5 Essential Things You Need to Know About Creating an Amazing Team
Creating a team that aligns with our business goals and personal values can be challenging. The condition of your team is one of the highest factors in predicting business success, yet only 14% of managers claim confidence in their employees to understand the company’s strategy, goals, and direction.
This article will guide you through the 5 essential things you need to know as a business owner to create an amazing team. Let’s get started!
1. Synergy
The idea behind synergy is that the whole is greater than the sum of its various parts. It describes a way to work together to build great results. The ‘team synergy effect’ leads to effective teamwork and fantastic results across the team. But like all interpersonal skills, building team synergy takes time and effort.
In order to build it, you need to invest into 3 different strategies; communication, collaboration and group culture.
Communication is the most important (& also the most underrated) way to create synergy. It’s the core of any strong working group, and this is especially true for diverse groups because communication styles can vary within the team’s diversity. These mixed communication styles can lead to people feeling misunderstood and uncomfortable with expressing their opinions. Practicing active listening, prioritising two-way communication and establishing a when & where plan to communicate are practical steps to building great communication.
If you/ your team is experiencing difficulty with communication you can learn more about understanding the different communication styles here.
Collaboration can be thought of as the grease that makes teamwork work. Workplace collaboration is the cornerstone of building great teamwork—collaborative teams work together to brainstorm new ideas, complete big projects, and achieve their goals. Group brainstorming, hiring a diverse team and creating a space for honest and open discussions are all great ways to foster collaboration. Watch Kim Scott, founder of “Radical Candor” and work relationship expert talk about The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss here.
Group culture is the last piece of creating perfect synergy within a team. It is made up of guidelines that set out how team members interact with one another. These are strongly based on your companies ethics, values and mission. Group culture informs and shapes how team members make decisions, communicate and even resolve conflicts at work. By proactively setting up group culture, you make it easier for your team to collaborate.
A few examples of creating healthy group culture could include:
- Sharing your work priorities every Monday morning.
- Everyone maintaining positivity in their words and actions- if a disagreement does arise, addressing it proactively with established conflict resolution strategies.
- Scheduling focus time on their calendar using time blocking to maximise individual productivity.
2. Competence
Everyone has a deep desire to be effective and feel capable in achieving their goals. As the head of the pack, some of your time should be spent on creating a space where each team member feels respected and competent in their various roles. Each team member needs to feels they have the offer of your support, your trust in their abilities and your respect in order to thrive in the workplace. Give the people what they want!
As important as it is for the team to feel competent, for the business to thrive they need to actually be competent. Here are some important traits you may want to look out for when hiring a new team member, as according to Forbes, they are the 3 core competencies of successful teams.
- The ability to respond to adversity
- A profound commitment to succeed despite opposition
- The will to move through and resolve conflict quickly
3. Autonomy
Autonomy is described as a person’s ability to act in favour of their own values and interests. In the workplace this translates to allowing each person to work in a way that suits them. Workplace autonomy will take a different shape depending on the organisation. However, whether that’s autonomy over how they shape their weekly hours, or the work location (office/working from home), there is a space to allow each team member a little wiggle room!
Every team member wants to be able to achieve a sense of autonomy in their role, and not many appreciate being micromanaged. Autonomy and competency go hand-in-hand, and little wonder as they both play parts in building up the trust in the employer/employee relationship.
4. Trust
Trust is the single biggest determiner of successful relationships. In the example of workplace autonomy, trust is given to each employee based on the notion that they will get the job done. It’s given back to the employer as the provider of the safe space where the employee can thrive. A high level of trust creates a more positive employee experience. It also leads to a more productive workplace where people feel safe and respected.
Create a high trust culture with your team members by;
- Being honest
- Communicating effectively
- Honouring your commitments
- Admitting when you’re wrong
- Showing people you care
5. Diversity
Diversity in teams is necessary, as different people bring different things to the table. Creating diversity in the workplace has a multitude of benefits – both from an internal and external perspective. Internally, it creates a balance of perspectives, a wider talent pool and better employee performance. Externally, your organisation will be viewed as inclusive, interesting and respectful to people of all backgrounds. It’s a win-win!
“Companies with more diverse teams are more innovative, make better decisions, and are more effective at achieving their financial goals. It’s a better way to work.”
– Dustin Moscovitz / CEO of Asana
However, diversity definitely comes with a unique set of challenges. The main one comes from the difference in communication styles. Developing listening skills, encouraging self-expression and providing uniform training can mediate the challenges of diversity. Read more on understanding the different communication styles & book a consultation with our certified DISC practitioner Bev Howard: DISC – How it works and what it could do for you .
Book your private consultation session with business growth specialist Bev Howard here, or follow us on our LinkedIn page for more educational content!
