If only building a successful team was a matter of hiring the right people, assigning them the proper role, and enjoying the success that follows. If you’ve ever been on a less-than-excellent team, you know that this is not an automatic process. Leaders face the same team-building challenge worldwide and building a successful team requires a long-term strategy.
We’ve seen a few key tactics pop up repeatedly in discussions of the best team-building methods. In hopes it’ll help you build your team, here are our picks for the top 3 ways of building a successful team.
Top 3 Ways to Build a Successful Team
1. Make the Team Feel Safe
In 2012, Google researched the most effective ways to build great teams. The top requirement? Psychological safety. People need to be able to take risks without fear of embarrassment or being belittled. Make sure your team knows that despite any job-related stresses they may encounter, this is a safe space where they can take risks and express their individuality. The best way to motivate people to thrive is by reassuring them that their efforts will be appreciated, not criticized.
2. Value Teamwork
If you want to build great teams, you need to prove that you value teamwork. That’s one of four suggestions in a Harvard Business Review article on building innovative teams. Forbes has recommended offering acknowledgment and rewards as a great way to build long-lasting teams. Public, high-level praise is a must for boosting employee engagement. When they’re really involved in their work, they’re more likely to perform their best. If you keep the recognition and rewards coming to those who earn them, you’ll keep the process repeating in a virtuous cycle.
Celebrating team member’s individual victories as well as their collective wins is another way to build strong teams. It reminds teammates that they are appreciated in a personal way, and valued for own gains as well as their contributions to group success.
3. Level Playing Field
Some team-builders recommend using a shared scoreboard, to keep progress public and transparent. That ensures that rewards aren’t meted out to favorites based on managerial whims. The idea is to give everyone a fair shot at success. It goes right along with making sure everyone feels that they are treated with equal dignity and respect in the workplace. Again, from Forbes: “People love recognition, but are most appreciative of respect.”
The Must-Haves When Building a Successful Team
Communication
Communication isn’t recommended as a team-building method as much as a requirement. Your team has to establish communications norms that work for the whole team, and being mindful about clear communication while getting points across benefits each team member. That’s especially true for remote workers, who miss out on body language they’d be able to note if they were sharing a physical office.
Getting Started
All of our team-building recommendations are built into our employee recognition and rewards programs, which are more effective at motivating workforces dollar-for-dollar compared with cash incentives.
If your team needs a spark to help reach its goals, or your current rewards program isn’t getting the job done, we should talk. We’ve helped organizations recognize and reward their workforces for years, and are ready to do the same for you.
