How to Turn a Work Group Into an Effective Team

Turn your employees into an effective team.

When a group works well together, everything goes more smoothly. Turning a work group into an effective team doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and patience to change behaviors and allow everyone to become comfortable depending on their fellow employees. Once your work group has coalesced and begins working as a unit, you might see an upswing in not only productivity, but also in the attitude of your employees.

Instructions

1. Treat the team as a group rather than as individuals. Meet with them together, not individually. Put their desks or cubicles in the same area to encourage an easy flow of information.

2. Allow the team to set a team goal each week. Write this goal on a white board near the area of the office where the team works. Don't be present when they're setting the goal. Instead, step back and show that you trust them to work it out.

3. Make clear decisions about who functions in what role. In-fighting over who has what responsibility can hamper the progress of a team at first. Having clear roles given to each team member by either the team itself or by its supervisor can create a better sense of individual tasks and how each contributes to the goals of the team.

4. Conduct team brainstorming sessions. Ask the group about the projects they're working on. Try to get them to see how different segments of the project work together, and how they're contributing to the overall success of the endeavor. Brainstorm solutions for any problems an individual team member is having with his part of the project. Getting help from his fellows at a brainstorming meeting might encourage him to depend more on them for solutions or input during the work day.

5. Try team-building activities or functions. Taking a day and having employees go through a ropes course, or even a simple pizza party during lunch one day, can help teammates get to know each other outside of the office. Activities that focus on getting to know each other or building trust can help the team work more effectively on business problems and solutions at work.

References

• US Department of Justice COPS :Teamwork Strategies
• Highere: How to Improve Teamwork