How to Build Successful Teams?

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” - Henry Ford




With the rapid changing technology, there is growing need to work in teams to leverage the benefits at the workplace. The companies insist people with flair for working in teams. Those who are social and amicable with fair degree of flexibility and adaptability can become successful team members. Team building is a challenging task and it is always easier said than done. Although everyone knows the importance of working in teams individuals often tend to work independently as they have fear of losing their importance and getting their hard work unrecognized. Rather individuals often have apprehensions of somebody hijacking the fruits of their energies and efforts.


What is a Team?

“T.E.A.M = Together everyone achieves more.” – Author unknown.

Team building is process of planning, organizing, influencing, staffing, directing and motivating the members with a common objective of reaching organizational goals and objectives. Organizations are looking at the individuals who can work in teams as the projects cannot be handled by a single individual. The present day corporate environment calls for working in teams to reach the set objectives. It is an active process where people of divergent tastes and temperaments come together to work under a common objective. The two letter word ‘we’ rather than the one letter world ‘I’ is the hallmark of teams. Managing teams is indeed a Herculean task.


Importance of Teams:

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” - Ken Blanchard

There are several advantages in team building such as:
• Teamwork makes ordinary people as extraordinary people.
• It promotes relations among the members by minimizing any misunderstandings and by maximizing productivity and performance through cooperation, coordination and open communication.
• It unlocks the hidden potential of the participating members.
• Team members can bring their varied experiences and expertise to the team building process and the same can be integrated effectively and efficiently for achieving organizational goals and objectives. It will help in having better takeaways. When they go elsewhere for building teams, the same takeaways can be utilized thereby enhancing both the individual and institutional growth.
• Team members learn a lot through team participation as they learn to respect others’ ideas and insights thus widening their knowledge base.
• Above all, there is fun and joy by working in teams.


Process of Team Building:

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” - H.E. Luccock

Select a team leader who has flair for leadership and team building. Once the right team leader is selected, give free hand to select the team members as per the vision of the company. Build trust among the members by setting personal example. Communicate openly and lay a mission through which the vision can be executed. Allocate the roles and responsibilities based on their strengths and weaknesses. Provide full support to the team members. Whenever they have doubts, clarify and motivate them. In case of non-cooperation among the people find out what bugs them. Emphasize on commonalities rather than differences. Educate about the importance of working in teams and motivate them. Whenever the problems arise always focus on solutions rather than brooding over problems. Encourage risk taking among the team members. Respect failures while execution of the tasks and implore them to learn lessons out of their mistakes and keep moving ahead. Throughout the entire process of team building, ensure that the activities of the team members are aligned with the vision of the company. Offer constructive feedback for their improvement and betterment. Encourage creativity and innovation whenever they are faced with problems. Above all, set personal example by participating actively into the team building process.

There are professional team building consultants and facilitators who can be hired for building effective teams in organizations. They play a pivotal role in assessing the needs of the teams and offers suggestions. It is always advisable to hire these professionals outside the organizations who find out the flaws existing within the teams for providing remedial action. Asking the team building consultants and facilitators within the organization may lead to organizational prejudices which defeat the very purpose of team building.


Tips for Team Building:

“The ratio of We's to I's is the best indicator of the development of a team.” - Lewis B. Ergen

Given below are the few tips for team building.

1. Team builder or leader should know that everyone is unique in nature, abilities and capabilities and adds value in their own way. Realizing this makes the process of team building easier.
2. Clarity of mind of the team builder plays a crucial role in building effective teams.
3. Build trust. Create a conducive environment.
4. Develop emotional intelligence and promote soft skills among members.
5. There has to be an open communication, coordination and collaboration among the team members. At times, little bit of competition should be encouraged among the team members to stir up their minds and to add dynamism and energy.
6. Minimize micromanagement. Micromanagement is a process where the superior involves in close observation and supervision of subordinates. Give adequate freedom to team members to work on their own way and at the same time supervise them.
7. Break the barriers and build bridges.
8. Look for commonalities not differences.
9. Make connections from person to person from mind to mind to heart to heart.
10. The team builder or leader should not have any personal prejudices towards any of the team members.
11. Encourage by giving incentives to the individuals volunteering for team activities.
12. Thank the people who always support the team activities.


Conclusion:

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it." - Andrew Carnegie

If communication is the sister of leadership then team building is the brother of leadership. Team building is always easier said than done as it is challenging to manage human egos, emotions and feelings. Stephen R. Covey emphasized the significance of teams in his book ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. One of the habits of successful people in the world is working in teams. Therefore, people need to develop the mindset to work in teams to reap benefits for themselves as well as for their organizations.



The End