Individuals working together to achieve a common goal.
Usually, as a team grows, you find that the total productivity is never as high as you would expect. Ten people in a team often don’t achieve as much as ten individuals. There are a number of reasons for this, but I just wanted to talk about a few common problems you might find in teams and the way the Cloudstaff Creative & Marketing groups resolve these common issues.
Accountability
Studies have shown that individuals in a team situation often display a sense of diminished responsibility or accountability. The primary reason for this is a disconnection between the managers (or team leads) and the individual. Staff may feel that their efforts are not noticeable in the group and as a result, they may put in less effort.
You should encourage active and frequent communication between staff and their managers to build a better working relationship. Ensure that the staff member feels like they are directly contributing, and that their efforts are appreciated.
Competition
You have most likely been in a team that is not really a team. In many situations, competition is healthy, but it needs to be well-managed. Excessive competition in teams might result in short-term success, but over time, you will most likely find that it has a negative impact in general.
Behaviour is often influenced by priming and perceived competition is no exception. Information may be withheld as team members cling to what they know to gain an advantage, personal relationships may erode, or worse, team members may sabotage the work of others in the group to elevate their status.
Don’t make your staff compete with each other. Make the problem you are trying to solve be the thing they are competing against. This will result in a more cohesive team focused on a common goal. The antagonist should never be inside your organisation.
Communication
You know what you know. The ideas, concepts, and visions that are so clear in your mind are not easily transferred to someone else. This is why sharing of information about your company and services is important. Visions, missions, values, goals – these things help paint a clearer picture of what you are trying to achieve. Context will dramatically reduce misunderstanding.
Don’t forget that sharing information is individual, you may have to explain things in different ways to different people.
Micro-management
If you are looking to get the most creative, intelligent outcomes from your staff, then micro-management is not the solution.
You need to get out of the way and let your staff do the jobs they are paid to do. Respect their thoughts, trust them to do the task, guide them when necessary, but mostly, encourage them to think. All staff should have the opportunity to contribute, and all managers should leverage the strengths of the individual to get the best possible outcome for the company.
Respect
Respect your staff. If you don’t respect your team, they will just work for you, not with you.
To build a great team staff need to feel they can engage safely with management – when this is done correctly, it allows them to reach their true potential. If you find that you don’t respect people in your team, then you either have the wrong staff, or you are the wrong manager.
Final Thoughts…
I believe that you can have a group of individuals working in an efficient team structure towards a common goal and achieve incredible things.
Encourage individual thought, clear communication, positive feedback and sharing information.
When we are moving forward together, we all benefit. That’s pretty cool!
To know more about our Creative and Digital Marketing team, click here.