Team development - Building teamwork

A workplace which has successfully developed a teamwork environment is one that will very likely enjoy the benefits of good staff retention and low absenteeism. If you are in a management or leadership position, then team development is something you have probably already thought a lot about.

Effective teamwork will be reflected in the extent to which the team can resolve issues and problems themselves, rather than relying upon you to do so. A teamwork environment will be observable by people helping each other to be their best.However, just because a group of people work together in the same functional area is certainly no guarantee of teamwork.

There can be underlying strains or even overt tensions within workgroups when people have competing goals or different working styles. Different team members can sometimes have very different ideas about how things should be done. Team development involves respecting and working through these differences. Although, let’s acknowledge it’s not easy to get some people to work co-operatively together.

So as a manager or leader, how can you build teamwork? What are the key ingredients needed for developing productive teamwork in the workplace? Some ideas to consider for team development include ….

• Develop or review the team charter – It is important that team members share a common view of the vision, mission and values of the team. The vision reflects hopes and  aspiration for the team’s future; the goals define what has to be achieved and delivered by the team; whilst values reflect how the team will go about it’s business
• Environment & stakeholders – Ensure the team understands the wider context within which it operates and recognises the expectations which major stakeholders have of the team. Are there ways the team can measure stakeholder satisfaction on a regular basis? Do existing team KPI’s cater for all their stakeholders?
• Competence – Ensure the team is receiving the training needed to deliver on its charter and review with the team whether there may be cross-skilling opportunities that offer win-win development. Is there the right mix of skills in the team?
• Continuous improvement – Is there a need to review internal processes and procedures to see whether opportunities for improved efficiencies exist?  Are any problems or customer complaints reflecting glitches in team processes?
• Collaboration – Teamwork requires that members be willing to lend a helping hand to each other. For example, if one member is being overwhelmed, then other team members step in and help out. This sharing of the workload becomes much more likely when there is a strong sense of common purpose to encourages collaborative effort.
• Communication – Effective teamwork relies upon people being willing to share information with each other. Members speak openly about any concerns, they show respect for each other by listening – and they give and receive constructive feedback to each other
• Creative – Good teams are open to new ideas and embrace innovation as a means of staying competitive. As a manager, do you encourage team members to question and challenge the status quo?
• Celebrate - Do you encourage the team to have a bit of healthy fun together? For example, do you celebrate team-member birthdays, team accomplishments or special-cause charity days (eg red nose day to help raise money for SIDS research). Maybe you put on a team BBQ to celebrate the end of the month. The important thing is to find a way to share a laugh together - after all, you spend a lot of time together at work so it may as well be enjoyable.

Effective teamwork and team spirit is never an accident. You will need to invest some time in team building, if you want to enjoy the benefits of productive teamwork in your workplace.

However, don’t try and do it on your own. You need to involve the team in generating and developing team building strategies – without engagement it just won’t work.

For many more management tips and resources, go to Management Skills Development

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