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”Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships – Micheal Jordan.”
Just like any other aspect in business, teamwork is crucial for success. From carefully selecting your team members and instilling strong values and good work ethics are some of the recommended steps to ensuring you are on the right track. When building a team, strive to achieve effectiveness as opposed to perfection.
If you need an effective team and have no idea of where to start, try these tips for building an efficient team and kick start your business on the right foot.
1. State Your Expectations From Day One
New employees typically arrive with an open mind and a willingness to learn. Make the most of this opportunity by setting realistic sales goals and encouraging a strong work ethic. Be firm with your decisions and take deadlines seriously to create a goal-oriented team from the onset. It will help the team members to fully understand their roles and create a long-term healthy work relationship.
2. Diversify
Diversifying means having options and covering your blind spots. It offers a softer landing if you are suddenly understaffed or need to make tough decisions.
Choose team members with different skills, professional backgrounds, races, and ages so that during a crisis or dilemma, you can welcome opinions and views.
3. Communicate, Communicate, and Communicate Some More
Get rid of your boss title and communicate with your team members as much as possible. Address every problem with the seriousness it deserves and allow your team members to express themselves and make suggestions without fear of being judged.
Always remind them that roles can change anytime for the good of them and the company, encourage them to approach changes and instructions with an open mind. It will help build a strong work relationship with your employees and create a better working environment for them.
4. Motivate With Positivity
The fact remains that your employees are human and, just like the rest, they make mistakes once in a while. Rather than criticizing every flaw, focus on what you like and start rewarding great work. Always delegate work based on individual ability to produce good results and maximize their strengths.
If you need to correct your employees, do it politely without disregarding their strengths and competence. Positive reinforcement is a more effective motivator than shaming them when they fail.
5. Practice Emotional Intelligence
Stop treating your employees as machines and start reasoning with them on a human-to-human level. Understand that your employees are interested in and motivated by different things. Some of your employees thrive in solo tasks, while others will thrive in group tasks. Do not expect them to work in a certain way just because you said so. Embrace these different working styles and treat them as an asset as opposed to a hindrance.
6. Monitor and Review
Everyone appreciates constructive feedback and, now that you have an effective team in place-organize one-on-one meetings and suggest better strategies to increase productivity.
Allow them to offer constructive criticism to you and help them improve in their weak areas. Always remind them of their expectations and provide them with anything they ask to increase productivity and effectiveness at work.
7. Assess Your Team Productivity Under Pressure
Working under pressure can lead your employees to pick bad habits to beat deadlines and attain sales goals. Assess what is working and what is not to avoid overworking your team and falling into bad habits. Monitor your team’s productivity and make the necessary changes that will enable them to work better with minimal struggle. Once you achieve your monthly targets, give your team members a day off to recharge and get their minds off work a little bit. It shows that you care about their wellbeing and you need them to be in the right state of mind at work. Remember, the aim is to achieve effectiveness, not perfection.
8. Respect Your Members
Understand that your team members have a life outside your company. Do not expect them to be at your disposal every time. Communicate to them early enough if you need them to work overtime and compensate them well.
Respectfully correct them and assure them you are still happy with their work and, if there is a misunderstanding between you and them, take responsibility for your actions and apologize.
Remember that if you treat your team with respect and accommodate their unique abilities, they will put their best foot forward and work like never before.
9. Clearly Define Roles
Even though your team members came in with qualifications and skills, monitor their work patterns and delegate clear roles according to their abilities. For example, you hired an IT specialist but he has good negotiating skills.
Place him in the sales team and delegate related IT roles to him once in a while. Remember to communicate to them on time when you make any changes in their roles and responsibilities.
Takeaway
As you plan on building an effective team, always remember that the goal is to grow your business and maintain a healthy working environment for your workers. An effective team not only innovates but also notices mistakes faster- find working solutions immediately and increase the productivity of your business. Be willing to spend on training and workshops for your staff to equip them with transferable skills beneficial to your business.
Work toward building a team that has your business interest at heart. Do not expect them to be perfect but rather have reasonable deal breakers and boundaries.
