Creating Highly Effective Teams

by Cheryl Speak, Striding Out Business Coach

What do highly effective teams have in common?

Excellent Communication

Communication in effective teams is a two way process. All team members feel both valued and able to contribute new ideas. There is an ability to challenge constructively and an understanding of the best ways to communicate with each other.

Understanding of the ‘big picture'

Each team member understands the context of the team's work and how it contributes to the organisations overall goal / purpose. This includes understanding the relevance of his or her own job and how it impacts the effectiveness of others and the overall team effort. Understanding the ‘big picture' promotes collaboration, increases commitment and improves quality.

Common goals

Effective teams have agreed-upon goals that are simple, measurable and clearly relevant to the team's task. Each goal includes key measurables (that are available to everyone on the team), which can be used to determine the team effectiveness and where improvement could be possible.

Collaborative working

Collaboration and a solid sense of interdependency in a team will increase responsibility and stimulate opportunities for learning and improvement. Ownership of individual areas of work is critical along with an appreciation and use of other team members skills and experience.

Ways to motivate a team

1.      Start with yourself

As a leader you can ask yourself simple questions regularly to reflect on your own performance:

• What have I done in the past that has worked well and how can I bring this experience into the current task / situation?
• How do I feel right now, what is my view of what we are working on and am I demonstrating confident behaviours?
• What are my expectations of my team, are they realistic and is my communication of them effective?

2.      Take A Break

Take time out occasionally to reflect on where your team are and to allow yourself to look at tasks objectively. Feeling refreshed after taking time for yourself will allow you to consider a fresh perspective on issues.

3.      Consider your communication style

Each member of your team may have a preferred communication style and will work most effectively when communicated with in this way. Be sure you are flexing your style, looking for varied ways to communicate messages and also communicating your preferred style to your team.

4.      Coaching Conversations

It's proven that team leaders who have regular quality coaching conversations with their teams members have less absenteeism, higher productivity and stronger team morale. Coaching conversations provide valuable personal development for your team and create a stronger sense of buy in to direction and tasks.

5.      Who is  the ‘emotional leader'

The ‘emotional leader' within a group is not necessarily the one with the job title. Emotional leaders can create energy and creative thinking within a group; however they can also bring the energy level down. Emotional leaders are the individuals who when they are having a good day the whole office / team picks up on it, work seems to flow quicker and communication is frequent and positive.

If you would like one of the Striding Out leadership coach's to work with you and your team to help develop your team work and communication styles then please drop us a line to discuss your needs [email protected]

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