Building Cooperative Teams
How a leader can influence teamwork and an acceptance of divergent p
Have you created a corporate climate that permits cooperation? Do your team members complain about each other? Could productivity be better? If so, read on.
Sometimes in an effort to build a large customer base, a climate of competition is created. This can have devastating effects such as duplication of effort, elaborate record-keeping and a break down in morale. Shifting the focus to one of cooperation and an acceptance of contradictory points of view can dramatically increase the possibility of creative problem solving and resource sharing. In many cases, the pooling of talent - and not segregating it - can allow for the development of new strategies to build market share.
1. Do members of your team work cooperatively?
Do you see them helping each other out with projects or do they keep to themselves. If there is tension in the air and they are competing more than cooperating, it is time to create incentives for cooperation and disincentives for working solo. Show the team that you see the value in multiple points of view and skills sets working together towards a common goal. If you have incentives in place that promote competition (such as financial bonuses for sales performance), you have to also have an equally attractive financial bonus for team efforts.
2. Do the personalities of your team work well together?
Are there personality clashes that have caused polarizing of the team? This is a dangerous slippery slope that needs to be stopped quickly. Coach your team to appreciate the diverse points of view and to extinguish judgmental attitudes. Teach them to listen to opposite view points without superimposing their own ways of doing things. Show them that arguing a point because you need to be right is not conducive to open communication. Accept that there are many times where there are many right answers to a problem.
In the next article, Communication and Teamwork: How a leader can encourage dialogue and information sharing, we'll look at team communication and the questions:
3. Do your team members feel free to disagree with you?
4. Do you have an open door?
If you have comments or suggestions on this article, please start a discussion
If you liked this article, try Promoted to a Leadership Role or Leadership Competency Building
Copyright © 2006, Joni Rose and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright.
