This is a guest post by Kristie on team work at office. You can read the guidelines to guest posting at our write for us page.
Working in teams can be a difficult process, especially when the team is made up of such different personalities, talents, and opinions. However, as a team leader, it is your responsibility to make sure that work gets done as a joint effort. If managed effectively, team work can be the most valuable asset of any company or enterprise. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Get to know all the members of your team on a personal basis.
It’s absolutely essential to get to know everyone on your team beyond what they do for you at work. Of course, you don’t need to know every personal detail of their lives, but learning each member’s interests and personalities will help you assess where their strengths and weaknesses lie so that you can assign work and roles within the team accordingly.
Identify and communicate the “higher purpose” everyone is working toward.
Any successful team must have discrete goals, but these goals must go beyond the mere means toward an end. You and the entire team must understand the ultimate end, and not just that—they must care about the ultimate end as well. If your entire team knows how their projects are going to affect the company, this will serve as immediate motivation for them to work together to achieve this higher purpose. People are motivated to work for a team when they know that the work they do together matters. If you don’t yet know what this higher purpose is, talk to your boss so that you understand how your work affects the company, and relay this information to your team.
Don’t set up any tasks that are strictly individual.
Many teams work by just having individual members do their own tasks, and then these tasks are all put together to complete the project. This is the least effective way of building a cohesive team. Instead, create tasks in which all members, in some way or another, must collaborate with one or more members. Have periodic meetings during which you talk about what you are working on, so the team understands how everything fits together.
Have fun together!
There’s a reason that many companies have team-building events, like going out to lunch, participating in sports leagues, or having happy hours. These activities build a camaraderie that is absolutely necessary for the team to work effectively. Even if the team cares about the higher purpose of their work, if they don’t care about each other, then they won’t work together.
About the Author:
This is a guest post by Kristie Lewis from construction management degree. You can reach her at: Kristie.Lewis81 @ gmail. Com.