Five Tips for Stronger Teams

Do your employees work well in teams? Can they collaborate well with others?

Having employees who can work together to solve problems is essential to your company’s ability to function and prosper. When your employees are working in a team it allows for their collective knowledge, skills and resources to come together. Employees don’t always come to you ready to work together in groups, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn. Sometimes it just takes a dedicated leader to encourage their employees to work well together and achieve a common goal.

So, what makes a good team member?

• Listen Without Interrupting. This is one of the most important traits of a good team member. If you can express yourself easily, that’s a great trait, but if you don’t know when to listen, you aren’t going to be a very good team member. The beauty of a team is that everyone has the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and ideas, resulting in a sum that is better than its parts.

• Speak Clearly. When it’s your turn to speak, speak up! Just like there is a time to listen, there is a time to contribute. Your ideas are important.

• Positive Attitude. Don’t allow the negative attitudes of other people in your group affect your mood. Keeping your spirits up will help you and your team members stay focused, enjoy the project, and likely produce better results.

• Ability to Compromise. It’s good to stand up for what you think is right and put your ideas out there, but sometimes you need to find the middle ground. Everyone’s ideas can’t all be used, so it’s up to a good team leader to help identify how all the pieces come together.

• Committed to the Team. If your team members aren’t committed to the job they won’t accomplish anything. Some team building activities and understanding the impact of the project can help increase your team’s investment.

Building these skills among your employees will result in more effective teams.