Today’s educational system, from kindergarten through college, puts a focus on teamwork. However, while you may learn who gets their work done versus who is counting on everyone else to get an “A” grade, your scholastic team experience probably did little to prepare you for business teamwork.
When you think about it, every business relies on the performance of teams, yet few companies ensure their employees have the tools necessary to be cohesive and successful. Many leaders have trouble identifying how effective their teams are, especially when they are meeting goals. However, just because your group is achieving desired results doesn’t mean they are as productive as they could be.
Take the pulse of your team by answering a few questions, True or False:
If you answered false for any of the above questions, there is work to be done in order to create a successful team. You may be asking, “What makes a team successful?” Well, let’s start by looking at some of the traits that make any relationship a positive one:
Creating an atmosphere of trust, honesty, communication, common goals, and emotional intelligence isn’t something you do once and everything’s perfect. Developing a good team is an on-going process that involves education, skill-building, and practice. Previously, I worked with a law team to help develop their communication skills. During the training they seemed to understand how making a few changes in their actions and words would create a positive impact on their team and clients. But, when I ran into one of them a couple of years later, she said they hadn’t continued building their new skill-set after my training. Needless to say, they were experiencing some costly staff turnover and had lost some accounts.
The longer your team experiences a lack of trust, or has difficulty communicating, the less effective they become. So, take a hard look at your team and create an action plan that will not only improve productivity, but create a more enjoyable workplace for everyone. Contact me if you need help developing and/or implementing your plan.