Teamwork is the essence of success on whatever project you undertake. Deciding to let everyone work in isolation spells doom to your efforts long before you get started. For that reason, you need to implement strategies that can foster team effort.
Here are 12 strategies to promote team collaboration and improve productivity.
1. Lead by example
As a team leader, you are responsible for doing what you would desire your followers to do. It should not be a case of preaching water and taking wine. Let your members see the essence of collaboration and how it looks like from the way you conduct your tasks. One simple way to do so is by not running your business with an iron fist.
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2. Foster creativity
Without motivating your team members to think outside the box, you risk a situation where everyone gets lost in mundane tasks. For the team to be collaborative, you need to foster creativity. Doing so helps mix things up and creates an exciting atmosphere.
3. Allow team members to take the initiative
If you carefully constituted your team, you are likely to have followers who are willing to take a personal initiative. If a member loves to lead a certain task, you should use the opportunity to show them support.
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4. Provide access to collaboration software
You cannot have a collaborative team if your members do not have a way to collaborate. Luckily, your options on the most appropriate collaborative software to use are limitless. You can choose Clariti, Slack, Trello, Zoom, Helpjuice, among others. Consider trying the free version to see whether the software fits your team.
5. Communicate expectations
It would help if you communicated to your team members the need for collaboration. Make sure that they understand this is the minimum standard for being part of the team. If everyone understands your position on collaboration, it becomes easier to execute different tasks.
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6. Clarify the team goals
Your team members need to feel that they are working towards the attainment of something. Jointly create measurable goals and clearly define what a win is. Doing so gives them a sense of purpose, hence unity.
7. Have an incentive strategy
You can motivate your team members to collaborate using a preferred incentives strategy. Please have a look at your team’s scope and understand what motivates each one of them.
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8. Streamline work processes
Your company processes must be clear and straightforward to ensure team collaboration. You do not want a situation where each team member has his/her way of doing the same task. That would cause miscommunication and disagreements. Streamlining work processes ensures everyone is on the same page.
9. Track the progress of your team members
As you encourage your team members to collaborate, each one of them wants to see their efforts pay off. Track the progress of different tasks assigned. In so doing, you can confidently show your team what has been achieved and what’s still pending.
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10. Get feedback
Things don’t always work out as you’ve planned them. Thus, you need to have an open-minded perspective and listen to the comments made by your team members. Asking for feedback gives you a chance to see where the problem exists and how best to maneuver it.
11. Honor requests and keep promises
Keeping promises and honoring requests goes a long way in cementing your team. Broken promises are the cracks that start to separate team members. As a team leader, you have a duty the keep your word.
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12. Highlight the strengths of your team members
Empowering team members by focusing on the core strengths of each person allows them to work together seamlessly. That allows them to view each other as partners and not competitors.
