How To Create Better Business Teams
The most successful companies all have one thing in common – excellent teamwork.
It takes more than employees with exceptional talent to create a strong team. It takes both time and work to create better business teams that help your business grow.
With these five tips, you’ll be able to build highly effective teams that work well together to finish projects and brainstorm profitable ideas.
Have Regular Conversations
Throwing a team together and expecting results doesn’t work. A team needs clear guidance and something to get the conversation going between them. For a better team, spend at least 15-30 minutes in an initial meeting to introduce the team to each other. Discuss why each member is there, what the purpose of the team is, what results you expect and who the team reports to.
After the initial conversation, continue to have regular conversations during each team meeting to ensure everyone is on the same page. Maybe one team member feels under utilized while under feels over-worked. These conversations only have to last 10-15 minutes at the beginning of each meeting. This short time will drastically improve the team dynamic.
Create An Encouraging Environment
While a little competition between team members is a good thing, it shouldn’t be the foundation for the team. People work together best when they feel supported by their peers. Start by being supportive of each team member yourself. Tell them why they’re a valuable asset to the team. This sets a good example for the entire team. Remind the team on a regular basis that it’s not about individual success, but the team’s success.
Encourage each employee to motivate each other. When they stop thinking as an individual and start supporting each other as a team, they’ll be far more productive. Strive to create the most encouraging environment possible.
Offer Breathing Room
It’s tempting to want to micro-manage every task, but that will only destroy the team. Provide clear guidelines, but leave plenty of breathing room for the team to be creative. When a team is encouraged to try new things and take risks, businesses benefit from new innovations and procedures. While mistakes will happen, giving your team some leeway helps boost their confidence and encourages them to work together.
Provide A Safe Way To Complain
Despite your best intentions, team members might not always get along. Sometimes these tensions build until the team falls apart. Create a safe way for team members to resolve issues. A common solution is for employees to write down issues and drop them in a box. Once a week, the issues are discussed openly with everyone in a positive, constructive way. When complaints and issues are resolved, the team is able to improve and grow.
Another common method is to allow employees to call a meeting with the team leader and any team members they have a problem with. They can then talk through the issue in a more private manner. The key is to do whatever works best for your team to quickly resolve any problems so they don’t get in the way of current projects.
Create Rewards
After working together for a long period on a project, finishing it sometimes doesn’t seem very rewarding. If you want to create even better business teams, give them a reward to look forward to. Maybe have a celebratory party or offer a small bonus. A final meeting that discusses exactly how important all their hard work was is also a good idea. A reward lets team members know they’re appreciated and motivates them to work even harder in the future.
The reward doesn’t have to be expensive or complex. A simple reward to show employees they’re valued is all that’s necessary. After all, everyone loves knowing they’ve done a good job.
Conclusion
By working alongside your teams, you can help guide them to become even better. Listen to their needs, help them learn more about each other and congratulate them on a job well done. With a little work, every team can grow and be even better for their next project.
For guidance and training on creating better business teams, contact Mira Coaching today. Your business deserves the best teams possible.
Image: Gangplank HQ