Success comes through the collective effort of each person within the team. It’s never the result of one star performer.
Hi! This is Chris, and working together as a team is the focus of this week’s newsletter.
So often in the past, I have seen teams compete with one another, always to the detriment of what might be possible. Although some healthy competition may not always be a bad thing, as I have seen it work, it can also quickly become toxic. Individuals stop sharing information and resources at best, undercut one another at worst.
Here are my tips for creating supportive teams!
🚀 Create a shared vision and goals
When each person understands how critical their actions and ideas are, they become much more engaged and eager to work towards a shared objective.
But don’t assume that the team recognizes how critical a role they play. Communicate repeatedly how they contribute, the benefits of their contribution, and the end results.
Ask these questions to yourself:
- What is the team working towards?
- What is the motivation to put in 100%?
🚀 Foster a culture of communication
For teams to work together, they need to communicate often and with clarity. Feedback, questions, and advice needs to flow up, down, and around the team hierarchy.
Employ tools for communication and promote transparency. For example, meetings and processes exist in a shared wiki. Slack provides asynchronous communication. Standups, team meetings, and opportunities to brainstorm together are a regular part of daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.
Gain insight with these questions:
- Does the team ask each other questions?
- How often does the team seek input?
🚀 Provide the chance for collaboration
Siloed information can exist within a team. For example, person A has created spreadsheets that would benefit everyone, but they aren’t shared. Or person B is pulling out their hair with new and unfamiliar software, even though person C is an expert.
Create opportunities for each person to share resources, assistance, and ideas.
Ask these questions:
- Who owns tasks or projects?
- Are resources shared?
🚀 Address bullying, microaggressions, and conflict
Let’s hope that a person misspeaks rather than intentionally belittles a team member.
“You didn’t know that?!” is a favorite example of an unintentional putdown. It signals that everyone else knows the information, just not the person. In short, it means: “Are you stupid?!”
Address any problems as soon as possible, if not immediately. When people don’t feel safe volunteering ideas, they will not readily work as a team.
Ask these questions:
- Who never volunteers ideas in meetings? Why?
- Does the atmosphere ever shift for the worse?
Remember: The choices you make as a leader impact the team’s effectiveness, motivation, and overall enjoyment. When the team cannot work together as a collective whole, your team will achieve far less than what it is capable of. It will also expend more energy and effort too.