The Puzzle of Team Building

Great leadership builds great teams – leaders make decisions (often difficult ones), set high standards and look for ways to improve. Leaders are only as successful as their teams and the great ones know that with the right team dynamics, decisions and diverse personalities, everyone wins in the end. Building great teams is a balancing act between finding the right people, giving them enough direction and freedom to experiment, fail and (hopefully) succeed. Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way to build successful teams that deliver results.

1. Know Who You Are As a Leader

You may have the best intentions, but if your message isn’t getting across because your leadership style is falling flat, modify your approach. Are you a straight shooter who sometimes steamrolls over others? Some people don’t respond well to that style and need a softer touch. When you know your leadership style, you can evaluate how well it is working with your people, and adapt. Being flexible and open to meeting people where they are. That’s your job as the leader.

2. Know the Team

Your team is a puzzle full of pieces. There are lots of ways to put them together. Each way yields a result, and some ways give better results. When you get to know your team, you get to understand their needs. Knowing your team means investing the time to understand what motivates them, how they think and how to get the best from them. By embracing the different personalities, you get the best from them.

3. Clearly Define Roles & Responsibilities

Everyone on the team needs to understand their roles, responsibilities and how they fit into the larger picture. A maverick salesperson may work best on his or her own with little supervision, while others thrive in a group environment where feedback comes regularly from the group. This is absolutely fine when everyone knows what is expected of them and where they fit in the puzzle. When all the pieces fit, each individual’s unique strengths unite to make the team a powerhouse.

4. Remind the Team of Their Purpose

Constant feedback keeps any team on track. The act of reminding the team of how and what they can be doing better, and receiving feedback from them as to how they could improve the process is important. Don’t wait until a problem occurs to make a course correction. Your team should meet regularly (whatever regularly means to your team) to discuss progress toward its goals. Every team is different, so reminding the team of their purpose and receiving updates from them doesn’t need to be formal or overly structured. A quick check in each day and a team meeting once a week is often just right for some teams. Other teams may need less frequent check-ins. All teams need someone to keep them on track. That’s the leader’s job.

5. Reward the Team

Acknowledgement and reward is a way to honor the work of the team. People love recognition, so take time to give your team the rewards they deserve. Don’t take performance for granted, even if you believe the team is just doing their job. They could be doing the job anywhere, and remain loyal to leaders and companies that they feel respect their skills and effort. Remember to be genuine as you recognize them, though. Bring in lunch during a busy or stressful point in a project, or arrange for a team outing to build camaraderie.

6. Celebrate Success

Celebration at the end of a project or reaching a goal is different from a reward. Celebrations are about reflecting on the process and what your team has done well, as well as what it could improve. By taking the time to remember what allowed you to reach your goal, you celebrate the success of the team (not of the leader) that often demanded tremendous effort.

Successful teams require attention and when your team members feel like they are part something larger than themselves; their collective energy can result in extraordinary results. If your team isn’t delivering, ask yourself why. Are you, as the leader, thinking about these 6 keys? I’m just sayin’.

Published: Apartment News Magazine – July/August issue 2014