Developing Strong Teams and Encouraging Teamwork

Some workplaces deliberately foster a culture of competition, believing it will encourage employees to do their best. This may work for a few organizations but most will benefit from a culture of teamwork, where employees support and help one another in service of the organizations’ goals.There’s more to fostering this spirit of teamwork than just throwing together a group of people and assigning them to work on the same project. A leader must take into account different personality styles, communication styles, individual and team achievement and where individuals are in their professional development. Done correctly, teambuilding is an effective tool to get results for your company.To help you and your colleagues in developing strong teams and encouraging teamwork, this week’s Leadership Development News Roundup brings you a collection of articles and blog posts with information and advice on teamwork in the workplace.

• Team Building: How to Make Your Building a Great Place to Work. The Guardian: “Communication seems to be what really makes staff feel at one in a team, and also enables people to keep on top of what is expected of them, and how to react if anything goes wrong. Nicola Cook is CEO of Company Shortcuts, and she provides sales and leadership training, advice and events. She says: ‘Keep communication flowing by perhaps setting up a Facebook group, or a regular Skype call. Relationships are fostered through the non-work related communication.’”

• Promote Your All-Stars Without Throwing Off the Team Dynamic. Entrepreneur: “Create a culture of teamwork. If your company's culture is focused on competition, employees may be envious and resentful when someone receives a promotion. But if you’ve created a culture that embraces growth, innovation and teamwork, a promotion of a talented employee will feel natural.”

• How To Build Teamwork. LinkedIn: “It’s important to encourage and reward both individual performance and team performance. It’s wrong to deny differences among teammates. It’s right to reward each individual’s initiative and dedication. But ultimately, everyone should share a genuine feeling that bottom line motivation is for the team to succeed as a whole. So don’t forget to create recognition for individual success and team success.”

• 20 Strategies Startups Can Implement Today To Improve Teamwork. Founders Grid: “It’s normal for conflict to arise in a team setting – there may be a communication breakdown at some point or people may have personal issues. How conflict is managed should be clear under the team processes. If a team member has an issue how should they handle it? Who should they speak to first? Make these practices and expectations clear from the beginning then handle situations quickly to help a team move on and maintain a good working environment.”

• The Four Stages of Becoming a Team Player. Great Results Teambuilding: “STAGE 1 – Wanting Applause. Stage one of the four stages is usually the default behavior of leaders or high achievers. This stage is characterized by an individual who, because of pride and ego, insists on doing everything alone – and convinces him/herself that if he/she did not do it, it would not get done the right way. People in this stage want to be recognized for their efforts and enjoy the attention that comes with achievement, but often find that their individual celebrations are less fulfilling than shared success.”

Let us know if you’d like our help coaching your leaders to help them build more effective teams and other essential leadership competencies.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.