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12 Jul 2021

5 Ways To Build Stronger Teams

Our method for building stronger teams isn’t a magic formula.

It’s a combination of five very simple behaviours or principles that are apparent as themes throughout Tribe 365’s methodology.

Read on to find out more and learn how to apply these principles…

Create An Honest Environment

You have to create an environment where everyone is honest with one another.

And that’s a journey in itself, as you don’t just start trusting people over night.

It takes a fair bit of time and work to get there, but when you do finally reach a point where everyone in your team is honest with one another, you’ll find that your team will be prepared to deal with just about anything.

Honesty isn’t about telling people what you think of them and getting that off your chest, as cathartic as that might sound. It’s about an ‘operational honesty’ that sees team members – literally or figuratively – put their hand up and say something along the lines of “I’m sorry, but I’m struggling at the moment and need some help” or “I don’t understand why we’re doing this” or even “I don’t agree that this is the best approach”.

Teams that are used to working together and working through problems will support one another and find a way that everyone believes in. Which leads us nicely onto the next point…

Everyone Believing In Everything 100%

Why are we here? 

No, we don’t mean that in ‘The Big Question’ or existential sort of way. We mean in terms of understanding our reasons for doing the job we’re in, and why we might want to perform at our best at all times.

They say that “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work again” – but even the most passionate person can start to become disillusioned if they feel that their colleagues or teammates aren’t pulling in the same direction or giving it their all.

Team Management

And those colleagues might have good reasons for not 100% believing in something. Maybe they, too, have lost their former passion because they think that their voices are being drowned out.

And that’s a big problem that needs to be addressed. Because it’s beyond question that teams and the people in them only ever perform at their best when everyone believes in what they’re doing.

What’s stopping the people in your teams from believing in what they’re doing? Ask the question, and let them answer without fear of being shot down or penalised.

Get to the bottom of why they’re feeling down and (returning to the point about 100% honesty and people not being afraid to speak up when they don’t agree with something) explore what will help them feel passionate again. 

‘Belief’ is the anchor that every team needs, and if you can get to – or back to – a point where everyone believes in everything they’re doing 100% of the time, then you’ll be well on your way to creating a truly strong and high performing team.

Making Sure We’re Managing Our Conditions

Shock horror! 

People have lives outside of work – and sometimes they need to prioritise those things ahead of work tasks.

This should be a given in the 21st century. But it’s largely not. 

There are still far too many organisations that see it as a nuisance when their staff start experiencing burn out or fatigue; or when they have to put their mental health or picking their kids up from school ahead of work.

And then these same organisations wonder why they experience high staff turnover, can’t get high performance from their teams or end up with bad reviews on Glassdoor. 

Teamwork

Health officials and self-help gurus are constantly urging people to look after themselves and respect what your body or mind is telling you. And yet staff are treated as pariahs when they come forward and are honest about the things that are affecting them.

And those underperforming members of your team who are constantly asking for flexibility? Could it be that they actually really do need that flexibility to deal with some other distractions in their life? And that, once they’re able to deal with those distractions, they’ll be in a much better place to perform at their very best?

Listen to your team members. Understand the things that are going on in their lives. Acknowledge that they might need flexibility. Apply this same approach with all your staff and see how positive an impact it will have on team morale and performance. 

Do away with those Victorian restraints.

Be A Good Leader

There are hundreds of thousands of leadership courses out there. And thousands of influencers on Instagram or LinkedIn telling people how they got to where they are (private plane on their way to the Bahamas; big watch; shiny teeth; expensive but ill-fitting suit; no socks – you know the sort…) through sheer hard work and by taking their opportunities.

But what’s the likelihood that they’re actually good leaders? And that they haven’t exploited the people that work for them along the way. Come on, we hear stories every week about organisational cultures which aren’t quite as (or anywhere near) as great as they appear on the surface.

Importance of team culture

What does a good leader that wants to create high performing teams in the 21st century do? 

They check in with people. They ask how they’re doing. If they’re OK. How are they feeling about work? Is there anything that’s stopping them from 100% believing in what they and the team are doing? And, if so, what can that leader and the team do to help them get back to that ‘good place’? 

And the more that team members understand that high performing teams are built around the idea of everyone being fully on board and believing in everything 100%, the less checking in with individuals a good leader will have to do, because the team organically looks after itself.

Keep Everyone Going On The Same Journey

OK, so you’ve got to this amazing point where everyone in your team is:

  • being completely honest with one another
  • 100% believing in everything they’re doing
  • managing their conditions
  • supporting one another and checking that everyone really is ‘OK’

Your work here is done! Time to put your feet up, right? 

Absolutely not. Your role as a leader is to constantly monitor the situation and continue to check in. 

Sure, you’ve got a high performing team and everything is working like clockwork. But what if something was to go awry, like a specialist in your team having to take some time away from work for whatever reason? Would you be in a position to make sure that panic doesn’t ensue and the wheels don’t come off?

Don’t be a seagull or helicopter manager. Make sure you use the world-first Tribe 365 app to measure staff sentiment and capture honest, anonymous feedback from your team on a daily basis.

Keep going on that journey – and bring everyone on your team with you.

Interested in learning more about how to build and maintain strong, high performing teams? Book a demo or give us a call on +44 (0) 1913 080356

Interested in finding out more?
Book a meeting in with the Tribe team
today on +44 (0) 1913 080 356 or at
team@tribe365.co

Written By Oliver Randall

Oliver is one of the Tribe365 ® founding members and has forged a career on finding passion in everything he does. Until the work with Tribe365 ® he never really understood it, and has found his real passion is unlocking the true passion and enjoyment in everyone around him.

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