12 Habits of Highly Effective Teams

It's never easy to lead a team, no matter how many members you have. When different types of people are grouped together with different temperaments, miscommunication can occur which inhibits work productivity. As a result, it can cause you to climb walls. With a little tact, however, you can take your team to great professional heights.

According to legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson, “The strength of the team is in each of its members. The strength of each member is the team.”

Even though leading a team can be difficult, working in a team can motivate, inspire and motivate employees. However, it is important to remember that building a team at work does not guarantee its immediate success. To be truly effective, a team must adopt a variety of positive habits and behaviors. And here are 12 of those habits.

1. Quality one-to-one interviews are scheduled weekly or bi-weekly.

In terms of 1:1, it's hard to put a value on them. Or, so we thought. But we now have plenty of data to measure this essential soft skill.

Studies show that regular one-on-one meetings can boost productivity, reduce stress, resolve pent-up frustrations, and more.

As reported by Gallup: "On average, only 15% of employees who work for a manager who doesn't meet with them regularly are engaged; managers who meet regularly with their employees have nearly tripled that level of engagement. »

Similarly, a 2021 MHA report showed that talking to a manager about stressful things at work was strongly linked to healthier workplaces.

Furthermore, with consistent 1:1 ratios, GE was able to "five times productivity in just one year".

There is no doubt that 1:1 plays a fundamental role in successful teams, regardless of the sector. However, most leaders do not prepare adequately or do not have these opportunities.

2. The primary objective of all parties is the same.

Each of us has a goal when we start a new job or project. But do these goals align with those of the rest of your team?

The whole team's goal should be the same, even if some team members have different goals. To be truly successful, a team must have the same main goals and strive to achieve them all. In an environment where everyone is pulling in the same direction, project delays and deviations are less likely to occur.

I would suggest setting new team goals every quarter. Ideally, this should be an active goal to keep everyone engaged. It could be a milestone in the next three months, such as increasing overall productivity or completing a project.

When setting these intentions, make sure they are SMART. In other words, each goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Remember that many goals can cause employees stress or anxiety if this standard is not met. You can mitigate this issue by setting them to succeed from the start.

Also, I highly recommend everyone keep track of the new goals using their calendar.

3. Encourage time blocking.

"As the name suggests, blocking your time is a way to plan your day in manageable chunks," says John Rampton, co-founder of Agenda. "Specifically, each block of time is devoted to a particular task or group of similar activities."

It sounds simple.

"Unlike a to-do list, time blocking tells you when and what to do at a given time," adds Rampton. At first glance, the concept may seem counter-intuitive. However, breaking your schedule into blocks keeps you focused. Plus, it prevents others from stealing your time.

"Plus, time blocking allows you to start each day with specific tasks to complete rather than following an ever-expanding to-do list," he adds.

As a leader, promote and encourage time blocking. How? Tell your team things like, "I have 30 minutes to review your...