As a Microsoft Teams user, you are probably familiar with the basic concepts and benefits collaboration provides to your organization. But you may not be aware of some less utilized features of Teams that can increase your employees’ productivity and save you time and money. Below are ten of the most underused Microsoft Teams applications.
#1. Utilizing Teams as your phone system
The days of employees being tethered to their office desks are over. Traditional landline-based phone systems are expensive, clunky, and unproductive in a world of remote or hybrid work environments. But did you know that the Microsoft Teams applications that you already have on your computer and your mobile phone can now be where you receive all of your work calls? With clear audio and video, mobile and desktop capabilities, security and compliance features, scalability, easy installation and use, and compatibility with your email and CRM software, Microsoft Teams provides the ideal phone solution for your business. All you need to get started is an internet connection and your device—it’s that easy. Connect, collaborate, and simplify work in a secure and compliant way, all in one virtual phone system. You can even customize Teams to meet your business’ needs with features like voicemail transcription, group call pickup, and shared line appearance.
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#2. Including external people in your Team
Microsoft Teams isn’t just for internal employees. You can add partners, vendors, and customers as part of your Microsoft Team. External team members can interact with internal team members in the same way that internal team members interact with each other. Teams uses Azure Active Directory to control guest access. A guest can be given nearly all of the same capabilities as internal members—they can chat, call, meet, and collaborate on files.
#3. External chat
Microsoft Teams also enables you to utilize the chat feature with external partners, vendors, or customers—even if they have not been added as a guest of Microsoft Teams. This capability enables you to have easy communication with an external party without giving them access to all of a team’s communications and documents.
#4. Integrating with Office 365 applications and cloud solutions
You probably know that Teams is integrated with Microsoft applications such as Planner, Excel, Windows Notebook, and many more. But did you know that Microsoft Teams is also integrated with more than 600 non-Microsoft cloud solutions. The list is too long for this blog, but here is a short list of examples: Zoom, WebEx, Slack, Jira, Adobe Creative Cloud, Salesforce, Confluence, Polly, Lucid Chart, Hive, Mural, Woobot, Kiwi, GitHub, Guru, and many more.
#5. Direct call to video conferences
Have you ever needed to join a video conference, but were stuck in your car or needed the ability to move around? Microsoft Teams provides two ways for you to have an audio connection to a Teams video conference. The first option, included out-of-the-box, is for when you have joined the call on your computer, but your audio isn’t working, or you just want the option to move around. You can click on the three dots on the top right of your Teams call and choose the option to have Teams call you. The other option is to purchase an additional license called the Audio Conference app. This option gives users a phone number to dial into a Teams video call—like the old conference calling services. This option is ideal when you can’t join the video but would like to participate through audio only.
#6. Email to Teams
Every channel inside of a Microsoft Team can be email-enabled. Through an email address assigned to the channel, you can copy company notifications or important messages that you send to Team members into the Teams channel. The information is sent right into the channel, just like a chat communication.
#7. External channel connectors
Many Microsoft Teams users are unaware that they can utilize connectors to connect their channel with the outside world. Doing so enables your Team to stay current by delivering frequently used content and service updates directly into a channel. For example, if you wanted to bring customer feedback into a Teams channel, you could enable a web hook to pull that content into the channel via a survey platform. Every time a customer submits feedback via the platform, the web hook pulls the content into the channel. In addition to the many available connectors, you can also build custom connectors, as well as incoming and outgoing webhooks.
#8. Forward slash search
Did you know that you can access a list of textual commands in Teams? Simply go to the Teams application and enter a forward slash into the search bar at the top. A list of textual commands is displayed. For those who like command lines, this feature can save you time.
#9. Mobile voice assistant integration
Have you ever been driving and needed to join a Teams meeting but didn’t want to fumble with your phone? With the Microsoft Teams mobile app, you can tell Microsoft Cortana to join your next meeting. The application will go to the Teams meeting on your calendar and automatically start dialing it. The Teams app can also be used with voice assistants for iPhone and Android.
#10. Customize your Teams status
Teams automatically sets your status as Available, In a Meeting, Do Not Disturb, Away, and Be Right Back. But did you know that you can add a more detailed description to your status? The message could say with whom you are meeting, why you are out of the office, when you will return to the office, or whatever information you would like others to know.
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At Logic Speak, our core values shape how we lead, how we work, and how we serve our clients. They’re not words on a wall, they’re filters for decisions and expectations for how we show up every day.
But here’s something we’ve learned the hard way: even good values have a shadow side.
Values, when taken too far or applied without self‑awareness, can create unintended consequences. What starts as a strength can quietly become a blind spot. And if we’re not careful, the very things we pride ourselves on can work against us.
So today, we want to talk honestly about our values, not just the best of them, but the risks of overusing them.
We Care for You
The strength:
Caring for others is foundational to who we are. It means treating people with dignity, empathy, and kindness. It means remembering that coworkers, clients, and partners are humans first, not just roles or tickets or invoices.
The shadow side:
When care goes unchecked, it can turn into avoidance. We may hesitate to give hard feedback because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. We may tolerate behaviors longer than we should because we empathize deeply with circumstances. Over time, clarity suffers, and ironically, so does trust.
Care without courage isn’t actually care.
We Lean In
The strength:
We lean in when there’s a need. We take ownership. We step up when things are unclear or uncomfortable. This value fuels responsibility, initiative, and teamwork.
The shadow side:
Leaning in too much can become overfunctioning. We jump in to fix things that aren’t ours to fix. We take on too much instead of letting others wrestle and grow. Eventually, this can lead to burnout, resentment, or invisible bottlenecks where “that person always handles it.”
Sometimes the most responsible thing to do is not lean in, but step back.
We Love Our Craft
The strength:
We take pride in doing things well. We pay attention to details. We care about quality, process, and doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
The shadow side:
At its extreme, loving our craft can turn into perfectionism. We may over‑engineer solutions, delay decisions, or become critical when others don’t meet our internal standards. What was meant to produce excellence can unintentionally slow momentum or make collaboration harder.
Excellence should serve the outcome, not replace it.
We Keep Improving
The strength:
Growth matters here. We believe learning never stops and that feedback, when handled well, is a gift. This value keeps us curious, hungry, and moving forward.
The shadow side:
Constant improvement can quietly create the feeling that “where we are is never enough.” Wins may go uncelebrated because we’re already focused on what’s next. People may feel like they’re always being evaluated instead of occasionally being affirmed.
Improvement without appreciation can feel exhausting.
Why This Matters: Blind Spots Are Part of Being Human
None of these shadow sides mean our values are flawed. They mean we’re human.
Every person, every team, and every organization has blind spots. Often, they’re not found in our weaknesses, but in our strengths, overused or unexamined. The danger isn’t having blind spots, it’s assuming we don’t.
That’s why self‑awareness matters so deeply to us. It’s why feedback matters. It’s why we believe asking questions like “How is this landing?” and “What might I be missing?” is a leadership responsibility, not a sign of insecurity.
Living Our Values With Humility
Our goal isn’t to live our values perfectly. It’s to live them thoughtfully.
That means holding our values firmly, but ourselves humbly. It means inviting perspective, welcoming challenge, and remembering that good intentions don’t eliminate unintended impact.
When we name the shadow side, we don’t weaken our culture, we strengthen it.
Because the best teams aren’t made of people without blind spots.
They’re made of people willing to look for them.
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