The 5 Key Factors in Fostering Teamwork

October 24, 2016

Efficiency and productivity are just some of the characteristics that every leader wants their team to possess. Individual talents and skills are basic ingredients that will give you your desired outcome for your team. However, these basic ingredients will be useless if you do not know how to make it work in a cohesive setting.

To hone your leadership skills, you might have attended numerous professional development workshops and corporate training Australia. Most seminars will talk about making you a skillful leader and will talk about these 5Cs of leadership:

• Commitment – Consider this as the foundation of working together. Your team should be able to commit to the purpose and goals of your organization. As the leader, it will be your task to be clear about upholding values and making them understand how the vision of the team supports the company’s goals. To properly align your members’ commitment to your team, you might need to give them an activity about creating the team’s cohesive mission, vision and goals. This will ensure that every member of your team is on the same page as to their commitment to the team’s purpose.   
• Contribution – Proper balance of the factors; inclusion, confidence and empowerment, will enhance each member’s contribution to the work. If you are having a hard time convincing your team to take part in the work that your team is doing, all you need to do is make them feel the sense of belonging, develop their confidence and support their ideas. Some people will not make the first step unless they are encouraged to do so. Do not wait for your team members, take the initiative and convince them by working on the three factors that affects team contribution. 
• Communication – A positive, friendly and open line of communication within your team nourishes teamwork and cohesiveness. To foster this kind of communication in your team, you can design a team building activity that will enhance your team’s skills in listening and responding. There will be a lot of factors that will affect the communication within your group and helping your members to effectively communicate will break down barriers that impede your team from having an effective teamwork.
• Cooperation – This element refers to the interdependence of your team members. The “I” mentality greatly affects cooperation. What leaders can do to improve the team’s cooperation is to focus and highlight each member’s strengths. Be clear about the impact of these strengths to the team’s productivity. Make sure that you also device action plans as to the improvement that needs to be done for behaviors that affects the productivity negatively. Make them understand that whatever they do affects the team’s working dynamics.
• Conflict Management – Experiencing conflict is an inevitable occurrence if you are working with a diverse group of thinkers. Working on effectively managing a conflict in the group will eliminate distrust and other issues. Make sure that you recognize the early onset of a conflict so that it will not eat on your team’s work relationships. Know how to use effective techniques such as shifting shoes. By allowing your team to view the conflict in the other person’s perspective, you’ll be able to make them understand each other.

Better teamwork and great techniques in managing your team can be learned. You might not have seen the qualities of a leader in you but applying what you’ve learned on your daily work will make you the leader that your members need. Visit Beyond the Boardroom blog for more team building articles!