5 Tips to Increase Teamwork

Bob considered himself a good leader. He knew his team could work better together, but didn’t know what to do next. We worked together using these five tips for increasing teamwork:

1. Increase participation – Bob wanted input from his multi-disciplinary team on areas that were not necessarily their area of expertise. He felt that questions from a “non-expert” could stimulate discussions, and would lead to improved solutions and teamwork. We set up expectations that everyone could and should ask questions on all subjects. We also made sure that team members treated queries as opportunities to improve instead of criticism, and there were no “stupid” questions.

2. Clarify expectations – Team members needed to know what was expected of them regarding improved teamwork. While everyone understands the concept of teamwork, they needed something more concrete. The group came together to create expectations, set goals, clarify roles, and define ground rules for working together.

3. Expand personal knowledge – Bob and the team spent time getting to know each other more than just as employees. They discussed the many roles they each played outside and inside of work. Not only did they learn about hidden skills on the team that they could “tap”, but they had fun discovering everyone’s talents and abilities. They also learned to value the diversity on the team.

4. Anticipate conflict – No team exists without some conflict. In fact, the team learned to view conflict as healthy instead of negative. Team members learned how to constructively manage conflict because they all knew it was coming. They accepted that working together caused a certain amount of friction, so instead of hiding from it, they prepared for it. They even used conflict as a spring-board to develop solutions to issues that were causing the conflicts.

5. Learn to communicate – Communication was highlighted as the number one way to improve teamwork. So Bob & the team participated in workshops to learn how to improve their written, verbal & non-verbal communication. They worked on communicating better especially in meetings and during problem-solving. The team also created guidelines for when it was acceptable to email or text, and when it was necessary to talk on the telephone or in person. The team appreciated the communications training because they realized they were using the skills at home, on teams and when volunteering.

Bob’s team increased their level of teamwork. They also improved in reaching the goals set for them and in the second year together exceeded all expectations.

Working on teamwork has benefits to the bottom-line of the organization and also has far-reaching benefits outside of work.

Interested in working better together as a team? Contact me at Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com

Photograph by Valerie MacLeod