A leader must focus on both the production and the positivity of his team because one without the other is not enough for long term success. Think about a team you have been a part of that was extremely successful. A team you really LOVED being on. While on this team you were invigorated, motivated, productive, and excited to be a part of what the team was working on. Take a moment to reflect and relish in the feelings you had about being on that team.
High functioning teams are don’t usually just happen. The leader and team members work together to continually build and renew them. If you’re a leader (or a team member with influence) here are seven simple tips to maximize team success.
- Establish expected behavior. The best teams work together to define specific norms on how they will interact. It creates consistency and structure which can eliminate miscommunication. One example of a team norm is: We go directly to the person we have an issue with to attempt to resolve it before escalating it to a higher up.
- Clarity on roles. Each team member must be clear on their role as well as the roles of their teammates. Without role clarity there is confusion, frustration and sometimes competition. Spend time discussing roles and defining boundaries.
- Communicate regularly. Be sure to create a communication structure that works for your team and ensures important information is being shared with the right people at the right time. This might include a weekly staff meeting, using an intranet/bulletin board, or scheduling one-on-one meetings.
- Define vision and goals. When we are clear on what we want, we will attract it. This Law applies to your team as well. If you were to ask each team member individually, “What are the vision and goals of our team?” would they all say the same thing? Or would you hear a variety of answers. The team must all be very clear on their purpose and their goals.
- Get to know each team member personally. Do you know about your team member’s lives away from work? What is important to them? Who is significant in their lives? What do they do for fun? Don’t forget to let down some walls and be human with your staff.
- Have fun with a purpose. Even senior executives like to have fun at work. The key is to make sure it is not (at least not always) fun for fun’s sake. There should be a purpose to it.
If you would like information or help with team building or, possibly, even on mapping individual and collective behavioral profiles to help identify potential team members by natural tendencies, contact us today!
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TITAN Business Development Group, LLC
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