Almost everyone appreciates the importance of teamwork, but few realise how much it boosts business productivity.
Research conducted by Atlassian discovered that 67% of high-achieving teams engage in candid feedback. Meanwhile, 89% of surveyed employees said transparent decision-making increased their team’s performance.
If you’re looking to enhance teamwork within your organisation, developing robust strategies that encourage teamwork from various angles ensures both the company’s and your workers’ benefit.
In fact, an Oxford University study found that happy employees boost productivity by 13%. Bring your teams closer together with the following tips to produce a first-class workplace.
1. Define everyone’s role
What is important in teamwork? Clearly, it’s everyone’s commitment and the roles they play.
Achieving outstanding teamwork is difficult when people don’t fully understand who handles which tasks. Naturally, this can lead to confusion that delays your projects and increases conflict between colleagues.
Therefore, management must give everyone a defined role with clear obligations, so each person takes ownership of the right tasks.
Rather than experiencing situations where too many people are involved in a single problem, having well-defined roles prevents double-work and makes it possible to reach a task more efficiently.
This also avoids disputes while identifying gaps in responsibilities that your organisation must address through realigning positions or hiring a new team member.
2. Foster open communication
It’s hard to create a high-performance team culture if your workers aren’t honest with each other. While feedback has to be delivered with constructive intent, encouraging a respectful environment where team members can be open about concerns is vital to your success.
So, how can you transform your workplace into a hotbed of collaboration?
As a business leader, you must be present for these discussions to ensure conflicts don’t arise. Meanwhile, you can create a safe environment by asking for suggestions from the entire team about how you should move forward.
Adopt effective digital communication tools alongside in-person sessions to produce a positive workplace.
3. Recognise outstanding work
Although managers often expect workers to dedicate themselves to the cause, you can’t expect them to maintain their motivation forever, especially if their hard work goes unrecognised.
Instead, set aside time to celebrate teams and individuals who rise above expectations. Show your appreciation to teammates who deserve it. These do’s and don’ts on recognition notes will help.
This is particularly important now that many workers are in remote or hybrid-working environments. By developing rewarding programmes highlighting the success of teams and specific team members, you can encourage your workers to collaborate closer and motivate each other.
4. Set clear goals
Just like employees need to understand each other’s roles in the organisation, they also want to know what they’re working towards. Rather than letting your teams pursue a vague target, where people are uncertain about the outcome, setting clear goals is the perfect way to keep everyone’s eye on the prize.
Whether discussing short- or long-term objectives, pinpointing specific targets that deliver tangible results is the best way to motivate your team to work together. However, keep these goals realistic, as unattainable targets are bound to increase worker frustration and disappointment.
5. Avoid micromanaging
Even if you’re in charge of the organisation’s overall vision, letting your teams have some independence and decision-making powers is a great way to foster teamwork across the hierarchy.
In contrast, micromanaging is widely regarded as one of the most damaging practices leaders can do, as employees instinctively believe their boss has little faith in them. In addition, your team members will wait for instructions to come from above rather than keeping up productivity by thinking on their feet.
Supported by realistic deadlines, transparent schedules and efficient workflows, it’s possible to get your teams driving towards your ultimate target with minimal input from above.
6. Get social outside the office
If you’re keen to produce a high-performance team culture, you don’t want interactions to just take place in the office. Organising laid-back social events encourages people to get to know each other more personally, which should translate to closer and more productive relationships in the office.
Instead of getting carried away with cringeworthy team-building exercises, stick to informal activities like a restaurant booking or a birthday party at a local bar. This way, team members can enjoy a low-pressure event outside the office where socialising feels natural.
Teamwork is a collaborative effort, as much as it is an individual responsibility. Set the right example for your teams and inspire them to succeed as one.
