Collaboration and teamwork are becoming more and more critical in the modern workplace. Though each team member usually specializes in a single area, they all have to ensure they’re “on the same page” throughout every step of a project or process. As a leader, your job is to ensure all your employees strive toward a common goal. Here are some actions that successful leaders implement to make that happen.
1. Make your expectations known
Face it: your team members would be happy to sit in their cubicles all day, do the work assigned to them, and go on their way at five. It’s up to you to connect individual team members at different stages in the process. Rather than having each member report directly to you if they face an issue, they should first be consulting with their colleagues to figure out a solution on their own. Expecting your employees to be autonomous will increase the office’s productivity.
2. Have a system
Luckily, we live in a time when technology has made collaboration incredibly easy. Services such as Transpose allow team members to share information, schedules, and memos with a button. These online databases streamline a company’s workflow by enabling team members to constantly communicate with one another, regardless of their physical location. When each team member is on board with using these electronic means of collaboration, productivity will skyrocket.
3. Promote engagement
Of course, there will always be those who prefer to work alone or are averse to learning to operate a new system. As their supervisor, you need to make your expectations clear and show them the benefits of collaboration. Consistently promote the idea that, though they are individuals, they are a part of a much bigger whole, and without their buy-in, the team will suffer. Provide team-building seminars and exercises to help those struggling to collaborate see the value in effective communication and teamwork.
4. Model flexibility
Of course, no team will go long without disagreements between individuals. However, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Conflicts happen, but how they are dealt with determines whether a team is pushed forward or held back. As a leader, you can model flexibility and compromise in various ways. Show your team members it’s not about “getting their way,” but finding a middle ground on which everyone is content.
5. Be a problem solver
If a disagreement gets too out of hand, you’ll need to step in and mediate the issue right away. When team members cannot compromise on their own, it will be up to you to set each straight. Sometimes, this might mean they’ll both walk away unhappy. But they’re adults, and they’ll get over it. As a team leader, you need to be able to remove emotions from the playing field and see things from an objective perspective to know what’s best for the company.
6. Be a participant
Most importantly, as a supervisor of a team, you’re still a member of the team. You can’t rule with an iron fist or a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude. Doing so will only cause dissension among the ranks. As a leader, you should be the most active member of the group, constantly bouncing ideas off one another, promoting teamwork and collaboration whenever possible. By doing so, not only do you set the standard and act as a role model, but you also actively monitor your team’s performance in a much more positive way.
