Team building is one of the most crucial elements of maintaining an effective and efficient organization. Managers spend large chunks of time attempting to form and build their teams. One of the of best practices to team building is to put together a team with the right people. Teams thrive when comprised of members who have varying levels of skills and talents. Beyond putting together a team that has incorporated the right people, it is important to reflect on your own personal leadership style because your team will only go as far as you lead them.
As the leader of the team, you set the tone and course of the work team. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses impacts your team. Most team leaders have a great awareness of what they do well, but exploring self-weaknesses is difficult. Most of you know immediately what you do best. Self reflection can hurt. It’s emotionally upsetting to confront your own areas of weakness. Exploring the dark corners of our own make-up can provide us with new discoveries. We may be able to learn how to turn a weakness into a strength. One way to gain a new perspective is to use a 360-feedback system. There are a variety of pros and cons to the use of 360-feedback, but you may consider its use to help you develop a better understanding of how you impact your team members.
The word emotional or emotion can carry a negative association in the work place. Making emotional decisions usually ends in disaster or if one makes a decision in the heat of the moment. When emotions are controlling actions it is usually regrettable. However, when it comes to team building, your emotional investment is critical. Your team members are smart, intuitive, and more perceptive than you realize. If you are not investing emotionally in your actions, your team members will be able to tell instantly.
Emotional investment ensures that your team members believe that you are serious about building the team. You are connecting with them on a deeper, more meaningful level. An emotional investment does not mean you cry with your team or cater to team members’ emotional moments, it means you are building a more human connection. Getting to know your team members and allowing them to get to know you creates a deeper sense of connectedness to the team, the organization, and the critical work that you are performing.
In our next blog, we will discuss how attributes of servant leadership can inspire and further bond your team.
If your business team is lacking a certain element, give us a call to see how we can support your success.
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