How to Be a Team Builder

Teams form for many different reasons that range from work and community projects to playing sports. While the individuals that make up a team may be different, the team has a common goal that brings them together and propels them to work together. A main characteristic of a team is that the individuals work collectively, but in some circumstances, teams need a leader that helps to build and solidify the team.

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    Create excitement. You can create excitement among team members and reinforce the goal of the team working together by presenting a challenge for the team to overcome, appealing to the pride of each individual and showing how reaching the goal is an opportunity for the team to make a difference. You can also build enthusiasm by being enthusiastic about the goal of the team yourself. Enthusiasm spreads, so if you demonstrate initiative and enthusiasm, you’re helping to be a team builder by example.

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    Expect commitment and be committed. Set expectations upfront as to what each member of the team is responsible for completing. When expectations are set at the beginning, team members can commit to their role in the process, and this helps lead the team to achieving their goal.

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    Encourage inclusion. According to the Learning Center, which focuses on building teams and leaders, make sure when the group is assigning tasks and roles that everyone in the group is included. When presenting opinions or soliciting feedback, be sure that everyone on the team has an opportunity to share information or express their opinion.

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    Recognize the skills and abilities of each member. Every member of a team brings something special to the group. Leverage these talents, which helps the individuals in the group to excel, and ultimately, helps the team to excel. For example, if the team is a non-profit event planning committee, one member of the team may be organized and she might be selected to handle the overall planning of the event, while another member may be a creative thinker so he can help in coming up with the design of the layout of the event, decorations and other details.

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    Foster communication. From the time the team forms until the goal of the team is reached, communicate, communicate, communicate. Exchange emails, phone calls and set regular meetings to provide updates on the status of each team member’s tasks and the overall accomplishment of the goal.

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    Provide recognition. When the goal of the team is accomplished, recognize how each team member contributed to the success. Recognition can be verbal, an award or a certificate of accomplishment. Identity the talent or special skill that each team member possesses that allowed the team to work together in achieving the goal.