As the inspirational American author, lecturer and political activist, Helen Keller said ‘Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much’, and she certainly knew what she was talking about! If you want to truly excel in business, you would be wise to take her advice and tap into the power of great teamwork, as this can make all the difference between success and failure.
So, if you are trying to get your business off the ground, here’s a few simple tips to strengthen your team and take it to the next level.
A team can mean many things in the modern working world. Gone are the days when it was just a small group of people sitting in an office together. In today’s global business world, it could involve a large number of individuals spread across many continents – people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
So, how do you ‘bring together’, figuratively speaking, such a wide range of people and create strong teamwork, where everyone moves forward together? This may seem like an impossible task, but with a little effort, you can create a ‘tight-knit’ group who collaborate effectively no matter how many miles are between them.
Communication is key
At the core of all top teams is great communication, so doing your utmost to promote this is vital. Although in days gone by this might have meant leaning over your desk to speak to a team member, nowadays you could have to co-ordinate with co-workers on the other side of the globe.
With the multitude of tech tools at our disposal today, this need not be any obstacle at all. In fact, research suggests that virtual teams actually perform even better than those based in one location, provided they have the right communication and collaboration tools.
So, ensure that your team has the means to communicate in an open and honest way, as this will help to build trust and understanding. For example, a regular virtual team meeting, via Skype or webinar, provides an invaluable platform to share experiences and ideas which can help strategies to be streamlined so everyone becomes more efficient. Even if team members don’t share the same language, they can now still communicate effectively with the help of up-to-the-minute translation apps.
See the big picture
Encouraging good communication also plays a big part in building a strong sense of community within your team, which is crucial for success. Another way to achieve this is to set group goals, which will inspire a common sense of purpose. While individuals will always continue to be individuals, with their own goals and dreams, creating team targets can take everyone closer to their own personal objectives more efficiently. In fact, by banding together and seeing the big picture, as a team, research has shown that you stand a much better chance of success than going it alone.
Individual team members working together can actually motivate each other to achieve more than they would on their own, which is perfectly illustrated by the acronym T.E.A.M – together everyone achieves more. Beware, though – when setting targets and deadlines, these must be realistic, or you run the risk of alienating the team if these are not achieved.
Share knowledge
In fact, encouraging team members to help each other to achieve success is a very smart move. For example, arranging for top team members to mentor less experienced ones can take the whole team to a new level with the sharing of winning strategies.
One industry, in which teamwork plays a pivotal role, that embraces this concept, is direct selling, and perhaps this could teach business as a whole a thing or two about the power of teamwork. At the root of this popular industry is a clever system called ‘duplication’, whereby new team members are taught a tried and tested way of working, which is proven to work efficiently, saving time and effort for all. So, by sharing knowledge within the team everyone benefits.
One well-established direct selling company, which has developed a highly successful duplicatable system of working, is global entrepreneurship training organisation, LEO. With teams that span more than 140 countries, this is a business which knows the value of good training for success and uses its duplicatable #LEOSYSTEM to help teams across the world win.
Be nice
However, once your team is winning, it is important to acknowledge how well they are doing, to sustain the momentum and motivate them to do even better. This can be done by celebrating successes, even in small ways, as nothing brings a group of people together like a good celebration.
Hard-fought victories should always be marked and celebrated in some way. For example, this could be via a shout-out at a weekly meeting, congratulating the key players on all their hard work, or a well-deserved night out together, if you’re working in the same time zone. In fact, just the simple act of saying thank you for a job well done has been proven to increase performance, so you would be wise to cultivate an attitude of gratitude if you want to reach the top.
Indeed, just being nice to each other has been shown to play a big part in team success and using good emotional intelligence in your interactions with team members could really bring out the best in everyone around you.
So, to make all the difference between success and failure, why not try using these straightforward tips to tap into the power of really great teamwork and fast-track your business to the top.