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Strong teams have solid growth, low turnover and robust profit. They work as a cohesive unit. These teams understand they are not a sum of each part but a synergistic multiplier.
Solid, high-performing teams are built from the inside out. They are developed, grown and cultivated with purpose. Here are seven themes I have found they have in common.
Strong teams:
1. Use accountability to grow and empower
Commit to recognizing, engaging and supporting each person. Create a sense of accountability for never-ending growth among your team members.
Take the time to shape them into the very best at what they do. Be direct in sharing what works and doesn’t work with each person. Hold everyone on the team accountable to the standards that have been set and the goals you know they can achieve.
2. Build strong loyalty
Develop trust-based relationships with your team members. Help them believe in you and your leadership abilities. Look for ways to connect with them beyond business.
Loyalty is built by fostering trust and shared memories. Take the time to get to know your people. If you know someone who likes musicals, instead of buying two tickets and sending that person, buy four and go with them. They will remember the shared memory forever.
We forget who gave us the ticket. We remember who was with us at the event.
3. Establish clear priorities and goals
Help your team members understand what they are working toward so they can focus on the most important priorities and achieve their goals. Their goals should be individually driven and based on their needs and drive, not yours.
The collective whole of everyone’s goals becomes the team’s goal. If your appetite is great, then the growth of the team is necessary.
4. Set high standards for behavior and attitude
Set standards for your team that establish clarity and focus while inspiring the behaviors that drive results. Remember that each person on the team reflects on everyone else. Root out bad attitudes and bad behavior immediately.
Spend some time at each team meeting honoring exemplary team members who went above and beyond. Reinforce the good, cut the bad.
5. Coach toward consistent growth
Help your team members excel in ways that surpass the requirements of their roles. Inspire them, and offer challenges that will help them achieve their full potential. Ask each person where they want to be in five years — and then help them get there.
6. Drive the development of culture
Take charge of building the culture you want to see. Develop a culture that prioritizes growth, accountability and the celebration of achievement.
Choose to see success in areas beyond the workspace. Make time to acknowledge your team members’ personal, physical, financial, spiritual and relational growth.
7. Connect to a greater cause
People will work harder and give more when they are doing it for something bigger than themselves. Connect your team to a purpose that will help them recognize their individual contribution’s value and importance.
This goes way beyond the team’s monetary success or adopting a charity. It goes to the “why” the team does what it does. Almost inevitably, you will find an obsession to serve the client with excellence as a core value.
Strong teams outperform weak ones 10 to 1. They are not built as a monument to ego. They are designed around the fundamentals of great teamwork. Each member knows their role and excels at it. The standards are high. Turnover is rare. Growth is expected and realized.
Chris Pollinger, partner, Berman & Pollinger, LLC is a senior sales and operational executive skilled in strategic leadership, culture building, business planning, sales, marketing, acquisitions, operations, recruiting, and team building.
