Most activities that any company or organization undertake involve teamwork. This can be at a departmental level, in cross-functional project groups, the executive management team or even the board of directors. So, it is important to make sure you promote and encourage effective teamwork by following these 5 steps:

1. Set Clear Goals: It will not matter who you have on your team if there is no clear common goal or purpose. Everyone on the team needs to know what has to be achieved and also, just as importantly, why. This is really vital since all team members can make contributions that influence the company’s success. Start with a clear team goal that supports a higher-level corporate goal and then make sure each team member has individual goals or targets that are aligned with it.
2. Set Them Free: With clear goals in place you need to give team members the freedom to do what they do best: their jobs. If you try to control how people work you will stifle their skill sets and kill off their motivation. Letting go of control will also give you more time to do what you do best.
3. Learn from Mistakes: Things will not go right all the time and when they do go wrong make sure you debrief in an honest and objective way with a no-blame attitude. This is something a lot of organizations shy away from, mainly because it is not that easy to bring an external objectivity to bear when you are on the inside. But when you do you will improve the performance of your team. And really, everyone should be able to make mistakes from time to time – as long as they learn from them.
4. Plan Ahead: It is not the plan itself that is so important but the process of brainstorming, testing assumptions and tackling potential issues before they arise. Good planning and clear communication will make sure nothing is left to chance.
5. Focus on skills and attitude: Performance and attitude are both vital, and especially so in a small team. You may be able to hire the brightest minds but even more important is to make sure they are all team players. Conversely a great work ethic or a collaborative approach alone will not help you achieve your goals, so prioritize the support and acknowledgement of your team member’s behaviours that demonstrate skill and attitude.

It may sound simple but it really isn’t that easy. It takes focus and perseverance. During management and leadership careers spanning over 30 years the partners at Crescus have learnt a great deal about building high-performance teams. Contact us to discuss how we can help you build yours. www.crescus.com, info@crescus.com, +442078460071.