When you work with a group of people, you start to build trust, understanding, unity, and respect. Developing connections can make for a more comfortable – and more productive – working environment. It can also lead to a stronger support system beyond leadership outlets. We’ve got 6 simple tips to build team unity that can help you tackle challenges and sustain your workday well-being.
1) Hold daily huddles
Here are Harmony Healthcare, our Account Executives, Recruiters, and CSM team start out every morning with a team huddle. We discuss goals and objectives with teammates who help us hold ourselves accountable. We also give each other advice on client support, business deals, and how to overcome any hurdles in the way.
2) Celebrate personal wins
If someone on your team hits her monthly or quarterly goal, make it a win for the entire department. Announce it to the rest of the team and celebrate!
Here at Harmony, we like to think of ourselves as individual athletes playing in a team sport. We cheer each other on and are grateful for the awesome people we work with each day. It’s always the season for giving pats on the backs and kudos for jobs well done!
3) Find out what your team is passionate about
Do they play a sport after hours? Do they enjoy spa days? Are they saving for a big trip backpacking around Europe next summer? What causes and charities are closest to their hearts?
Know what your team is passionate about. It’ll help you connect with them and show them that you care about their interests outside of the office. Your support may be just what they need to reach a goal or find more work/life balance.
4) Encourage open communication and honesty
It’s crucial that team members feel they can approach members of leadership and the human resources team to work through challenges or to share frustrations. The office culture should make them feel comfortable discussing good news as well.
Open and honest communication creates a sense of transparency. That goes a long way towards establishing trust between team members. An engaging company culture begins with providing a platform for the ideas and opinions of all team members. From there, it’s about taking action to support team members when they speak up.
Remember: some of the best ideas are born from the unlikeliest of places.
5) Hire intelligence
An essential part of building strong teams is hiring the right people from the beginning. This means generating a strong pool of potential candidates, using a thorough interview process, and ensuring that a clear picture of expectations is provided for your new team members. There is no room for surprises for your organization or those accepting new roles.
6) Cherish inspiration over motivation
A leader’s job is not to motivate. Instead, it’s to inspire.
Inspiration is far more powerful than motivation. Motivation is fleeting, but inspiration is born of something deeper. It can be honed and amplified over time through hard work and consistent effort. We’re each motivated and inspired by different goals and in different ways. Collaborate with your team to identify what strategies keep both alive in your organization. Be open with your leadership team about your team’s needs.
Why a unified team matters
We devote 40 hours a week (and sometimes more) to our workplaces. That’s often more time than we get to spend with loved ones. Team building activities and approaches can make quite a difference in how we succeed in those 40 hours. As individuals and as an organization, we benefit from a unified team by:
Morale boosts
Surely we’ve all witnessed the power of team unity on morale and work culture. But just in case you want to read up on the topic, Patrick Lencioni’s book The Truth About Employee Engagement delves into it, including what it means to be happy at work.
One of his most insightful points is that people want to feel known. We want to be recognized and understood for who we are and what we bring to the table. When we have that from our team and members of leadership, we’re more likely to feel fulfilled. We’re also more likely to go the extra mile and to be more productive.
These responses undoubtedly have an impact on the morale of those around us.
Increased productivity
Team unity fostered in a work environment leads to boosted productivity. With more hands on deck, tasks can be achieved in a more timely manner. Sharing tips and tricks on efficiency leads to better and cohesive group knowledge.
Focused strengths
NASA found that fatigued crews with experience working together as a team had fewer errors when placed under pressure than fresh crews that had never flown together. If astronauts rely on the power of unity, shouldn’t your team as well?
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