Teamwork
5 Tips for Getting it Right
Clarify vision and goals
Your team should understand the purpose of the work they’re doing. Unless they understand how their work contributes to the entire organization, tasks and responsibilities can feel arbitrary or even directionless. The organization’s vision for a project should be clearly communicated to the team so that they better understand the way you make decisions.
Make sure that your team also knows about the goals that they should be hitting and when. Set clearly defined and measurable goals within a specific timeframe to ensure that everyone’s on the same page. This will make it easier for them to visualize where they stand relative to the designated benchmarks.
Communicate urgency
One of the biggest sources of workplace conflicts are misunderstandings about which tasks are most time-sensitive. Make sure that your team know which tasks are due when. If there are urgent tasks that need to be attended to immediately, make sure that everyone knows about them.
At the same time, learn to distinguish urgencies that are best left for another day and emergencies where your team members should drop everything else and work on solving the issue. This will help you avoid doing so much shortsighted reactive work to the detriment of your key goals.
Distribute tasks evenly
Teamwork doesn’t mean you do one task together. Rather, teamwork involves breaking down a project into several attainable tasks. These tasks should then be divided among your team members, according to the following factors:
- Priority: Choose the person who can do the task as soon as possible, without getting bogged down by other routine tasks.
- Skill set: Find someone who can ensure high-quality outcomes for the job because of their skills and expertise.
- Availability: Pick the team member who has ample time in schedule to complete the work.
- Development: If you want a particular team member to upgrade their skills and increase their knowledge, give them tasks where they’ll have to step up and learn.
- Interest: If someone is really interested about a specific task or responsibility, let them take it on since their passion can motivate them to excel.
Define roles
Clearly outline the roles of each member for every project. Everyone should be aware of the overall goals of the project, but must also have their individual set of goals and tasks. When everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, they won’t have to worry about stepping on someone else’s toes.
When there is ambiguity regarding roles, your team won’t be able to work together cohesively. Furthermore, the confusion can lead to resentment. Make sure there is proper documentation for the roles assigned, which should be accessible for your entire team. If there’s any question regarding obligations, your team can easily check this and avoid an escalation of conflict.
Divide roles based on individual strengths
Take a look at the skills of every single one of your team members and make sure that each one of them is placed where they can offer the most value. Identify their strengths and surround them with other people who can amplify and improve those strengths.
Dividing roles and allocating tasks based on individual strengths isn’t just about having the best person for the job, but also creating an environment of success and achievement. When someone knows that they’re good at their job, they’ll feel valued and happy. This kind of positive energy will also radiate with the rest of the group.
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