Building a strong team should be a leader?s top responsibility. ?Are you taking that responsibility seriously? ?Few leaders make building a powerful team a significant priority. Yet, those who have formidable teams usually succeed. Those who don?t often fail!
If your team is fragmented and not working together as a cohesive unit, I have news for you as the leader: It is your fault! No one else?s.
Here are a few steps to help you on your journey with team leadership.
? Make building and maintaining a great team of primary concern: Give it priority both in your budget and your time. Focusing solely on results without properly caring for and maintaining your team is much like running a race car at full-throttle toward the finish line without proper maintenance and pit stops. Stop and get a tune up!
? Assess your current team: (At what level is your team now?)
1. Back-stabbing and paralysis?
2. Gossiping and noncooperation?
3. Guarded coexistence and minimal coordination of efforts?
4. Supporting one another and producing good results?
5. Oneness of spirit and effort combined with creative excitement?
? Decide to take your team to the highest level and keep them there: Make that decision and stick with it!
? Get training in team-building: Read books and listen to seminars/webinars.
? Place people together who get along: Do your best to predict who will potentially trust each other, get along and add strength to one another?s weaknesses. Remove the rest.
? Start by making personal connections when possible: Personal relationships are the key to a strong team. Start by setting the tone and model for relationships between team members.
? Now bring the team together: Play, joke and spend time together. Work, plan and think together. Invite them to your home or ask them to volunteer together. One of my very favorite ways to bring a team together is to learn together. Get a book and read it with them weekly, for example.
? Review your organization?s overall credos and cultural habits: What are the mission and vision for your organization? More importantly what are the values of the organization? Do these promote teamwork or not, and what can you do to improve upon them?
When your team is cohesive,?it is unstoppable!
Building a strong team is a winning move.? The?success of your organization?is riding on it!
Your Friend,
PS: If you know someone who may benefit from this blog, please consider sharing!
