This is a sponsored guest post.
Collaboration has always been the key to success. In every workplace, you’ll undoubtedly find people with an array of specialised skills. These different skill sets must come together to achieve a shared goal, and their success ultimately determines whether or not your enterprise is worthwhile. But how do you ensure you’ve got yourself a team that’s as strong as it can be? By testing their togetherness!
#1: Fun activities
Ever heard of ‘gamification’? It’s a common learning technique based on turning a task into a game, and it works wonders with teams. Fun events like team building activities at Latitude Melbourne, challenge your group with quick and engaging short-term goals, that effectively mirror what level of teamwork is needed to achieve consistent professional success. Team building activities are also effective motivational tools, most notably because when your team realises that they can achieve short-term goals (and experience the thrill that accompanies this victory), they gain confidence in their ability to take on even greater tasks. If they can climb up a rock wall together, they can take on anything! Win a game of dodgeball? Tick. This is only the beginning! The sense of satisfaction that comes from achieving set goals also grows more attainable when you know how simple achieving these goals can be. In short, a team that’s engaged and empowered, is more likely to be consistently productive.
#2: Learn from the honeybees
Bees are undeniably nature’s greatest teamworkers, with an honourable mention to ants. In the beehive model, every bee holds a specific purpose. And every bee knows exactly what needs to be achieved, what they’re all working towards. Make sure your bees know why they’re here. This knowledge of what their individual contribution is and how it will affect the team’s end result, is vital not just so that this one member of the team feels valued, but also to make sure that the entire team is performing at their very best. On top of this, bees are inherently social creatures. They learn and grow with one another. Not only do they know what their purpose is, they can learn what other bees are tasked with too, and can adapt if necessary. This outlined division of labour in the beehive model, stops workers from feeling overwhelmed by a task, because they know both what’s expected of them, as well as where to find support if they need it.
#3: Equal rewards and recognition
People are more likely to put in the hard yards if they know that all their effort will make a difference. The facilitator of any team must communicate what potential earnings are at stake, and how these earnings will be distributed if the team experiences success. In a realistic workspace, no individual member of the team deserves the entire pot. The whole idea of perfect teamwork only holds true if every member of the team experiences equal rewards and recognition for their combined efforts. Even the facilitator, arguably the ‘leader’ of the team, is useless without the skill sets of their other team members. A team victory is credited to the team, and to the team alone. However, small rewards like birthdays and unique treats, are always fun and can aid in creating a positive work environment that’s not overly formal. As long as everybody is feeling involved in the celebrations, let the good times roll from 9 till 5.
These small steps when taken consistently, will yield positive results faster than you think. People naturally seek purpose, and the most satisfying careers are those where their purpose is clear, where they know they’re not alone, and where success never goes unnoticed. Remember to always make your workspace a place where any individual would be happy to spend the bulk of their week. Remember to foster team-building over the solitary grind. But above all, remember that nobody achieves anything alone.
