It Takes Time to Build a Strong Team
Dysfunctional relationships on teams create factions and
disharmony which will slow any team in its work objectives. Here are five steps
your team can take to build strength in relationships and achieve their desired
goals.
1. Good relationships build strong teams over time.
"The glue that holds all relationships together - including the
relationship between the leader and the led is trust, and trust is based on
integrity." - Brian Tracy. Most meaningful things in life take time to
build. Integrity must be demonstrated multiple times before trust evolves. The
larger the group, the longer it takes. If two or three people form your team,
you can learn about your teammates fairly quickly because your interactions are
more frequent. Integrity will or won't be demonstrated rapidly. With five or
ten teammates, it can take a significant period of time for all of them to come
together. Relationships with integrity and trust still take time to build and
become strong.
2. Practice the patience plan. "Never cut what
you can untie." - Joseph Joubert. Developing patience requires you to
appreciate how other people think. Every person believes their situation is
different, their problems are bigger and their faults are not impactful. In
other words each of us thinks our circumstances deserve special thoughtfulness
and our teammates should be more patient with us. To overcome this we must turn
the tables. When we put ourselves in the other person's place, it makes it
easier to untie issues instead of emotionally cutting our teammate.
3. Recognize your teammates have and will create problems.
"A relationship, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly
move forward or it dies." - Woody Allen. Your teammates will be the source
of your greatest joy at work and your greatest distress. Top executives spend
seven out of eight hours in a day dealing with the complexity of people problems.
In moving your team forward keep in mind it involves positive and negative
relationship issues. You don't get to enjoy only the good without the bad.
Every teammate has weaknesses they don't see, poor work habits and personal
issues. Give your teammates the same grace you would like to receive for your
deficiencies and keep your relationships moving forward.
4. Understand where you create a need for patience in others.
"Before you try to change others, remember how hard it is to change
yourself."- Bill Bluestein. It is important for us to know our own
shortcomings. Ask someone close to you to list a few of the areas where they
see a need for patience with you. Accept the list and don't be defensive. You
don't have to agree with the entire list, but recognize it is how you are
perceived. It is the things you say and do. The key for your growth is to look
behind the list and ponder if it represents who you are. If you are perceived
as gruff, but don't believe yourself to be so then you need to work on the perception.
If you realize you truly are angry, you must work on the source. By keeping in
mind others are exercising patience with you, it helps you remember to be
patient with teammates.
5. Recognize all relationships create opportunities. "Little kindness and courtesies are so
important. In relationships, the little things are the big things." -
Stephen Covey.
Initiate positive action with your team and the teammates
closest to you. Offer these four things to grow opportunity.
·
Support. Allow teammates to lead and demonstrate their ideas.
Assist them when it is needed, but never in a condescending manner.
·
Mentor. Be an example. Answer their questions, but give
direction only when it is genuinely needed.
·
Appreciation. Respect their ideas and listen. Never undermine
their efforts through criticism.
·
Repayment. Make sure you have closed the loop on the Golden
Rule. Payback their efforts and kindness toward you.
Here's the bottom line when it come to building a team. If you
travel alone, you can probably go faster. Every journey requires patience. But
taking these concrete steps will help build a strong team around you and carry
the entire team forward in their careers.
Richard Highsmith, rick@qualityteambuilding.com, is
President of Quality Team Building. He has twenty-five years experience
training and coaching. He has built and sold two successful businesses. To
learn more about becoming a team leader visit our website at http://www.qualityteambuilding.com or call Rick toll-free at 1-888-484-8326
X101.
