Teambuilding for Success
In a business context, the team is the way things get done. Granted you have your mavericks, and they can make a big contribution. But you also have to remember that Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) did not run the hospital. And in all likelihood they could have gotten along fine without him.
The key to success for most projects is teamwork, which our ancient ancestors knew that. Living in groups of a few dozen, collectively they could do better and defend themselves against wildlife hazards and other groups.
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” ― Phil Jackson
Nearly 12,000 years ago the number of humans reached 2.4 million on our entire planet. Since then we’ve managed to expand to over seven billion people. That’s a remarkable accomplishment. In the meantime, however, we had to build new systems to cope with that number of people.
In the old days we would manage with conversation, discussion, ritual, or hierarchy to arrive at decisions that affected the community. Now we require centralized governments and various methodologies to determine consensus so that decisions are generally acceptable.
Strategies to Create Better Teams
If you are responsible for assembling a team, or teams, and they’re not as effective as you would like, here are some strategies that can really help create better teams.
Building a Team
- Give each team an identity; each team should have notoriety for an accomplishment, a point of pride.
- Make sure the people you choose will mesh; let your experience with their strengths and weaknesses guide you. Variety is essential.
- Each team will need a creative thinker or two to solve problems.
- Each team will require a practical analyst to reign in the creative thinkers.
- Each team will need stolid plodders, those reliable folks that will get the boring parts of the job done.
- Be prepared to lead yourself, in the beginning, until a leader emerges, and then disengage from the group and let them get on with their work.
- Sometimes it’s better to start small, with easily accomplished tasks, to build confidence. Each success makes them more effective.
- Provide your teams clear goals; allow autonomy for internal decisions. This is a collaborative effort not a competition; see that each member has a role that is important to the overall success of the team as a whole.
- Reassure your teams that you have complete faith that they will succeed in some surprising way.
- Don’t bury them in paperwork and reporting necessities, or needless meetings. Let them work.
- Support chance-takers; support innovation; reward big-thinking and success.
“Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.”― Patrick Lencioni
Team Rules
- At a team meeting no one is allowed to speak for longer than one minute without offering the opportunity for someone else to speak; people may not interrupt someone who is speaking.
- Communication must be two-way; everyone should feel free to express themselves. No personal remarks are made; any disagreements must be logical and reasoned.
- If a teammate is falling behind on a portion of the project, team members will cooperate to solve any difficulties that are slowing down that portion of the project.
- The customer or client comes first. It is vitally important to meet deadlines.
Use the Plan for Great Teams
Superficially this strategy may seem simple. The problem is that some leaders believe they can skip some steps and save time. Others think that it is just a matter of assigning people to a task (even if it doesn’t match their skill sets) and then brow-beating them until they succeed.
This plan is simpler. This plan works. Use it and you will have great teams.
Stewart, Cooper & Coon has helped many organizations improve their teams and see improved results. Contact Fred Coon – 866-883-4200, Ext. 200, to learn how SC&C and their team of professionals can help you, and connect with SC&C on LinkedIn.