A bad team is dominated by competitive thinking
and an obsession with responsibilities. Read on to find out how you could
promote greater team spirit.
1. No favorites: Avoid giving preferential treatment to individual team members. This
includes not only obvious privileges but also excessive attention and
contact (constantly going for meals together, regular chats in the
corridor, being on first name times only with certain individuals
etc.). Employees pay very close attention to whether they are being
treated fairly. If this is not the case, you risk provoking envy and
resentment.
2. No “divide and conquer”:In the short term, you may achieve your goal by playing your staff off
against each other. In the medium term, however, this casts a cloud
over your working relationship as it also leads to mistrust.
3. Value people’s differences:People are different. A good team benefits from its members’
various talents – the fact that there are meticulous systematical
thinkers, talented communicators, solicitous mediators and active,
creative, cautious or bold individuals. Bear in mind that each person
contributes in their own way and show that you are aware of this, e.g.
when allocating tasks during meetings or talking about absent
colleagues during a one-to-one conversation.
4. Ensure a healthy mix in the team:Large companies already have their own “diversity
officers”. The young and old, men and women, experienced and new
employees and native and immigrant workers working together encourages
productivity. Too much uniformity results in a uniform way of thinking
which jeopardizes ambitious goals. Diversity also helps to balance out
different mentalities.
5. Do not allow conflicts to smolder:Everyone knows that conflicts blow up if they are ignored. This does
not mean that you have to pick up on the slightest thing and call a
mediation meeting every time there is a heated exchange. However, if
the tone in the department is becoming increasingly tense, there is a
bad atmosphere or fractions are constantly being formed, you should get
to the bottom of things and get the squabblers around a table. Tackle
the issue with spirit instead of dodging it!
6. A positive attitude to mistakes:Mistakes provide an opportunity to learn. Indeed, the only people who
never make mistakes are those who do nothing. You should therefore look
for new solutions rather than apportioning blame. Ask yourself
“What could we learn from this?” instead of “Who
messed things up?” Penalize those who try to cover up mistakes
rather than those who admit to them. Only in this way can people grow
together and continuously improve.
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