As a business owner, it’s important to understand the value of a cohesive and efficiently-operating team. Many challenges can arise when individuals with various skill sets and personality types are brought together with the goal of accomplishing a shared objective. Yet, the true strength of a corporation lies in its ability to communicate between department leaders and project managers.
Having a positive work environment that creates a safe space to share ideas and information can help boost the entire team’s productivity. Check out the guidelines below to help you establish a productive team culture.
Recognize How You Set The Tone
How well your team connects and collaborates is a direct result of your leadership and one of the key responsibilities as project manager is to inject and encourage teamwork among staff. As the project manager, your personal level of commitment also sets the tone and pace of the project. Allow your own passion for the project to invigorate your team's spirit and direct them toward meeting the shared goal.
Be sure to encourage open and transparent communication among department heads, management, and team members. Once the objectives are clear amongst everyone involved, allow your team to do their job without micromanaging every move.
You want to have and demonstrate faith in your employees’ ability to carry out complex tasks in your absence. However, if you notice work slipping through the cracks, then be sure to take swift action in response to those who have failed to meet set deadlines. Take ownership of their work and incorporate open, direct, and constructive feedback during meetings.
Define Team Culture
A positive work environment with strong collaboration encourages high morale and better staff retention. To get started building your team culture, you want to define what you’d like it to look like and incorporate expectations from both the company and the employees themselves. Staff behavior, co-worker interaction and communication between managers can all significantly impact how well your company performs.
Because of this, “positive team culture” is not all about being in agreement or working in harmony. Instead, it’s characterized by the presence of open dialogue and the ability to disagree without throwing the whole ship off course. When communicating with your team members, emphasize the importance of a pleasant attitude being the key to your company's culture. The team will be far more productive if everyone is able to collaborate, communicate and work together.
When team members with different perspectives all come together to solve problems and reach a goal, they become equipped with synergetic power and the ability to forge a clear path forward.
Outline The Company's Guiding Principles
& Primary Objective
The culture of any group depends on its shared values. By being clear and intentional about what your team and company value you can establish a positive work culture that motivates everyone and leads your project to success.
Try setting aside some time to share or create the core values of your company with your team. In doing so, consider the following questions:
What are the core beliefs of our company?
Are these beliefs consistent with recent company achievements?
How many of our team members already carry these traits?
What behavior cannot be tolerated in our work environment?
Once you’ve completed this exercise, write an official statement that summarizes and conveys your company values and mission and use it to fortify bonds between members of your team. Everything from work output to customer service will be measured against the value criteria you and your team establish. When an organization has clear core values and all team members stay in sync, you’ll get to enjoy an increased chance of project success.
Look Into What Other People Have Done
To help you build a positive team culture, make a habit of researching how other businesses handle similar issues that may arise. This will help you come up with new approaches to old, recurring challenges.
For example, you could model your own team-building practices after industry heavyweights like Google, Southwest Airlines, and Zappos. Borrowing ideas from other successful businesses can help you develop and maintain a positive work environment for everyone on your team.
Maintain The Culture You've Created As A Team
Lastly, positive reinforcement should be administered on a consistent basis to establish a strong team culture. Below are a few strategies you can use to maintain the ideal environment:
Launch new projects with an engaging change of scenery.
Host an off-site kickoff meeting at a restaurant or local coffee shop.
Provide tailored and one-on-one guidance to employees struggling with specific issues
Propose a monthly group outing to engage through community or social events
There are so many unique ways to foster strong bonds within your team and taking the time to do so will prove to be worth it once it ultimately improves the output of your team.
In Conclusion...
Your company's productivity, creativity, and bottom line are all affected by your team culture, but a cohesive team culture isn’t just developed by chance. As a leader in the project management position, it’s up to you to set the tone for your team. Be sure to always exemplify the company values in your own daily actions and clearly communicate what you expect from others. This, coupled with a few team-building exercises, will begin to foster a positive team culture, increase productivity and ultimately lead your project to success.
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