Three key ways to build your team at no cost

Three key ways to build your team - at no cost

Did you hear about the business in Singapore which removed 50% of their staff with a fire alarm? 5,000 shift employees were evacuated from the office after a fire alarm sounded in the office.

After being outside for a short time the following message comes through from the friendly Security Guard:

"Dear employees - with a melting heart I am making this announcement that for many of you it will be the last evacuation drill. Due to the recession we are laying off almost 50% of employees."
"While moving back in, if you're ID card does not work then you are among those laid off and all your belongings will be couriered to you tomorrow."
"We have followed this approach as we didn't want to fill email box with thousands of layoff and goodbye mails - and also to avoid any fights inside the office."
"Hope you have a nice career ahead. Please move back in and try your luck."

They might not get anyone outside the building next time the alarm sounds! While this is definitely not the way to build a leadership legacy there are some other easy things which you can do to ensure your team feel united even in the toughest of times.

1. Open and honest communication

One of the most critical components for a healthy team is open and honest communication. If you are purposefully being deceptive in the way you manage your team then there is a very good chance your team is seeing straight through you. Although you might think you are protecting things for the short-term you will only do yourself in the eye if you think you can manipulate the minds of your team. Communicate what is happening above and below you. Encourage your team to discuss where they are up to.

One of the most challenging aspects of this is creating a forum which your team can openly discuss the state of play.

2. Focus Forward

"Your attitude and motivation in the present are shaped by your view of the future. The most important thing about you today is not where you've been, it's where you are going". Boom by Kevin and Jackie Freirberg

There is no doubt that we have to focus on living in the now but whatever you do stay focused on where your team is going to be in the future or where you can take it. Focusing forward will enable us to overcome roadblocks, beat preoccupations, improve decisions and performance and create team unity towards a common goal.

3. Improve role clarity and remove task ambiguity

How things have changed in recent times. About the only thing to remain constant in society in the last year is NRL players are still embroiling themselves in misdemeanours. For many of us the nature of our jobs could have changed or it could also be the case that we never had a clear understanding of what we had to achieve.

If someone walked into your bedroom at 3am shook you awake and shouted "what is your purpose at work?" Would you know? One of the most common faults in a dysfunctional team is lack of role clarity and high task ambiguity. Definition of a role in the team will allow members to be able to complete a significant amount of their duties independently. Without clarity individuals are going to spend a significant amount of time negotiating parameters or even protecting their area.

Sam Burton Taylor