“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime”.
–Babe Ruth
Are you part of, or do you lead, a strong and successful team? Successful teams consist of individuals that have a common purpose, focus on shared goals, and have a desire for their team to flourish.
We don’t always take the time to build relationships and understand and improve team dynamics, but making the investment upfront will enable you to build your “ dream team”.
Strong and successful teams are comprised of individuals that trust one another, hold one another accountable, and are comfortable with expressing differing opinions. And, they clearly understand and appreciate the strengths of the other team members. Maximizing collective strengths provides greater results, fosters creativity, and increases inspiration, motivation and satisfaction levels.
Creating a strong team takes time and must be reinforced over time. (It’s not a “one shot deal”). Open lines of communication are critical, as are acknowledging contributions and openly discussing areas for improvement.
No finger pointing!
Do your team members understand your department vision and what it means to them personally? Are conversations held (both one on one and in a team setting) to discuss how individuals and the team as whole could more effectively achieve their vision?
What about behavioral assessments or feedback and survey results? There are so many tools that can be used, and you can even have brainstorming sessions to identify existing behaviors that create success, and identify behaviors that cause disruptions or create barriers.
Strong teams:
– Share their successes and failures.
– Address conflict in a healthy, honoring manner.
– Speak up when they feel other team members are out of line.
– Support the common goal.
– Focus on what’s best for the team as a whole, instead of on individual needs.
– Use “we”, “us” and “the team” instead of “I”.
– Readily share information and knowledge.
What can YOU do to make your team a “ dream team”?
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success”.
–Henry Ford