Building and Leading a Strong Effective Team

More and more companies recognize that succeeding in the marketplace whether local or global cannot occur without strong, effective teams. A well-functioning team can achieve more, innovate better, and adapt to challenges more efficiently. Building and leading a strong and effective team is now a crucial skill for any leader.

However, building a strong and effective team is no easy feat … it requires intention, dedication, careful planning, a commitment to fostering a collaborative environment, a good understanding of what makes teams tick, thoughtful leadership, and ongoing effort. This may seem like a lot, but the rewards are well worth it: you will have a team that functions smoothly, achieves goals collaboratively, and thrives in a positive and supportive environment.

Whether you are a seasoned leader or just starting out, this article will equip you with the knowledge, strategies, and insights you will need to build and lead such a team.

Define your team’s purpose

The first step is to start with a clear purpose. What is your team's mission? What problems are you solving or what goals are you striving for? What are you trying to achieve together? You will need to articulate this purpose in a way that resonates with everyone, ensuring that team members understand their individual and collective roles in achieving the goals. A well-defined shared vision creates a sense of ownership and inspires team members to partner and work towards common objectives. For this step you will need to have strong communication skills.

Plan your approach.

Your team’s effectiveness will be linked to several factors. Below are six considerations to assess and monitor your team’s strength and effectiveness. These characteristics should be very obvious and undeniably present within your team structure.

Collaboration: Your team members should have the capacity to think and learn as a team particularly when integrating different areas of expertise and knowledge domains – egos need to be suppressed. This is fundamental to idea generation, solving complex problems, and debating ambiguous scenarios that are likely to arise from suggestions. When your team members are in sync, decisions, implementation, and feedback behaviors will be common practices of the collective group. When extreme resistance is in play … complex, and often conflicting issues will quickly turn into overwhelm and divide the team resulting in low productivity. Key collaboration qualities and skills you should be looking for include but are not limited to … active listening, clear and concise communication, supportive, respectful, open-minded, empathy, flexibility, reliability, and positive attitudes.

Alliance: Alliance requires you to have principles in place to push your team’s commitment to working together. I am talking about your company’s core values. Values reinforce the essence of a team’s meaning and direct their behavior. The values commonly known to foster strong effective teams are:

Value 1 - Integrity: Do you believe that it is possible to have an open, trusting relationship with someone or some group that lacks integrity? I can honestly say that the odds are against it. If the environment is hostile and fearful, what chance is there of teamwork? If information is hidden and kept back for personal-gain, knowledge sharing becomes limited, idea sharing is sparse, and minds are closed. Open, trusting, caring relationships are the key requisite for risk taking and stepping out of one’s comfort zone.

Value 2 - Trust: Trust begins with the expectations we have of each other. If we expect our colleague to behave in a positive (or negative) way, and they do, consistently, then trust will begin (or not begin) to emerge. Our expectations are reinforced by the predictability of that individual’s behavior. If one believes that a colleague will behave with integrity, then trust will indeed be strengthened. When your team members feel secure around each other it is because they feel they can predict positive behaviors.  

Value 3 - Forgiveness: You have to have a forgiving climate, otherwise people will stop engaging or worse, stop contributing. A forgiving culture stimulates learning, it does not view basic errors as incompetent acts. It views them as learning experiences. In order for your team members to continuously collaborate, there must be an air of compassion when their attempts fall short.  

Value 4 - Autonomy: This value might appear to be in conflict with teamwork, but it is compatible and essential. It works on two levels – (1) freedom to do things in ways that the team and/or individual thinks best at any given moment; and (2) freedom to act as part of a team or as an individual, when required. The first is about the capacity for creativity, the second is about the concept of team autonomy. Many tasks and outcomes will be the result of highly interactive, cross-functional work, while many of the more detailed tasks will be the result of highly focused, highly specialized, individual skills, and actions. With this in mind, autonomy is a truly important value.

Value 5 - Respect: It is important for team members to respect individual views and beliefs if they are to perform at high levels. Respect begins with each other’s regard for individual needs and expectations. It also means valuing and appreciating the uniqueness of individual differences and perspectives.

Commitment: Your team members should demonstrate dedication to the successful outcome of the initiatives and to the success of each other. This is shown in their willingness to go above and beyond for the success of the project putting personal grievances aside. Without commitment to one another, strife and division will get in the way of progress.

Role Clarity: It is important to clearly define each team member's responsibilities and accountabilities. Ensure each team member understands their individual contribution and how it fits into the bigger picture. Clarity prevents confusion and duplicated effort. Be sure to set measurable goals and expectations to make certain everyone is on the same page.

Complementary Skills: The team’s combined strength and effectiveness will be linked to your ability to bring together a wide variety of skills, know-how and talent that complement each other in the execution of tasks and the pursuit of goals. Look for individuals with balancing skills, diverse perspectives, and a shared passion for your mission. This creates a well-rounded team that can tackle challenges from multiple angles.

Confidence: A high performance team has a positive can-do attitude and an untethered tenacity. When confidence is lacking expect performance to drop dramatically. Confidence is a product of time and effort through collaborative learning and producing results. Early wins are the most effective way to build confidence for the individual and the team as whole. Likewise, motivating and inspiring your team are other basic ways to build confidence.

Bonus Insights:

1. Encourage team-building activities to foster trust and rapport.
2. Invest in training and development opportunities for your team.
3. Conduct regular team meetings to discuss progress, challenges, and solutions.
4. Recognize and reward individual contributions and team achievements.
5. Create a work environment that is conducive to productivity and well-being.
6. Utilize technology: Project management tools, communication platforms, and collaborative software can streamline workflows and boost productivity.
7. Promote work-life balance: Encourage team members to disconnect and recharge outside of work. A well-rested and balanced team is a more productive team.

Building a strong team is an ongoing process. It requires patience, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from your experiences and adjust your approach as needed. By implementing these strategies and fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and support, you will be well on your way to leading a team that achieves remarkable things.