Building a Successful Team at Work

It should be common place knowledge that building a successful team at work is one of the key strategies for any thriving project. There has to be individual contribution from each member towards the realization of the common goal of the team. Here's how to create and maintain a great team for the success of any project.

The team must have common goals and a vision, where each member understands their role, and how they can integrate their personal aims to it. Realistic results can be measurable, and with such you can gauge how far the team has gone in terms of achieving their goals, and what should be done if otherwise. It is also wise to encourage interdependency since every team member must understand the extent of their contribution, and how it affects the overall efforts of the whole team. Interpersonal competition must be shunned as they hinder the team's development.

The team members should understand and appreciate differences. Individual contribution is what makes up a team, therefore members must understand themselves, and realize that not all are equal, hence value the other members' roles in the team. You must also ensure that all members are competent and fully understand what each project entails, and also ensure that you have the right people in your team, as far as different abilities are concerned. You must also understand in which area your team is lacking, and partake to fill the gap promptly for the overall success of the team.

Train and then follow up on training since it takes some time before people get to master new skills, so it is important to make it a point to remind the team members of what they have gathered so far, and what needs to be reiterated, so that there are reduced incidences of redundancy. Inquiries and feedback are important here.

In the process of building a successful team at work, appropriate communication is vital for any team since the direction in which communication flows should be well imparted to the members, as well as how to communicate with each other. Communication is very important, especially in linking up departments. Always remind the team of its purpose. The members must be given a constant reminder as appropriate, of the reason for their collective effort, and what they should be looking forward to, to keep them focused.

There should be a concrete agenda for team meetings. Conduct meetings only when necessary, and make sure irrelevant issues are kept out, since they take up a lot of time. The meetings must be well planned to make them efficient too. Try as much as possible to ensure the agenda is based on results. Last but not least, serve as an example. As the team leader, a huge responsibility rests upon your shoulder to be the example the members should emulate. More often than not, the members will do as you do, but rarely as you say, especially when you are not around. Being the perfect example gives the team member’s confidence that they are following the right person to guide them into the oblivious.

This article was written for CleanEdison, Inc. CleanEdison serves federal, state and local governments, building design and construction firms, owners, operators, and real estate investors.  We have educated hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals in green building practices both through customized training and the largest open enrollment green training program in the nation.  CleanEdison has courses in the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BPI (Building Performance Institute) Certification, Energy Auditing, Solar, Wind and Renewable Energy. CleanEdison has also developed numerous customized training programs specific to a business or organization's needs. Call CleanEdison for more information about BPI certification, LEED certification, and other courses near you.