No man is an island. We all need other people to function effectively and efficiently. This does not mean that we cannot do well on our own. It simply means that we can do more when we work together. Nobody is irrelevant as we all have a role to play. No organization is run by one man. A good ecommerce development company consists of staffs doing their best to ensure the smooth running of the company. Even app development companies cannot function properly without the presence of a receptionist despite how little their function may seem. The whole idea comes down to team building. A team is a group of individuals who have common values, goals objectives and work together to achieve the set objectives. Most times, we look at achieving the set objectives without considering what precedes it.
Working as a team is one thing what precedes success as a team. By working together, I do not mean that everyone working in the same area, table or department. By working together, I mean everyone manning their stand to help the team achieve their goal. Lemme use an ecommerce development company for example. It has various departments doing different but interrelated duties. The department of research, customer service, human resource, etc. all perform different duties. These duties are not so different as they affect each other. If the research department does not play its part, it will affect the customer service department. This is because the research department will provide incorrect results that will not satisfy customers. When customers are not satisfied, they will call customer service to lay complains. If the research department is not working well, customer service will have to receive more calls and deal with more complains. Building a team precedes working as a team and achieving success. This is the point you decide to fail or succeed. Here are some of the dos and don'ts of team building.
Do encourage diversity
This is one area most group leaders run away from. A lot of them will rather have a team consisting of people with similar mindsets. This is not always the best option despite the fact that people prefer it more. Variety is the spice of life and your team should not be lacking it. It is also good to pick people you can manage. This I will talk extensively about in my next point.
Do pick people you can manage
The fact that you want diversity in ideas does not mean that you want a team that will give you stress while you are managing them. During the course of an interview, get into the people you want to select and try to ascertain their personality. After doing that, look at your own personality and cross check if you guys can work together. The best of candidates on paper may not be the best fit for your working environment.
Do pick your team members based on merit
The aim of choosing them is to meet a set objective. This will require some effort on the part of everyone to do so. When picking your team members, pick people who have the skill to tackle the challenges you may encounter when trying to reach your aim. Do not pick your team on any basis outside merit. Do not pick someone because he is a friend or because someone tells you he is good when he does not seem good.
Don't just delegate duties
This is one aspect of team building that is very delicate. One slight mistake and everything comes crumbling. When delegating a duty, also delegate the needed authority to enable that team member carryout that duty. Everyone must not always report to you. Create a hierarchy and work with it.
Don't attend to everything
This is also in line with delegating authority and working with hierarchy. I do not see why you must be the one attending to every report or complaint after creating a hierarchy. What you as a team leader should be attending to is the report from the leaders of sub groups in your team.
Don't forget to instill team principles
This is another very important aspect of team building that you should not for any reason overlook. From the moment where you select your team members, make them understand the principles guiding their conducts as members of your team. It should even be in the form of a written document. Something that you can always refer to in case a team member errs.
Don't always use force, combine it with negotiation
The idea of using force when dealing with human beings will only work for a while. The effects of using force is always short-lived. This is the reason why you see people who use it constantly re-administering it. Negotiation on the other hand involves speaking to the conscience of the people you are working. Its effects are long lived, if you live long enough to benefit from them. You as a group leader must learn how to effectively combine both when motivating your team members.
Don't be afraid of conflicts
Conflict in team building is not totally the same as conflicts in general. Conflicts in a team means that team members have clashing ideas on how to achieve the set goal. This does not mean that team members are at each other's neck. As a team leader, you should not be afraid of conflict but prepare for it. You should also be able to amicably settle it. Get to hear from both parties and pick out the best. The best can sometimes be the combination of both ideas.
There are four stages in team building. They include: forming, storming, norming and performing.
Forming is the initial stage when group members come together.
Storming is the stage that features conflict and clash in ideas
Norming is the stage where the team establishes principles for its optimal function.
Performing is the stage where group members work with those principles to function effectively.
Team building is when you are able to navigate through these stages successfully.