Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success –Henry Ford
At some point in all of our careers we have been leaders—either by title, by need or by circumstance. Regardless of the reason for which we have found ourselves responsible for managing and elevating our organisation’s culture, we all have to come to terms with the reality that our success is a direct reflection of how well we can manage our teams.
Being in a position of leadership in any organisation is sure to be challenging. You have your hands full with your own responsibilities, navigating office politics and on top of all that, you have a team to run. We didn’t say success was going to be easy! But it doesn’t have to be a complete nightmare either.
Today we offer you the 3 commandments for team building – a strong, cohesive—and most importantly—complain-free team!
1- Develop trust. This is ranked number one, on this and many of our blogs, for a reason! Any experienced leader will tell you that the first step in building and maintaining a strong team is earning and maintaining their trust. This can also be the most challenging aspect as there is no mathematical equation that will guarantee results. However, if you focus on building rapport and establishing credibility with your team, you will be sure to reap great rewards. So how do you develop trust and credibility? Simple: Exercise diplomacy, don’t be afraid of conflict and be a good communicator.
2- Be a politician. We’re not suggesting you run for parliament, but we are suggesting that you make an effort to understand the politics you are navigating. This means a manager must always be thoughtful of doing the right thing—and at times make compromises—in order to garner greater social capital when they need to promote their agenda on behalf of their team or department.
3- Think Like a Coach. Let’s face it. You’re not just a measure of your work product. To a very large extent your performance and success will be judged by how well you manage your team, how productive they are and by how much they enjoy their jobs. A good coach knows everything about every single player. What makes them tick and what makes them perform well. When to push them and when to give them freedom to explore their talent. Get to know your people and let them get to know you in a genuine way so you can maximize on their talents and your own.
For more on team building, check out our post: 6 ways to boost your team’s morale.
Have thoughts on other considerations to building a strong team? Contribute to the conversation in our comments section below. Are you in need of coaching on how to manage your team? Contact us at info@castlegateint.com for a free consultation. We can help.
[…] fact, it can be fun while being productive. We commonly recommend team-building activities to help develop trust among your employees and make your team more productive and […]