At the beginning of the year, we start to think about what we can improve in the way we work. How can we set our team up for success in the new year?
In this brief article, you will find the most important aspects to take into consideration to ensure a successful team. Read on.
Setting your Team up for Success: Start With “Where are you now?”
Teams are dynamic, living beings; as much so as the dynamic, living beings of which they are made. They have the capability to grow and change. Asking the question, “Where are we now?” helps us to pause and reflect on our current level of performance – productivity and positivity. It gives us a marker from where we create and adjust our roadmap for achieving results. Assessing Productivity and Positivity dimensions allows us to focus on how the team comes together and its work.
Structure and Clarity: Define roles & responsibilities, streamline the processes
A crucial aspect of a well functioning team is clarity, regarding roles and responsibilities.
Make sure your team members know their roles and responsibilities. Clarify expectations. This isn’t always an easy task. Nonetheless, it’s important that you discuss with your team members about their talents and areas of improvement, assigning them roles and responsibilities accordingly. Remember that someone may be the best team player, while another may do his or her job best on their own. The aim here is to ensure that unique strengths and differences come together and work as a powerful united force.
Goal Setting: All aboard the same boat
A team works best when they identify themselves and their own aspirations and values, with the overall common goal.
Success depends on a well-drafted and executed game plan. Involving your team in the goal-setting process helps them align their goals and match their strengths and skills with the organisation’s overall objectives. Schedule a meeting with your team to get preliminary ideas and work with them to draw up clear plans, keeping milestones in mind.
Make sure the goals are challenging yet achievable. Multiple experts advise setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T. Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based have a far greater chance of being accomplished than general goals. Indeed, the team leader will need to find a fine balance between challenging and achievable. Research shows that writing goals down help motivate the team to achieve them.
How do you put this into practice? Here at WeWent, we do it by having regular weekly team meetings. And to make these effective, we keep an agenda where we note what each member is going to present and for how long.
Also, when we come to setting goals, we do it together. Everyone writes their own goals in a common document and we discuss together to define ambitious and challenging team goals. But most importantly, in every meeting, we ask “who needs support with which task?”
Besides, we all have one monthly development goal. A chosen book in your expertise or a class, or in whatever you prefer to develop yourself. But the twist is sharing it with the team afterward so the inspiration can be transferred.
Psychological Safety: Put trust and communication first
Translated, psychological safety means: I take risks on this team and speak, express my ideas without feeling insecure or embarrassed.
Google, the tech giant, performed a massive two-year study on team performance, which revealed that the highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety, the belief that you won’t be punished when you make a mistake. Studies show that psychological safety allows for moderate risk-taking, speaking your mind, creativity, and sticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off — just the types of behavior that lead to market breakthroughs.
Effective and timely feedback is a critical component of a successful employee management program. It helps keeps individuals and teams on track, and lets them know how to improve. However, feedback must be proactive and constant; it should be given before it needs to be given. Apart from providing formal and informal feedback regularly, also plan for team feedback. This will help align your individual team around company goals. Open and honest professional relationships between everyone on the team will pave the way for success, for the team and the team leaders of the company. Do take the time to acknowledge and reward team members when they deserve it or achieve a larger goal result. Celebrating small successes will set a strong team up for bigger success.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Dependability: Exercise team bonding
Can I count on you to do high-quality work on time? Because, in the long run HOW the team works together means less than WHO is on the team.
So work on building your team and help them work hard to achieve success this year.
And remember, the WeWent team is here to support you and to walk the path with you. Just reach out and we will happily work together with your team to help you achieve our goals and to work with you in building the best of teams.
