Thursday, October 6, 2005

Better Teamwork and Team Building

Written by -   Sergey Dudiy, Ph.D

Team building and teamwork skills are critical for your
effectiveness as a manager or entrepreneur. Even if you are
not in a leadership position yet, better understanding of
teamwork can make you a more effective employee and give you
an extra edge in your office.


Team building success is when your team can accomplish
something bigger and work more effectively than a group of
the same individuals working on their own. You have a strong
synergy of individual contributions. But there are two
critical factors in building a high performance team.

The first critical factor of a teamwork success is that all
the team efforts are directed towards the same clear goals,
the team goals. This relies heavily on good communication in
the team and the harmony in member relationships.

The other important element is the diversity of skills and
personalities. When people use their strengths in full, but
can compensate for each other's weaknesses. When different
personality types balance and complement each other.

Here are some additional team building ideas, techniques,
and tips you can try in your situation.

1.) Make sure that the team goals are totally clear and
completely understood and accepted by each team member.

2.) Make sure there is complete clarity in who is
responsible for what. Do your best to avoid overlaps of
authority. For example, if there is a risk that two team
members will be competing for control in certain area, try
to divide that area into two distinct parts and give each
more complete control in one of those parts, according to
those individual's strengths and personal inclinations.

3.) For issues that rely on the team consensus and
commitment, involve more the whole team in the decision
making process. For example, use group sessions with
collective discussions of possible decision options or
solution ideas. What you want to achieve here is that each
team member feels his or her ownership in the final
decision, solution, or idea. The more he or she feels this
way, the more likely he or she is to agree with and commit
to the decided line of action.

4.) Make sure there are no blocked lines of communications
and you and your people stay fully informed.

5.) Build trust with your team members by spending one-on-
one time in an atmosphere of openness and honesty. Be loyal
to your employees, if you expect the same.

6.) Allow your office team members build trust and openness
between each other in team building activities and events.
Give them some opportunities of extra social time with each
other in an atmosphere that encourages open communication.
For example, in a group lunch on Friday.

7.) Be careful with interpersonal issues. Recognize them
early and deal with them till full resolution.

8.) Never miss opportunities to empower your employees. Say
thank you or show appreciation of an individual team
player's work.

9.) Do not limit yourself to negative feedback. Be fare.
Whenever there is an opportunity, give positive feedback as
well.

Finally, though teamwork and team building can be
challenging, the rewords from high team effectiveness are
well worth it.


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About the Author

Sergey Dudiy, Ph.D., is a personal growth writer and web
entrepreneur, http://www.time-management-guide.com/

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