18/03/12 12:43 AM 7 Ways to Boost Team Performance | Leader's Beacon

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7 Ways to Boost Team Performance
During a recent teambuilding and communication workshop I delivered one of my
clients stated, 50% of all our obstacles to success center around team dynamics. Cul-
ture eats strategy for breakfast. In other words you can have the best plans, strate-
gies and initiatives, however if everyone is not team oriented, working well together
and getting along, it will be difficult at best to get the results you want. Here are 7
ways to build stronger teams:
1. Set Ground Rules and Guidelines.
In my teambuilding sessions this is the first thing we work on. These guidelines are a
consensus of the behaviors, values and communication ingredients that teams agree
to live by. For example some guidelines that have come up include; return phone
calls within 2 hours; respond to all e-mails to confirm receipt; no whining ; no bully-
ing; everyone is included in office events, maintain self- esteem of others and dis-
agree without being disagreeable.
2. Have Team Members Involved in the Hiring Process.
Start by getting other members of the team to be in on the interviewing and hiring
process. By showing you trust the other members of the team to have a say in who
they want to work with they will feel more valued and appreciated.
3. Hire Team Players.
Thoroughly review each job candidates background to see if they were a team player
and if they did well in a team environment. Keep your antenna up when interview-
ing to see if they use words like we vs. I or give credit to others. Finally, ask
them directly if they feel that they should be judged on their individual efforts or on
how well they work with a team.
4. Stay in Touch with Employees.
Have regular ongoing 1 to 1 meetings with each team member to find out their
wants, needs and desires. When meeting with an employee and getting feedback, lis-
ten, do not interrupt and dont become defensive. To show that you value the em-
ployee ask, What can we do to make you want to stay here? This question shows
18/03/12 12:43 AM 7 Ways to Boost Team Performance | Leader's Beacon
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that you feel they are important and a highly valued member of the team.
5. Develop a Culture of Customer Focused Teams.
Make sure that everyone is clear on what teamwork is and what is expected of them
to be good team members. Also, all leaders and employees need to walk the talk
and live, eat and breathe teamwork. Some ways to make sure everyone is on board is
to; use the word teamwork in all correspondence and when conversing with oth-
ers; display teamwork posters and cards; pair up new employees with an enthusias-
tic and team oriented mentor; have team training programs and retreats; use the
word team instead of employees or associates.
6. Reward Team Members.
When employees are asked what motivates them the #1 answer is; Recognition and
Appreciation. In other words, you may get paid a lot of money, however if you
arent appreciated or recognized, you may stay with your job, however you will not
be motivated. Some ways to motivate team members include; giving them time off;
giving money when not expected; having team dinners; company retreats; club mem-
berships; tickets to events and more. Furthermore, make abundant use of the words,
please, thank you, I appreciate that and would you do me a favor?
7. Follow the 20/80 Rule.
This rule states that 20% of your team members will give you 80% of the headaches.
The consequences of this is while you are spending all your time dealing with those
who are poor performing team members, you cannot spend time with the good team
members. As a result the good ones may feel unappreciated. If someone is not follow-
ing the teamwork initiative then you must provide expectations of behavior and con-
sequences if they dont improve.
We also recommend . . .
7 Ways to Build Stronger Teams
Allow Team Members to Find Their Place
Tap into your Teams Natural Leadership: Heres How
Kickstarting a Brand New Team
Organizational Reminders