Great leadership is a crucial building block to develop great teams. Leaders, with a sensible approach toward leadership, have the ability to establish an exceptional standard of team spirit among their people.
Team building is all about a keen understanding of your people. For example, what are their strengths , and how can they be motivated to work with one another. You can overcome your biggest obstacles if you have a team that shares a common goal and works together to achieve it. When a team works together, they perform and excel. A team, that acknowledges clear, shared goals, knows what they need to do to move forward and can accomplish those goals, together.
Moreover, different types of teams feature different leadership roles. A permanent, functional team, such as an intact work group, has different motivations and drivers than a committee formed to work on discreet projects. Regardless of what type of team you are, great leadership makes all the difference on how well a team performs.
If we look back in history, we will see that the leaders with extraordinary competencies and skills build excellent teams and great companies. For example, we can look at the late John Wooden from the sports world.
John Wooden was successful in setting the highest standards for coaches while leading UCLA in not one, not two, but a total of 10 NCAA national basketball championships over 12 years – including a record streak of seven back-to-back championships. Wooden was genuinely successful, and the pyramid of success that he created for himself has helped others reach new heights through his proven wisdom.
A great example in the business world is Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO of General Electric. Jack Welch was able to drive the company’s value to a staggering rise of 4000% during his tenure, with the help of his team-building knowledge and skills.
To build a successful company, first it is crucial to have an in-depth know-how of building long-lasting teams. A true leader should have mastery in the ‘art of people’. A leader who’s truly mastered this has the ability to understand how to manage hundreds or thousands of people in one place. This means it is crucial to understand the thinking style of each team member and how their competencies can be utilized in different situations. Team building is a constant chess match in which leaders have to know that a wrong move can result in a huge cost for the company .
Here, we have discussed some effective ways to build stronger teams that can last for years:
Know How You Work
As the leader of a team, it’s important to always remember what are your leadership style and techniques. It is crucial to be honest with yourself and objectively measure the effectiveness of your leadership strategy and actions. This means your team has to be accepting and receptive to your leadership. It’s essential to consistently evaluate yourself and be specific about how you can improve, especially in the aspects that will benefit your team.
Despite being the one in charge, your team may not always appreciate the way you work. You may be confident about your intentions, but it is crucial to remain accountable to your team and modify your leadership style when needed. This will ensure that you are a part of the team, not just trying to rule over your team members because you have the means.
Know Your Team
Just like how it is important to know your leadership style, you also need to know your team inside out and continually encourage camaraderie among your people. When it comes to building a great team, there is an immense importance of understanding and caring about the needs of your team while embracing differences and helping your people understand their value. Great leaders need to be a pro in developing effective teams that are dedicated to the organization. They should know their teams so well that it’s second nature for them to understand how their people think and how they can be motivated to achieve beyond what is expected of them.
Give Proactive Feedback
Giving feedback is not only a way to assure your team is on track but also remain ensured that it is climbing new heights. It’s important to remain proactive and constant in your feedback. Many leaders think that they should wait until a problem arises before they give any feedback. However, it should be the opposite.
Feedback is an art of superb communication. It needs to be a part of your natural dialogue. Feedback can be both types- formal and informal. If you only give feedback in a structured and stiff way, it might sound ingenuine to your team members and lose its impact. It’s important you remember that every team member is different and unique in his/her own way. You have to treat them as such. The cookie-cutter approach will not be effective. Let proactive feedback serve as your team’s most significant enabler for continuous development.
Value Each Role on Your Team
Each team member brings something unique to the table. So, it is important to treat each role as an essential part of your team and also make your team members realize that. To appreciate and reward every role on your team for the work they do is an effective way to make your team members feel valued. It’s a good idea to ensure each team member feels that their job matters before they start asking themselves, ”Why am I even here?”
It’s evident that when there is a sense of purpose, it helps people’s performance reach the next level. If any of your team members start feeling that his/her role is undervalued, they will detach themselves entirely from the work environment as soon as their day at work is over.
In a Nutshell
When a word like ”power” is used to describe a company, it can indicate a cut-throat environment. It is not the team members’ fear that should run a competitive workplace but rather a desire to work with each other every single day. At Etech,our 12 character commitments drive us to create a collaborative and empowering environment for our people which has helped us build lasting and remarkable teams over the years.
If you want to build a robust and successful company, your people need to have a team mentality with each team member playing an important role that, in turn, fulfils different long-term goals.
