10 Tips to help you build a Great Team

Successful teamwork is essential to creating meaningful groupwork. But how do you create a great team? You have to build it with everyone else and maintain an environment of trust and support. Here are a few tips of how you can build your perfect team.

1. You cannot build a team without Trust

Trust is the central tenet to any working relationship and is essential in order to produce any sort of meaningful work with others. You must trust in each other’s talents, unique abilities and dedication to the ultimate goal for your company.

But how can you build trust in a competitive business environment? It is impossible to know the inner workings of another human being, you simply have to trust that their actions and that they are working towards the same goals that you are.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them” – Ernest Hemingway

2. Your Team Must Learn to Respect Each Other

After trust comes respect for those you are working with. This is respect for their work ethic, their differences and their personal lives. Ideally, your colleagues want to work with each other because they feel they’re needs are understood and their abilities are acknowledged.

3. Encourage Supportiveness

If a team member is struggling with their workload it is up to the other team members to help out. You have to remember that you are all working towards the same goal and therefore their work is your work too and often the faster you intervene the less of a mad rush it is at the last minute. Offer support and it will be offered back to you.

4. A Great Team Requires A Great Leader

Often it is only when management has changed and you are working underneath a bad leader that you realise what good leadership is (or was). If you in a leadership position it is up to you to set the mood and work ethic of your team, check out our blog post on leadership for more information. If you are working under a leader you can help make them better too. Leaders rely on trust and support, a good leader will accept constructive criticism and be concerned for their staff.

5. Be Fearless

Zero risk leads to zero growth. Don’t go jumping out of planes without a parachute, but calculated risks are needed in order for your business to grow.

6. Work Co-operatively

Cooperation ties in with trust, respect and supportiveness. Remember you are working towards a common goal, not against each other. Once this is realised cooperation can allow your business to reach and exceed those goals.

7. Build Communication Skills

Communication is the backbone of any successful operation. While email is great, sometimes things get lost in seemingly endless stream of your inbox. Take time to have face-to-face meetings with the people you are working with and limit constant emailing, Having a good 10 minute chat about a project can save you about 20 emails and countless miscommunications down the line.

8. You Need Accountability

Having a good check of accountability helps keep your team on schedule and also helps keep your team honest. If you check where you are up to every day or every week with colleagues it’s good incentive to get all the work done and done well.

9. Show Commitment

Teams need to commit to each other and to the vision of the business. Commitment usually means that everyone cares about the team, the performance of the team and getting the job done. Attending team meetings, contributing to discussions, suggesting how to make the team better etc all work to show you are commited to the team.

10. Be Honest

This is honesty when things are going wrong and when they are going well. You have to be able to tell someone when their work is not up to par or if they have gone in the wrong direction, but also need to applaud when things go well. Be honest in your feedback always.

It is up to Everyone

While it can seem like it’s all up to the leader to implement top-down team building strategies, you can build a great atmosphere of trust and commitment with hard work and dedication no matter what your position.

If you are serious about building a great team, try some of these fun and proven activities and take your team to the top.

Abseiling

Abseiling is an exciting adventure sport that everyone can experience and enjoy. It’s a fun-filled activity that will take people out of their comfort zone and challenge them. Abseiling can help build self-awareness, trust and improve communication within teams.

The Amazing Race

Just one of many Amazing Race activities we have available around the country. Based on the TV hit show the Amazing Race. An Amazing Race in Adelaide is a unique way to explore the sights of Adelaide, learn what there is to do and how to get around. We tailor Morning or Afternoon races to your suit your team event. You can race in the City, start in the City and finish in Glenelg or other destinations to suit your group.

Corporate Bootcamp

This will put any team to the test. Corporate Bootcamp groups will experience a concoction of varying Physical and/or Mental Challenges. Teams will have to work together in all areas of team work.

Cocktail Making

Cocktail Making is a great fun team building event for all your team to kick back, relax and enjoy. All participants learn some easy but important take home practical skills which will help choosing cocktails in a bar, making cocktails at home as well as start the quest for cocktail knowledge and spirits & ingredient knowledge.

Construct it

Teams receive a map, clues, inventory list and a set amount of time to search out and retrieve the necessary components that will enable them to build an ocean going sea worthy vessel capable of sailing to victory.

Next time we’ll discuss what makes a great leader.

TBME