Once there was a team of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.
Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Learning: Always make sure that everyone on your team understands what they have agreed to do and who plays what role and what are their responsibilities
Teams just don’t happen, they need to be built. A good team enables you to be productive both as a group and as an individual. Today’s teams are different from the teams of the past. They’re more dispersed, digital, and diverse. But their success still depends on a core set of fundamentals that make a team a good team.
Team building is primarily the use of collaborative tasks to enhance social relations and define roles in teams. By exposing and addressing interpersonal problems within groups, team-building skills aim to improve performance in team-based environments. It is an excellent asset to an organization.
In a collaborative effort, team members plan, identify and define success and failure based on the team goals. This way, everyone has a sense of ownership, since they are part of it from the start. And this also strengthens motivation. With clear goals, it’s possible to identify specific outcomes and measure the team’s progress.
Trying to build a unified team, you’ll quickly find that people always behave differently regardless of what you do. Their behaviour is influenced mainly by how they prefer to think. Understanding your team members’ thinking preferences will help you appreciate how they learn, solve problems, make decisions and communicate. You can then communicate in a way they appreciate and structure the team to suit their preferences. When collective efforts result in positive change, can confidence be far behind?
You build great teams on trust. Without it, it’s hard to collaborate. You’ll also have a closer rapport with team members if you trust them. Only when you have a team that autonomously handles delegated tasks, can you build a successful business. Giving teams greater autonomy doesn’t also mean accommodating lack of discipline.
Acting on members’ suggestions gives them a sense of ownership and belonging. The opposite will happen if you don’t work on their recommendations. Furthermore, the worst thing you can do is make members look foolish for giving foolish suggestions. Unhealthy competition can easily disintegrate a successful team.