INTRODUCTION

 

Teams, and work groups working together as a team, will continue to be critical to business success. The global nature of business today demands that people work well with others who are often far away and from different cultures. This adds a new dimension for many managers and leaders as well as for many team members.

Teams need to be able to connect with each other quickly as teammates determine what needs to be done, identify obstacles and overcome them, and meet deadlines and goals. Positive collaboration becomes an important part of the team's work.

Coming from a background in sales and having experience with several Fortune 500 companies, I have worked on some truly remarkable teams. My favorite were teams in which people became friends and worked through problems. In these environments we helped each other out and were very goal focused. No one harbored hidden agendas, or if someone did, the team called him or her on it.

I have gathered the teachings of seasoned colleagues who have been successful at working in team environments and incorporated them here so that you can benefit from their lessons learned and apply them to your own teams—whether you are leading a team or participating on one.

What You'll Find in This Book

This book was written for both team leaders and team members. Each step has content and specific tips intended for both audiences. This is no accident. Team leaders must lead transparently so the team members know exactly what is happening. But great teams are composed of both effective leaders and effective team members. This book can be used by team members individually or by the entire team as a team-building and developmental tool. There are assessments, tips, and tools included for both audiences.

You will find this book to be a short and sweet resource on the topic of successful teams. It is not an exhaustive study of teams; rather, it is meant to be a quick read with steps that are easily implemented and contain the essential keys to team success. You can read it as 10 steps that build on each other or you can go directly to the step that interests you and solves today's problem.

Here are the 10 steps that I believe are necessary to build successful teams:

Step 1: Identify Team Leaders with Enthusiasm, Energy, and Vision—Creating the team is perhaps the single most important step in the process. If the team doesn't possess the right skills and drive to accomplish the goals, then the work will be painful and often unsuccessful. The right leader can either help or hinder the process.

Step 2: Ensure Roles Are Clarified and Understood—If team member roles are not clear, one of two things will happen. The team will be inefficient because time will be wasted as more than one person does the same thing. Or, the team will be ineffective, because something important won't get done at all. Clarifying who is responsible for what is critical up front.

Step 3: Create an Environment to Encourage Communication—Healthy and effective communication builds trust. Giving positive and constructive feedback helps to keep things on track and eliminate errors. Managing conflict helps a team focus on the goal rather than on interpersonal dynamics that can slow things down and deteriorate the morale of the team.

Step 4: Build Strong and Effective Relationships—Getting to know the other team members is one of the most important parts of building morale on the team. The members are not robots, and they need to get to know each other as human beings. When relationships are strong, relational tension will be weak, and people can focus on the work to be done.

Step 5: Build Processes to Track Progress and Get Things Done—Building processes and tracking progress are necessary for many reasons. This step builds efficiencies that allow a team to replicate its success. It also helps to keep stakeholders informed and team members aware of what is happening now and what needs to happen next.

Step 6: Assess the Team Regularly for Top Performance—Ideally, everyone needs to be aware of his or her strengths and then support fellow team members' development efforts. A leader who knows who needs support is a beautiful thing. No one possesses every skill and all knowledge, so self-awareness is helpful for the team's progress and ultimate growth and success.

Step 7: Tap Into Creative Energy of the Team for Innovative Approaches—A team can continue to do things the way it has always done them, but it can be energizing to develop creative solutions. Creativity and innovation can save time and money. Teams can be innovative about the end product or about how the team operates. A mix of left and right-brain thinking can also be very powerful in the team environment.

Step 8: Use Virtual Team Techniques Effectively—Working remotely and participating on a team virtually is often challenging. Connecting with people you may never have met can make it harder to build trust and learn to rely on team members. Dependable technology and deliberately cultivating people skills can help to smooth out this step.

Step 9: Deal with Team Problems and Move On—All teams face problems. Perhaps the single most important quality of a team is how it works through problems. This step identifies 10 different problem areas that many teams experience and gives tips on solving them.

Step 10: Reward and Celebrate Success—Many teams do not celebrate victories. Many organizations do not properly reward team successes. There are ways to reward teams that do not cost much and there are even some that cost nothing. If a team is making a significant contribution to the organization, it should get more than an email saying thanks. This step explores ways to recognize the contributions.

This book was written to be a very practical resource. Enjoy it and use it to be a stronger team member and to strengthen your team!