With the advent of the new year, many of us contemplate putting into place resolutions and goals in both our professional and personal lives to take advantage of the ‘fresh start’.
“what can we do better?”, “how can I make my life easier?”, “what do we want to achieve this year?”
One of key areas that can make the difference, is to improve the ways in which your crew works together – by building your team, efficiencies can be developed which in theory will be able to give everyone more ‘time’ to explore other personal and professional goals.
Are your Crew one Team?
Being a great team is more than being good friends. Team bonding activities are great to help individuals to get to know each other better, but in itself will not guarantee that the ‘dream team’ will evolve. Sometimes we are lucky and we have the opportunity of working with a great team, more often than not there are inter and intra departmental divides and conflicts.
The Definition of a Team
“A group of individuals who are interdependent on each other to achieve their goal”
So are the interior and deck reliant on each other to achieve their goal? You may well receive a few different responses! What neither will deny is that one can have an adverse affect on the other. It is the Leader’s responsibility to forge this interdependence to create a highly functional crew.
Woodcock identified a number of ‘Building Blocks’, which once in place and regularly reviewed will enhance ‘real’ team working.
Woodcock’s Team Building Blocks
1. Create shared and agreed goals – short and long term goals agreed, from these specific departmental goals are agreed
2. Clarity of roles and responsibilities – this does not mean we say “It’s not my job”!
3. Agreed set of team values – what is and is not acceptable behaviour.
4. Mutual trust – trust each other to do what they say they will do
5. Sound management procedures – sound management procedure in regular use
6. Appropriate leadership – flexible to accommodate the situation and the individuals
7. Openness and confrontation – crew are able to bring issues to the table an discuss without retribution
8. Individual development – as a priority which is shared between the individual and the leader
9. Inter-group relations – inter-department working encouraged and rewarded
10. Communications – are open and available to all, with regular team briefings
11. Regular Review – culture of continuous improvement, learning from the good as well as the mistakes. Recognition for a job well done!
Impact Crew can help facili
tate the creation of your ‘dream team’ by bringing practical tools and inviting challenging discussions to enhance team working across all departments, thereby increasing productivity, performance and a happier more motiviated team.
Why not kick start the New Year with a team development event!
