“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”
Those are the words of Phil Jackson, one of the most successful coaches in NBA history. Phil’s philosophy extends well beyond the realm of professional sports. It can be incorporated into any team environment. From boardrooms to contact centers, the importance of having a positive, encouraging and dynamic team atmosphere cannot be understated. This simple concept could be the determining factor between success and failure.
So how do you build a team of employees that play off each other’s strengths? First, you have to look at what you have. Gather everyone and conduct a team meeting with the goal of sharing ideas. What’s working? What isn’t working? And most importantly, what can each member of the team do make the situation better for everyone? Now, I have to admit, this exercise isn’t just a Q&A session. There’s an ulterior motive here as well. This is an icebreaker. It’s a way to get everyone to open up on a more personal level. Once you break through that shell, you can begin to see the unique characteristics that each team member possesses. You can start to identify who has leadership traits, who’s the cerebral strategist, who’s the bold risk taker and who is the Jack or Jill of all trades. Congratulations! You have synergy. Now you just have to harness and direct all that potential. A great way to do this is by leaving the office and doing some fun team building activities.
Are you familiar with escape rooms? They’re pretty big right now. There’s even a horror movie about them. Fear not though, you won’t end up like those guys. Instead, your team will be utilizing those same unique traits I mentioned earlier to solve a variety of elaborate puzzles. These mind mazes aren’t meant for lone wolves. I’ve personally overseen hundreds of these games and can say without hesitation that teamwork is the key to success. The best part is it’s not crucial that the team escapes the room. Win or lose, the true goal is to develop a bond between your team. At the end of the day, the thing they will remember most is the good time they had and the people they shared that good time with. Congratulations! You’ve reinforced teamwork and trust within your team.
Now you’re on the right track, but don’t let up! The key to making your team even stronger is consistency in this approach. You can put together simple activities within the office to keep the moral strong. Take some time to recognize achievements big or small. Encourage team members to show appreciation for each other. It may not seem like much, but a little personalized card that can be handed out to give kudos to each other can go a long way. Not only is your team hearing about their accomplishments as a unit, but now they’re seeing it too.
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."
That quote is from Michael Jordan. And if you ask me, he must have had a pretty good coach.