How to Build a Strong Team
That Leads Your Business to Success
See also: Effective Team-Working Skills
Despite everyday challenges, being at work should be an enjoyable experience. Creating a strong team and collaborating with your colleagues, sharing the same goals and expressing your ideas freely makes your work easier and more efficient, as it increases your productivity and builds a future-focused mindset.
Here are some recommendations on how to encourage your employees to work together for the success of your company.
Listen Actively
Active listening requires directing your attention to the speaker and trying to understand their ideas and thoughts. This a crucial skill for your team members to acquire because it allows them to build trustful relationships. These are some active listening techniques to teach your employees so they can become effective active listeners:
Eye contact: keeping eye contact with the speaker shows that you put aside distracting thoughts and direct your attention to the conversation.
Body language: in order to prove your engagement to the speaker, it's essential to use your body language and gestures like nodding occasionally, using facial expression to communicate your interest, and consider an open posture to encourage the speaker.
Do not interrupt: it's crucial to let the speaker express their ideas without being interrupted. You can use short verbal comments like "yes" to highlight the fact that you are really listening.
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Ask questions: to prevent any assumptions, it's essential to clarify the meaning of what the speaker tries to communicate. Asking follow-up questions proves that you were listening actively and showed interest towards their point of view.
Set common goals with your team
Identify your business goals and present them to your team during a meeting; it's important to include everyone and encourage your employees to share their ideas and agree on the terms of your achievements. Avoid a bossy attitude that promotes the concept of "You do that because I say so". Make your team understand that your goals are common, and you are working together towards them. Share your ideas and be open to feedback; different perspectives can ensure proper communication and lead to great results.
Consider presenting your business intentions using a SMART goal description:
Specific: be clear and direct, establish what needs to be accomplished and attribute to your team members different tasks to organise the process better.
Measurable: Your company's growth has to be measurable by numbers to make your vision more precise; for example, establish precisely how many new customers you need.
Achievable: It's crucial to set a realistic goal, considering your company's financial resources and your team members' skills and time, to avoid a heavy workload.
Relevant: ask yourself why you choose to set this goal. Priorities are the essential achievements that will have an impact on your business growth.
Time-bounded: having a deadline for your goals is essential to determine exactly the steps for the process and will help your team members organise their tasks.
Highlight the importance of teamwork
"Teamwork makes the dream work" should be every company's motto. Working with and for people can be challenging sometimes, as we have different points of view and personalities. You are not working alone on the path towards your business success, so it's crucial to promote a positive mindset and highlight the importance of working together as a team.
Teamwork is an opportunity to improve the efficiency of everyday work; working together will help accomplish the tasks faster and increase the quality of the job because it brings together multiple skills your team members have. A great way to build a strong team is to get to know each other outside the workplace. Consider team-buildings as an opportunity to have fun together and leave work behind for a little while.
Create a safe work environment
Working in a messy and unorganised workplace for sure will have an impact on your team’s performance. Getting lost through infinite piles of papers and tripping on objects on the ground, besides becoming frustrating, can also be dangerous. Creating a safe workplace should be a priority for every company owner. Working in a clean and organised space increases productivity and minimises the chances of a harmful situation. It's essential to train your employees about the potential hazards they might encounter in your workplace, teach them how to handle heavy machinery without hurting themselves, and how to act during an emergency. Identifying the danger can prevent any harm to your workers. These are essential points to consider for a safe work environment:
Eliminate hazards: replace outdated machinery and electrical systems and use labels to signalise the areas where a danger might occur.
Keep the workplace clean: objects on the ground can represent an obstacle during an evacuation. Keeping the space tidy and clean is a must to ensure your team's safety and identify hidden hazards easily.
Safety meetings: consider monthly safety meetings as an opportunity to openly discuss the hazards your team members identify in your workplace and a way to remind the standard procedures for emergency situations.
Even if you prioritise safety in your workplace, a harmful event might occur despite all the attention you pay to prevent that. If one of your employees gets hurt at work, the experts at personalinjuryclaimsuk.org.uk could help them get compensation, and even take the case to court which could cause extensive financial and reputation damage.
Promote mental health at work
Feeling pressured and being overstimulated at work should be a warning indicating a toxic environment. It's crucial to understand that work can represent a risk to your mental health. It's essential to monitor your workers' behaviour and identify signs of harassment, bullying or violence toward each other and take immediate action. Be aware that emotional problems could be caused by a work overload or the lack of communication with the management. Take a few minutes from your regular meetings as a reminder to signal any mental health issues, and consider hiring a professional to introduce to your team the importance of mental health at work.
The bottom line
Building a strong team is the first step towards success. Your top priority should be creating a bond with your team members and making work an exciting experience.
About the Author
Cynthia Madison has a degree in finance and administration and is passionate about all things forex, stocks, and investments. As an online trader herself, Cynthia loves providing her readers with expert tips and advice on how to make informed economic choices, helping them understand market trends and how to manage their finances like a pro.