Building Teamwork: Six Helpful Steps

Did you know that a single draft horse can pull 8000 lbs, but two can pull 24,000 lbs if they work together as a team?  If they don’t work together, all that advantage is lost.  There is great advantage to teamwork--with horses and with people.

Team dynamics is a complicated thing.  It involves everyone, but as a leader in your company, the initial standards are set by you.  

Here are some things you can do to help create a company culture where teamwork can grow and thrive.

Celebrate the success of your employees.  This can be personal, family, or work related.  When employees see that you have a genuine interest in them doing well, they tend to reciprocate.  Watching out for one another and offering encouragement is a core element of teamwork.

Purge finger pointing and blame.  A company shouldn’t build silos, or departments, where one department points the finger at another.  Occasionally an honest evaluation requires a critical eye, but sometimes blaming is just scapegoating that accomplishes nothing positive. 

Bonuses and compensation can’t be points of competition.   Teamwork is badly compromised if people feel they are sacrificing in order to compensate others who are being rewarded.  Teamwork is greatly improved if everyone feels as if they share in rewards fairly.

Just as importantly, bonuses and compensation should never be perceived as unfair.  How things look are very important in these matters.  

Make sure opportunities are available to all.  Avoid putting limits on people because of levels of education, lack of titles, or anything else that might inhibit their opportunity.   If you maintain a culture where everyone feels they have an opportunity to rise, you'll cultivate positive team players.

Spend generously using the currency of kindness, acknowledgment, and encouragement.  I've written blogs about all three of these.  The more you spend of these, the more you seem to have.  

Identify teamwork poison and get rid of it.  Sadly, there are some people who are cynical and paranoid.  No matter what, they seem to default to the narrative that somebody (usually them) is losing unfairly because someone else is winning.  This kind of attitude is poison to teamwork culture.  Get these people off of your team (and out of the company if you can.)

There is an expression “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.  This is so true.  You may have the greatest strategic plans in the world, but if you don’t have a culture of positive teamwork, everything will be harder.   Always remember:  Building a culture doesn't "just happen". It takes deliberate effort.