Team members don’t help each other out.

Objective

Reduce micromanagement by building trust, clarifying expectations, and improving communication between team members and leaders.

Benefits

• Stronger culture of collaboration and trust
• Less stress from working in isolation
• Faster problem-solving when challenges arise
• More willingness to ask for and offer support
• Better team resilience in remote environments

Materials Needed

• 60 mins
• Virtual meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, etc.)
• Collaborative document (Google Docs, Miro, MURAL, etc.)
• Polling or chat function for quick engagement
• Breakout room feature for small-group discussions

Process

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Facilitator welcomes participants and introduces the topic:
  “Today, we’ll explore how to strengthen mutual support in virtual teams and create a culture where everyone helps each other succeed.”
• Poll question: “On a scale of 1-5, how supported do you feel by your team members?” (Share anonymous results.)
• Discuss common challenges in virtual teams that reduce support, such as:
  • People working in silos and not knowing who needs help
  • Unclear expectations about when or how to ask for support
  • Fear of being seen as weak or bothering others

2. The Support Challenge (15 minutes)

Exercise: Who Would You Ask?

• Breakout rooms (3-4 people per group).
• Each group is given three scenarios and must decide who they would ask for help (or if they would ask at all):
  1. You’re behind on a deadline and need an extra set of hands.
  2. You’re struggling to understand a new process or tool.
  3. You have too much work, but you don’t want to seem like you can’t handle it.
• Groups discuss:
  • Would they ask for help? Why or why not?
  • What would make it easier to ask for support?
  • How does the team’s culture influence this decision?
• Groups return and share key insights.

3. Key Strategies for Encouraging Mutual Support (15 minutes)

• Facilitator introduces three key strategies to build a culture of support:
  1. Normalise asking for help – Make it clear that seeking support is a strength, not a weakness.
  2. Offer before it’s needed – Check in proactively instead of waiting until a crisis.
  3. Create structured support channels – Use shared documents, buddy systems, or scheduled check-ins to encourage collaboration.
• Chat question: “What’s one small thing a teammate has done that made you feel supported?”
• Participants share answers, and facilitator highlights themes like recognition, proactive offers, and quick responses.

4. Practical Application: Support in Action (15 minutes)

Exercise: How Would You Respond?

• Participants write down a real moment when they could have asked for support but didn’t.
• They swap examples (or facilitator selects a few).
• Others suggest how they would respond if they were on the receiving end of the request for help.
• Example transformations:
  • ❌ “I didn’t want to ask for help because everyone seemed busy.”
  • ✅ “I should have reached out to see if someone had even 10 minutes to assist.”
• Share responses and discuss how small changes in behaviour make a team more supportive.

5. Action Plan and Close (5 minutes)

• Each participant commits to one action they’ll take to offer or request support in the next week.
• Facilitator summarises key takeaways.
• Final poll: “How confident do you feel about fostering a culture of mutual support in your virtual team?”