How to work better as a team

Effective teamwork is the best way to reach success within your business. It helps to increase your productivity levels and creates better solutions to problems. Companies that have a friendly and collaborative work environment will have more success within the business world.

For a team to work efficiently and effectively, the team should look at the group climate and the different processes in which they are completing their tasks.

Here are the top tips for effective teamwork:

Reward teamwork and make it a priority 

Assess how the new employees are contributing to the overall teamwork when it comes to the annual performance review. Ensure employees know that they are expected to work well with others and make sure they know they are getting assessed. When it comes to motivation in a team, it can come from giving the employees acknowledgement of their efforts. If they do exceptionally well, consider giving them financial rewards or gift certificates.

Clarify the responsibilities, roles and accountabilities

For everyone to succeed as a team, they need to be aware of their role and responsibilities within the group. Team members need to agree on what needs to get completed and who should do it. Each team member needs to be accountable and responsible for completing their tasks. 

Helping others and sharing duties is very important when individual members of the team are unable to complete their tasks. Individual team members may not have the proper training to get the job done correctly.

Set out clear goals

Having a team that has specific goals and deadlines for tasks will result in individuals being able to work better together than a group that doesn’t have any goals. If the team has agreed on a mission with clear expectations, they will work together more efficiently and get the job done. An achievable and clear desired outcome is critical for teamwork to be effective.

Successful communication within a team

Team members need to communicate their opinions, ideas, thoughts and feelings openly, respectfully and positively. Everyone should listen to each other, and if something needs to be clarified, then they should feel comfortable asking questions. Listening and communicating will ensure you are creating a healthy group climate.

Ensure decisions are made together

Decision making should be based on an open dialogue with other team members so they offer their opinions and solutions to any problems. Members need to be committed and have team support when making decisions and carrying them out.

Participate in team building workshops

One way to promote teamwork is by participating in team-building activities. This can create a high-performance team by building trust and communication lines between employees. This can be a fun way to get to know your colleagues whilst simultaneously encouraging the creation of a productive and solution-orientated team.

Building trust and getting to know each other

Trust can be gained through team members demonstrating accountability for the work that gets assigned to them. With confidence, the members can feel comfortable communicating, taking risks, taking action and advocating their positions. Team members that trust each other can share their feelings and ideas while keeping respect for others in mind. Have lunch with your co-workers and get to know them by talking about your interests and strengths. This allows both parties to know how you can utilise each other’s interests and strengths at work. Management coaching can help leaders understand how to positively engage with employees.

By following these tips, you can be on your way to building a stronger and more solid team so everyone can work together to generate productivity and results.