Copyright 2005 by Sergey Dudiy, Ph.D.
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Top Nine Tips for Better Teamwork and Team Building

Team building and teamwork skills are critical for your effectiveness as a manager or entrepreneur. Even if you are not in a leadership role yet, better understanding of teamwork can make you a more effective employee and give you an extra edge in your office.

Team building success is when your team can accomplish something bigger and work more effectively than a group of the same individuals working on their own. You have a strong synergy of individual contributions. But there are two critical factors in building a high performance team.

The first critical factor of a teamwork success is that all the team efforts are directed towards the same clear goals , the team goals. This relies heavily on good communication in the team and the harmony in member relationships.

The other important element is the diversity of skills and personalities. When people use their strengths in full, but can compensate for each other's weaknesses. When different personality types balance and complement each other.

Here are some additional team building ideas, techniques, and tips you can try in your situation.

  1. Make sure that the team goals are totally clear and completely understood and accepted by each team member.
  2. Make sure there is complete clarity in who is responsible for what. Do your best to avoid overlaps of authority. For example, if there is a risk that two team members will be competing for control in certain area, try to divide that area into two distinct parts and give each more complete control in one of those parts, according to those individual's strengths and personal inclinations.
  3. For issues that rely on the team consensus and commitment, involve more the whole team in the decision making process. For example, use group sessions with collective discussions of possible decision options or solution ideas. What you want to achieve here is that each team member feels his or her ownership in the final decision, solution, or idea. The more he or she feels this way, the more likely he or she is to agree with and commit to the decided line of action.
  4. Make sure there are no blocked lines of communications and you and your people stay fully informed.
  5. Build trust with your team members by spending one-on- one time in an atmosphere of openness and honesty. Be loyal to your employees, if you expect the same.
  6. Allow your office team members build trust and openness between each other in team building activities and events. Give them some opportunities of extra social time with each other in an atmosphere that encourages open communication. For example, in a group lunch on Friday.
  7. Be careful with interpersonal issues. Recognize them early and deal with them till full resolution.
  8. Never miss opportunities to empower your employees. Say thank you or show appreciation of an individual team player's work.
  9. Do not limit yourself to negative feedback. Be fare. Whenever there is an opportunity, give positive feedback as well.
  10. Finally, though teamwork and team building can be challenging, the rewords from high team effectiveness are well worth it.

Sergey Dudiy, Ph.D., is a personal growth writer and web entrepreneur, founder of, the definitive guide to personal time management and goal setting.

He also publishes free Time Management Fortress newsletter, dedicated to building a stronger foundation for your success skills.

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