weLEAD Leadership Tip - Be a Team-builder

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Leadership Tip of the Month

April 2002

Be a Team-builder

Within our modern business environment more and more work is now performed by teams rather than solely by individuals. This certainly makes sense since the complexity and speed of change of our modern world places greater performance demands on organizations. A good team brings a greater variety of skills and experiences to solve difficult problems compared to one person, no matter how gifted! Leaders must become team-builders to gain the greatest potential and superior accomplishment from their teams.

However, the other side of the coin reveals that building a solid team is more difficult than the past due to greater diversity in the workplace. More than ever workers with broad ethnic, religious and cultural diversity work side-by-side as co-workers. How can a leader become a team-builder? Here are a few tips.

1. Encourage appreciation and tolerance for diversity. If this is not done, the groups’ diversity can become a source of conflict instead of strength. As a leader, foster a respect for individual differences and demonstrate the benefits of having a diverse team! Discourage the use of stereotypes used to describe group members and directly challenge individuals who make prejudiced comments. By your own example, promote an appreciation of different cultures and their unique contributions.

2. Emphasize common values and interests. Rather than focusing on differences, emphasize mutual interests. Identify the group’s shared objectives and passionately explain why cooperation is necessary to achieve them. Help the team to understand that shared objectives are more important than self-centeredness or personal agendas. Express how it is often necessary to submerge one’s personal interest to achieve great things and to reach the teams ultimate potential.

3. Develop your own special ceremonies and symbols to identify the group’s uniqueness. Perform special actions and rituals to make group membership appear to be very special. These are most effective when they emphasize the group’s values and new traditions. Initiate ceremonies to celebrate special events, anniversaries, achievements and the addition or departure of team members. Symbols also develop a feeling of pride within the group. It may be a group name, innovative emblem, slogan or team logo. These can create a special identity for the team and unity is strengthened when members wear or display their symbols of membership.

4. Facilitate and promote social interaction outside of work. Your team will be more cohesive if the members get to know each other on a personal social basis. As the leader, schedule social activities such as parties, lunches, sports events or cultural activities together. It is amazing how differences fade away when people socialize together and realize their common humanity. Make sure you personally make each member feel wanted, comfortable and appreciated during these social events.

5. Keep everyone informed about activities and achievements. The quickest way to alienate team members is to provide little information about the achievement, plans or activities of the group. It is natural to feel unappreciated when you are left “out of the loop”. Keep everyone informed about all the various activities with a personal call or memo to everyone. Remember to let each individual know how their personal effort contributes to the success of the entire team’s mission!

For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that it was President George W. Bush who said, “A leader is only as good as his team.”

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