5 Questions to Encourage Team Spirit
For any company to succeed, the people within the organization need to work together effectively. Without teamwork, details slip through the cracks, customers feel neglected, and the company's profits quickly dry up.
But before you do yet another team building exercise, you need to assess where your people are now, as well as how your company's culture is letting a lack of teamwork prevail. Use the following five questions to gauge where everyone stands and what needs to change.
1. What negative behavior am I letting slip by?
Too many managers and leaders freely allow people to be negative. Employees say and do whatever they want, regardless of how their words or actions damage the team. Either the manager doesn't know how to address the negative behavior, or it's been goign on for so long that it's habit - it's a part of the culture. But the longer you let it continue, the harder you have to work to bring everyone together. So nip any negativity in the bud now.
2. What rules or policies do we need to get rid of?
Many companies have outdated policies and guidelines that may have worked when the economy was thriving, but today's economic times, the outdated rules ultimately hurt morale and hinder customer service. Your employees know which guidelines work and which ones don't. Listen to them.
3. What cliques to we need to discuss so everyone feels included?
Cliques aren't just prevalent in high school; they're part of business life too. Unfortunately, negativity, gossip, and not feeling included are things that drive star performers away. Whether people like their job or not, they need to feel a part of the company. If they feel uncomfortable, they're not going to be their real selves. They're going to be sarcastic rather than helpful and won't be willing to go the extra mile.
4. What am I doing as a manager that is stopping everyone from working together?
Even though you want your staff to work together, some of your practices or work habits may in fact be sabotaging your team. Regardless of what you say, people will always do and respond to your actions - not your words. So find out how you might be contributing to the teamwork dilemma.
5. What are we not going to allow?
All effective teams have a code of honor they follow - a list of values or ideals they're going to live and work by no matter what. When your team decides what's important and what's not tolerated, they'll have ownership of the ideas and will follow them.
Let Teamwork Work for You
Teamwork is the essential key to a successful company. When everyone works together, projects get done (on time and on budget), creativity reigns, and people actually want to come to work every day. So use these five questions to get the teamwork engine running. Both you and your customers will be glad you did.
Joyce Weiss, author of Full Speed Ahead and Take the Ride of Your Life!
www.joyceweiss.com
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