4 Tips for Building Great Teams at Work

All great teams are created and developed by great leaders. Regardless if you are a general manager, sales manager or a supervisor, the principles remain the same. Truth be known, great teams were not built-in a day, but here are 4 principals to help you guide your ship to calmer waters:

1. Mission

What are the company or business goals that you want to achieve? Creating a mission statement based on company values, focusing on your business goals will create unity and a common vision among your employees. This is important because without this, you could have team members going in the wrong direction with their objectives, which will dilute the certainty of success. Create the mission with input from your team, using positive goals as opposed to negative (focus on where you want to be and not necessarily what your competition is doing) . Print it out and give everyone a copy as well as post it in high traffic employee areas as a reminder.

2. We're in This Together

A team, where everyone is only concerned only about themselves is not really a team, yet a lot of companies struggle with this dilemma. How do you create unity and compassion within your team members? If it is realistic and cost-effective to do so, job sharing or some shuffling among your team members could greatly affect the flow and cohesion of your employees. It may also push the already disgruntled employee (which, let's be honest have no interest in being a part of the team anyways) to leave for greener pastures, but it will create loyalty and commitment among the rest of your staff and in doing so they will accomplish more.

3. To Thine Own Self Be True

How effective can a team be, if no one is taking responsibility for their OWN actions? Mistakes or injustices should be spoken for, upfront and with other team members. If there is a lot of secrecy, and the he said she said finger-pointing, this will cause a problem in the effectiveness of your team. This behaviour is a learned behaviour and if you notice this trait among your people, begin by acknowledging your own errors in judgements as they occur. This will result in a top down result and you should start to see your team also acting accordingly. When people admit to their own shortcomings or mistakes, this removes any air of resentment and will assist your team in working together more respectively, which again enhances production. When a mistake has been made, it needs to be acknowledged immediately.

4. Honestly Speaking

Taking responsiblity for one's actions, directly leads us into the next and final action step for building great teams, your character. Dishonest leaders fall in dishonest ways and cannot build a great team, regardless of the tactics they employ. When you are leading a team ALWAYS be honest, even and especially if it is regarding bad news. Your team will respect you and heed your advice without criticism, this creates trust and cooperation and makes your job easier. Always protect your character by doing the right thing.

If you are leading a team in your organization and would like to see better results or have a more enjoyable day, then implement these tactics and watch you and your team evolve in new and exciting ways!