THE 9 TRAITS THAT DEFINE A PRODUCTIVE TEAM

Posted on Tuesday, 14th April - 2020, in ADVICE & TIPS and INSIGHTS, by Marcus Richards

Your business is successful, but is your team as efficient as possible?

You’ve finally got your company on track: you’re fully staffed with beautiful offices and the latest technology, plus, you’ve branched out, and your client list is the envy of your competitors. By all accounts, your business is flourishing. But when you look at your sales and revenue figures, something’s not adding up. Although you have the talent, tech, and tenacity, you don’t seem to have a productive team.

With a staff of highly skilled individuals, why are you facing the problems that plague unproductive teams? Your employees work hard but don’t seem to work hard together. They like each other, but do they like the idea of learning how to unite their strengths and tackle goals such as increased sales, completed projects, and a better bottom line? Believe it or not, there’s a big difference between a productive team and a group of people sitting at the same conference table.

Building a productive team requires just as much planning and strategy as running a company. With that in mind, here are the quintessential traits that define the world’s most productive teams.

NINE TRAITS THAT DEFINE A PRODUCTIVE TEAM

1. CREATING A SOCIAL CONNECTION

A truly productive team does not allow social capital to lose out to social justice. At a time when sexual harassment discussions in the workplace are resulting in less conversation, less mentoring, and less opportunity, good teamwork includes lunch, coffee and social interaction without fear of harassment or reprisals. Productive teams rely on social reciprocity, because the give-and-take creates a bridge between diverse team members, rather than divide them.

2. TRUST

Team members who trust one another know that they can speak up, think creatively, take risks, propose innovative decisions, do their best work and make mistakes. Knowing that you have a supportive team will result in the ability to go through your natural thinking and working process without restraint.

3. RELIABILITY

There’s nothing that helps build a great working relationship better than knowing you can rely on your team at all times. Whether it’s knowing that your team members will deliver work as requested and on time, or arrive promptly for scheduled meetings, demonstrating and acknowledging reliability is the ultimate team builder.

4. INFORMATION SHARING

Teamwork is not about guarding territory; it’s about exchanging knowledge and ideas to tackle the bigger picture and create a better product for your clients. Sharing information takes place face-to-face in meetings, via digital meeting apps or video conferencing online, and through email. Regardless of who is responsible for an individual task, all team members share responsibility. Although not everyone on the team will play a significant role, everyone is involved in achieving the final result.

5. LEADERSHIP WITHOUT DOMINANCE

Some team members will naturally become conversation and project leaders, but they know when to back off. Everyone should have input and an opinion, so the loudest voices should know when to confer with the quietest. A team leader’s primary objectives are keeping the team focused on work expectations and results as well as maintaining effective time management. Leadership does not mean imposing your views onto others.

6. COMPLETING THE THOUGHT

It’s OK to say “I don’t know” but don’t stop the conversation there! Teamwork involves getting the answer to the rest of the team or a client within a specified time. The phrase “I don’t know” is never a final answer to an effective team. A productive team will seek out the solution and always complete the thought.

7. LEARNING FROM MISTAKES

Mistakes are made, but failure does not follow. Strong teammates accept mistakes, support each other and take steps to ensure these issues are not fatal to a project. A productive team knows that mistakes are only failures when you fail to learn from them.

8. TAKING THE NECESSARY TIME

Putting off tough decisions and tasks is not an option for an effective team. A productive team facing a complex project sets mini-goals or has daily check-ins for completing key components. Team members give careful consideration to all the options before making final decisions, but they never procrastinate.

9. ACCEPTING THE WISDOM OF OUTSIDE INPUT

A productive team sees the value of outside input. Unique Team Building offers a variety of experiences tailored to the needs of your staff. Whether hiking in the mountains around Sydney and beyond, participating in an Iron Chef-style cooking challenge, getting corporate headshots or working with personal trainers in yoga, running and nutrition sessions, our mission is to help your office build a better company, starting with these individuals and turning them into a team who will not only our activities but who will know each other better at the end of our sessions and look forward to working together.