Seven ways to build a successful business team

An attempt at creating a successful business team does not end with hiring a group of highly skilled employees; it goes beyond. 

A successful business team does require skill, but it is equally, if not more, necessary that the group members be able to work together to get the best outcomes. 

Only in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect can the individuals work to their best potential. You don’t want your team wasting precious time in resolving arguments and trying to reach a common decision amidst a pile of scattered ideas. 

As a manager, you must ensure that your team is goal-directed, ambitious, cooperative, diverse, and supportive of each other. 

Collaboration is the key to good teamwork and this, in turn, is crucial to the success of a business. To help you create a successful business team that you can rely on in times of crisis, we will now highlight some useful tips:

1. Outline a clear goal

Where is the team headed? What is the main goal, and how will that goal be achieved? Unless your team members know the plan and the means to reach it, progress will be slow. 

Although it might sound simple, most teams face this challenge. Some teams outline too many priorities to handle together, creating confusion and unclear goals. 

Three priorities are more than enough because any more than that, and they would not be ‘priorities’ anymore. 

Therefore, a clear goal outline and knowing how to create are crucial in a successful business team.

2. Invest time in talent development

Introduce talent development strategies in your organization to best use your team’s potential. Talent development in an organization refers to developing employees’ existing skills and polishing new skills that are now in demand because of changes in the technological landscape. 

This method fosters personal growth and allows teams to make use of each member’s personal ability to maximize success. 

Two common talent development strategies include upskilling, which provides for building upon existing skills, and reskilling, whereby you train your employees in new skills. 

Talent development effectively prevents skill gaps that can hinder your organization’s success.

3. Establish clear team values

Your team must have a clear set of values; an outline of the acceptable behaviors and those that are not. 

Members can work together effectively when they have a common ground. Usually, a culture develops on its own when a group of people work together but sometimes, you must establish clear ground rules. 

It is up to you to approach this issue; you can adopt a laissez-faire leadership style and leave it up to the team to develop a culture of cooperation. 

On the other hand, you may issue an outline of the guidelines that the team has to implement. Either way, the team must stick to the created standards.

4. Value diversity

A study in 2019 on companies showed that those companies that valued ethnic diversity in executive teams had 36% more chances of above-average profitability compared to teams with the least ethnic diversity. In fact, diversifying the team can improve productivity by 35%. 

A mix of different educational backgrounds, religions, cultures, skill sets, and abilities can encourage greater creativity, improve productivity, enable connection with a variety of consumers, and in turn, increase revenue. 

As a manager, you must prioritize diversity when hiring employees for your team.

5. Make your team members feel valued and respected

Everyone enjoys appreciation, and feeling valued encourages greater effort. Your team members must be putting in a great deal of effort and time, and a little appreciation can mean a lot to them.

Show interest in their personal lives, show them that you care, help them foster personal and professional growth, and reward success. 

Rewards and recognition for their effort boost their morale and improve productivity, encourage employee happiness and job satisfaction, and create loyalty.

6. Facilitate transparency and open communication

The team members should feel free to drop by your office and talk to you. On the other end, you must also communicate everything clearly to your team and be transparent in business matters. 

Let your employees access the big picture so that they understand the reason behind business decisions and don’t have to follow your commands blindly. 

The management should communicate their goals regarding business and specific projects to the team members.

Open communication and transparency encourage an environment of trust and respect, increases job satisfaction, minimize stress, and promote loyalty. It also creates accountability on both ends and boosts productivity.

7. Promote growth and continued learning

Progress is only possible if you embrace change and move forward as times change. This is only possible when your team members are dedicated to keep gaining knowledge and have access to the necessary resources for such continued learning. 

Encourage your employees to seek knowledge by introducing training programs, inviting guest speakers relevant to your industry, hosting conferences, arranging webinars, etc. 

You can also encourage your team members to attend industry meetups and join Internet chat groups. 

Businesses can conduct mentoring programs where experienced employees can train the new staff members.

On the other hand, you can also encourage employees to seek higher education opportunities by offering credit for continuing education. 

84% of US residents believe higher education is important for getting ahead. In the long run, such learning opportunities will contribute to the success of your business as a whole.

Final words

Teams are the core element in the success of any business, and creating a cooperative, collaborative, and efficient business team is an important first step in ensuring success. 

Successful business teams must have clear goals, values, and diversity. To create a successful business team, invest in talent development, respect, make team members feel valued, enable transparency, and encourage continued learning. 

These measures will prove very beneficial to the success of your business as a whole in the long run.