5 Strategies For Engendering “Team Spirit”

From the perspective of any business leader, there are numerous problems to contend with. From day-to-day business dealings to finances, there is so much involved in running a business that employee morale can easily fall by the wayside if not properly managed. There is the commonplace notion that there needs to be cohesiveness or team spirit in any company but implementing it is easier said than done. As such, businesses have to figure out ways to subtly invoke team spirit. 

This article discusses key tips for engendering team spirit that your business may want to consider.

1. Recognize That People Need To Work With You

People in charge can easily go on a power trip. You have to remember that to get a team working together, they have to work with each other and they have to work with you, not for you. It's easy in so many environments for people to guard their corners. This doesn't create team spirit and can encourage a sense of backbiting. There are so many people looking out for themselves and attempting to climb the career ladder but this never solves the problem from a cultural perspective. As a leader, you have to remember that you aren't above or below anyone. If something good happens as a result of someone's suggestion, you must give credit to them. When you look at organizations like the navy or the army, it's never about each individual's mental or physical strength but about their ability to work in a team. When people start to place themselves above everyone else, conflict starts brewing.

2. Avoid Criticising

Praise and criticism are two sides of the same coin. People need criticism as this will help them improve their efforts but there is a way to deliver criticism in an effective way. Constructive criticism is crucial. We have to remember that any member of a team can feel affronted if they are criticized publicly. There’s an adage that says you should praise publicly but criticize privately. When you give praise, it's important to direct it to those that are not usually acknowledged. A very good example is to praise those who form the backbone of a team; people like the clerical team or the receptionists. If you've worked in an organization where people are willing to step on each other in order to climb the ladder, these businesses are inherently selfish in their culture. Everybody is as important as the next person and everyone needs to know their efforts are appreciated. When we start to encourage others in a public forum, it represses the culture of criticism. 

3. Reiterate The Importance Of Personal Goals Within A Professional Framework

We have to accept that everyone has their individual goals. Along the same lines, we have to let team members know that if they have specific personal goals, they will only be able to accomplish them if the team accomplishes its goals. A very good example is a pay increase. By showing employees the bigger picture, understanding how each individual team member can contribute to this picture, and also having an understanding of each employees’ unique goals, we can steer their abilities in the right direction. An employee has to want to make an effort; it's not enough to tell them it's their job to get something done. If someone has a personal goal and we can facilitate its accomplishment within the business, we've got to link their personal goals with their professional goals so that they are motivated. 

4. Emphasize Sharing And Giving

People don't give or share easily. The idea of passing the ball to the person who will run with it best is all about understanding each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. It's all about understanding that everybody needs to share their unique skills so that the entire team can benefit. We live in an age where people tend to be covert, especially if they want to climb the career ladder. The best way to engender positive values is to lead by example. If you want to create a sense of team spirit, you have to set the standard.

5. Focus On Building The Internal Brand

Building the internal brand has nothing to do with marketing per se, but it's about making sure that everybody in the business/team has knowledge of the bigger picture. Once they all have an understanding of the goal, businesses can start to create informed ways of working together and build that internal brand. 

The internal brand can be about creating a uniform way of thinking or literally having uniforms (specifically for organizations that may require this - e.g. security agencies). Depending on your own ideals, you may feel that uniforms or office gifts are not the way to go but they offer a way to subtly invoke a sense of team spirit. A business logo emblazoned on everybody's lanyard or everyday office items can be a subtle way to remind employees of the bigger picture. Once you start to build the internal brand, it will become embedded in the culture of the company and it will provide that consistent reminder that can help employees remember who they are working for and that they are part of a team.

As hard as it is to nurture the feeling of team spirit when employees are working on an individual basis, to progress, we must remember that each cog is part of a much larger machine. It's time to shun the idea of single-mindedness and go for building team spirit.