by Dave Anderson
It’s not solely the leader’s job to build team spirit, morale and to create and promote team bondedness. Each team member has to do his part. It’s the leader’s job to choose the players, define expectations, line them up with a job that requires their gifts and talents and provide the motivation, reinforcement and daily support necessary to succeed. But that does not mean team members should sit back and wait for the boss to make the team work. Team members can do the following to take responsibility for building a stronger, more focused team:
Hold one another accountable for high standards. Good teammates don’t let one another slack off or give less than their best. They take pride in team standards of excellence and don’t let anyone corrupt those standards. Striving to and adhering to these standards creates a positive peer pressure that stretches each member.
Positively reinforce one another. Just as it’s important for a leader to positively reinforce and recognize good behavior and performance by each team’s member, team members should reinforce each other. Team members should catch one another doing a good job, give pats on the back, encourage and lift up. They should celebrate one another’s victories, not just their own and realize that no one wins until everyone does.
Build relationships with one another. A leader’s job is to initiate relationships with his people, and just as importantly, team members must initiate and build relationships with one another. The key to understanding and appreciating one another lies in learning more about the background, talents and desires of each player. This doesn’t mean everyone must become ‘best buddies’ or even like one another for that matter (although it certainly helps). But it does mean a respect and understanding should develop, based on a growing relationship amongst teammates.
Appreciate one another’s differences. Every team member has different strengths and weaknesses that make up a team fit. The job of each team member is to appreciate these differences each unique individual brings to the table, not try and change one another into some sort of cookie- cutter mold. Relationships don’t normally go sour when people don’t know one another well enough-they go south when they know one another too well, wish they weren’t that way and try and change them. Appreciate differences and diversity. They are the key to team greatness.
© Copyright 1999-2001, The Dave Anderson Corporation. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Dave Anderson is the author of over 50 sales and management training programs and the book, Selling Above The Crowd: 365 Strategies For Sales Excellence. He writes a monthly leadership column for Dealer Magazine and publishes the newsletter, Leading At The Next Level. Dave is president of the Dave Anderson Corporation, and LearntoLead.com, a sales and leadership training organization.
You can reach Dave at:
The Dave Anderson Corporation
PO Box 1119
Los Altos, CA 94023
Phone: 800-519-8224 650-941-1493 (Canada, Int’l)
Fax: 650-949-4270
E-mail: [email protected]