Re:Where we're going, we don't need headphones
by wpietri on Monday June 19, 2017 @09:45AM
(#14586857)
Could the difference here be that you're in environment where team boundaries are poorly drawn? To me, a team is a group of people who are playing the same game, who win and lose together.
Often I see "team" mean to use something much hazier, like "group of people with same skills" (e.g., design team) or "group of people in the same office". But I mean it more like "basketball team" or "soccer team".
In that environment, there is no team conversation that isn't pertinent, because we're all working to the same goal, and we're all jointly responsible for the same outcome.
That isn't to say that team members shouldn't work to be respectful. E.g., a team conversation over by the whiteboard is easier to let pass by than one where people are standing right behind me. But if we're on the same team, their problems are (eventually) my problems. I'd rather know sooner than later.
While I'm not good at tuning out any kind of noise, I'd say I'm pretty much the opposite, in that an argument about football or (building) architecture is easier to work through than a "team" conversation that I'm reasonably sure isn't pertinent but contains enough relevant keywords to keep pinging me for attention. My point is that distraction is such a personal thing that the only way to mitigate it is to give individuals a fair bit of control over their environments.
Yes, IM can be a horrible distraction too. If you've got a question that needs some thought from everyone -- as opposed to chatter or ephemeral questions -- then truly asynchronous communication (yes, e-mail...) is probably a better bet.