Team Building
Characteristics of successful teams
It may sound clichéd, but a great business is only as strong as its weakest team member! As a small business owner, it’s important for you to act as a team leader in all instances, and to encourage your employees to strive for their best.
A successful team doesn’t often happen naturally, though. It takes a lot of work and dedication to come together efficiently and productively. Successful teams:
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- Establish a goal. The most important element to effective teamwork is having a common goal and a workable business plan. Everyone needs to know where they’re heading and how they’re supposed to end up there, or else you can’t move as a group.
- Communicate. Sharing information is vital so that each team member can complete their part of a task. If any one team member keeps things to themselves, they’re preventing the rest of the team from working to its full potential.
- Choose a leader. You don’t have to establish an official manager, but you do need to decide who is going to act as team leader. Team leader can act as a coordinator, keeping track of who is doing what, what is completed, what needs to be done, and who should be doing it. The team leader can also act as the final word on any decisions so that the team doesn’t lose steam or get lost in a question or process.
- Establish other roles. Besides a team leader, you need someone who will be responsible for other team elements, such as communication and documentation. Every one on the team should have a defined role so that efforts aren’t reproduced and no one is left holding all the responsibilities.
- Determine rules. Organization is key to success in business, and your team should be built around established expectations. If you’re going to meet weekly, enforce attendance. If you need certain paperwork filled out every day, insist on its completion. If necessary, post the rules on a team website so that everyone is aware of their responsibilities.
- Have fun. All work and no play makes for an unexciting day! Take the time to have some fun with your work, or you’ll find all your team members miserable and unwilling to exert their best efforts. Don’t forget to recognize achievements and milestones too, so that the team can get together and feel a sense of accomplishment that is a direct result of working together.
