Did you know that the only difference between the top 10 percent of the world’s happiest people and everyone else is their satisfying social life? Well, it’s true – and it extends to the workplace as well. Which is not 
surprising, considering how much time the average person spend at their job.
Research has shown that social support at work increases feelings of personal control. Positive emotions are important to organizations as indicated by the fact that high-performing business teams demonstrate a 6:1 ratio of positivity to negativity. Happiness at work is infectious. As a leader, it starts with you.
Define the Team You Want to Build
Being part of a team means feeling part of something larger than yourself. Success is based on everyone understanding the overall mission and objectives and how their individual roles contribute to them. The bigger picture drives team actions.
- Set clear expectations. Clearly communicate your team’s purpose, ongoing responsibilities and expected outcomes. Support team members with the resources they need and be sure to continually seek their feedback.
- Create a sense of commitment. Employees need to know and believe that the team mission is important and in line with their own priorities. Be the conduit who makes this occur. Every individual needs to be excited, engaged and challenged by team opportunities.
- Build the right skillset and let team members know it’s there. Employees must feel assured that their team has the right people and capabilities to succeed. For instance, if yours is a process improvement team, make sure every step of the process is represented.
- Encourage innovation. Express your sincere interest in making change for the better – and solicit ideas from team members on how to make this happen. Place a high value on creative thinking, unique solutions and out-of-the-box ideas. Reward members who take reasonable risks to make improvements.
Stand by Your Team
Strengthen team bonds by being there for your employees. This translates into accessibility, fairness, support and compromise. Even if they make mistakes, be prepared to “take one for the team” and move on to implement corrective actions that double as learning experiences.
- Get to know each individual. This is the first step toward successful team collaboration. Practice active listening as you learn each employee’s personal goals, objectives, passions and motivators.
- Set the emotional tone. This is part of effective leadership by example. Create an atmosphere of positivity and optimism by demonstrating it yourself, even during the most challenging times.
- Make time to be sociable. Create opportunities to get together outside work, at lunch, Happy Hours or outings such as sporting events and picnics.
- It’s impossible to over communicate. Problems shared are problems halved. Discussions should be as open and transparent as possible, providing team members the liberty to express their views and concerns. Conduct regular morning or start-of-shift meetings. They can be brief and informal – and will go a long way toward breaking the ice, setting the tone for the day and further boosting interpersonal relations.
Building a team takes a certain amount of work and a healthy dose of ongoing commitment – but the end results are nothing short of amazing. To learn more about developing and guiding your workforce team, contact PrideStaff Modesto today.
