Teamwork Tips

This post is probably the most important Teamwork Tip on this website. Think of it as a turbo-charger that will boost the effectiveness of every teamwork tip you put into practise.

Live By Your Own Techniques. How can you lead your team into working with enthusiasm and energy if you don’t work with these qualities yourself? How can you encourage a culture of continuous improvement if you never come up with new ideas yourself?

People hate obeying hypocrites. As a member of a team, there is just nothing more enfuriating than being bossed around by a team leader who manages to ignore every piece of advice that comes out of their own mouth! The only thing you will achieve by living by a different standard to your team mates is in building resentment.

By acting in line with what you expect from your team mates, you create social pressure that encourages them to act in the same way. For instance if the team leader on the job starts working long hours near deadline, then other team members will feel like they’re slacking if they don’t do the same. On the flip side – when you openly breach your own standards, you are planting in your team mates head, justification for them to behave against your wishes with a detrimental effect for the team.  You could condense this point into this one maxim: ‘obey yourself as you would like your team mates to obey you’‘.

Let us focus on the practical application of this turbo charger in relation to enthusing and inspiring your team mates. How do you show enthusiam without looking over-eager?

1. Pay great interest in your teams work and compliment individuals for thorough work.
2. Display your enthuasiam in manner and tone of voice.
3. Be punctual and well organised.
4. Visibly dedicate higher-than-average time and energy to the project.
5. Encourage improvement and creative thinking by constantly striving to improve your own work

So there you have it. Display confidence in your own techniques by becoming a beacon of example to others, and let the infectious power of inspiration and energy spread across the culture of the team! This technique along with other Teamwork Tips on this website will hopefully allow you to focus more on your own work than worrying about the short comings of other team members. If you live by your own strategies, your skill as a leader will improve several-fold, leaving you with piece of mind and a more productive team.