Building a productive, happy team, and things to consider

Whether you are building a new team or developing an existing one, to get the best results, there are certain areas you need to focus on every day.

It’s all too easy when you’re a busy business leader to neglect your team (without meaning to) and it’s only when mistakes happen, productivity reduces, or you experience an increase in absenteeism, etc. that you re-engage with them. Use this article as a reminder of what you need to focus on to help keep your team on track and above all, happy and productive!  If you are about to start creating a team, read this and you’ll save yourself some pain later down the line.

You are the Leader…….

First of all, you must have Strong Leadership, not dictatorial but you must be the person who will provide direction. As a leader, you must be prepared to take input from your team but then own the final decision while taking the team with you. Every member of your team must then work towards the common goal with a clear plan to achieve it.

With all successful teams, the technical ability to do the job is just part of the story. Each of your team members needs to fit in with your business culture. One person outside of that culture can rock the whole boat. To quote Sir Alan Sugar “Do they get it?”

Whether you’re dealing with an existing team, or when you are recruiting new staff, explain the vision and values of the organisation, how you are going to achieve it and what sort of culture you want to develop. Particularly in times of massive change, such as growth or acquisition.

There will be times, regardless of how good a team member is at their job, they are simply not the right fit for the company you are developing. You will need to ascertain why; is it down to their own ambitions, their attitude, or is it they haven’t bought into the company culture? It’s prudent to find out why they don’t fit before you take any drastic action.

A great way to make sure your staff is doing what you need them to do, ensure you invest time to make sure everyone knows what they are expected to do and how that fits into the success of the company, and at a more granular level how it supports other parts of the business and their colleagues. Make sure everybody is involved and feels included and knows how their performance is to be measured.

Is it a happy family?

In any performing team, you will find that they have developed a way of working in harmony with each other. So don’t leave it to chance! Take the time to get everyone to agree on the behaviours they would like at work. From work-related respect, such as always being on time for meetings and taking turns to answer the phone, to more courteous behaviour, such as if you make a coffee for yourself offer to make one for the other members of your work group. What doesn’t bother one person could really irritate another, so be sensitive to everyone’s point of view but look for a workable agreement

Communication is the result you achieve

Finally, and I could write a whole blog on this alone, communication is essential! You need to be careful as a leader how you are communicating to your direct reports and the rest of the business. Poor communication will lead to problems across your business in poor quality delivery and costly mistakes, a demotivated workforce leading to higher absenteeism, and unhappy customers.

Take the time to communicate regularly and clearly with your team and listen to their point of view. Get into the habit of having an informal chat and not always about work, talk about football, families, and hobbies.  Have a regular schedule of business meetings, calls, and reports with clear agendas, then ensure they happen. Consistently moved or canceled team meetings can come across as if you don’t care and create negativity towards you and ultimately the company.

The whole point of having staff is that they can do more work collectively than you could on your own! To ensure that happens you may need to hunt around for the best way to perform a task or complete a project, which in turn means you will need to support risk-taking. Not massive “bet the business” type risk, but controlled changes to the way things are done. Explore new ideas with your team to find the one that works best.

Struggling with your existing team? Is your business in the growth phase and you’re starting to recruit? Will your company be going through a big change? If you answer yes to any of these and would like an informal chat about how I can assist you through these, email me at rupertturton@actioncoach.com

For more leadership tips and advice, visit our learning centre.