A team-oriented business culture is one of the best ways to run a business. When you get a group of talented people and allow them to work together independently, the production value is no longer “1+1=2” … but instead “1+1=4.” Teamwork, under the proper circumstances, can energize employees, promote creativity and build loyalty to your company.
Here are four ways to build the ideal team culture:
Make teamwork one of your core company values: Empower your teams to be self-managing and enable them to make decisions. Peter Economy of Inc. says it best: “Show your employees the seriousness of your commitment by giving teams the authority to get their jobs done on their own terms, while ensuring they accept responsibility for the results.”
Learn to let go: Assign important goals to your teams, then step back and let them do their thing. When you’re examining new trends, invite team members in to partake of the new information. Allow a mix of people to make decisions rather than the same people all the time. A fresh outlook can do wonders for people, which will in turn strengthen your business.
Cross-train employees: Allow employees to experience different aspects of your company, rather than pigeonholing them in one department. Knowing how the business works from different perspectives can provide a broadened view that can help them make decisions that can truly benefit your business.
Encourage top executives to work on the front lines: This can mean that they work side by side in the trenches with staff, or that they work directly with your product. Knowing what goes on day to day with front-line employees can give them a whole new appreciation of how to conduct your company’s business from that front-line perspective when they get back to their offices.
Assigning teams doesn’t end there. Here are some techniques to optimize their performance:
Communicate clearly: Perhaps the most important practice any company can implement is a system of communication. When you encourage openness, honesty and respect among team members, you avoid the buildup of anger and distrust. Make it comfortable for your team members to ask questions, and be sure they listen to the answers.
Respect individuality: Encourage employees and managers to discard the “business as usual” approach and instead look at what makes each of your employees unique. Putting together a group with a mix of skills and personalities, and allowing them to express their points of view, can expand outcomes beyond the expected.
Are you ready to start implementing a team culture in your business while avoiding the losses associated with a learning curve? Give us a call. We’ve got experience with the proper systems to get you and your teams up and running — including organizing a corporate retreat — while making your company even more profitable.
You’ve hired good people for your business, but you’re having trouble getting everyone to row in the same direction. Click through for some tips on forming a team.