Is your team still a team?

Effective leaders know what it takes to build a strong team. They spend time with their team identifying a common purpose, setting and reinforcing performance goals, and making sure that the team holds themselves mutually accountable for both their responsibilities as well as their successes.

Traditionally, most of this critical work has been done through daily or weekly face-to-face meetings at the team level, and semiannual or annual conferences at the organizational level.

In a virtual environment, however, it is extremely easy for this kind of team building to take a backseat to a more task-oriented, day-to-day method of functioning. Even though everyone remains connected virtually, there’s a risk that the team begins to disconnect and slips into the loose affiliation of a group.

“A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.”
– Katzenbach & Smith, 1993.

FOUR PRACTICES THAT BUILD STRONG TEAMS

As our working environments continue to evolve, there are some very simple and useful practices that leaders can develop to ensure their team continues to thrive.

1. Common Purpose – Remembering Our Why

We often spend too much time focusing on the task at hand rather than on why we are doing all this in the first place. There’s very little that will unify a team more effectively than positively articulating the shared vision of the organization and making sure that each member of the team realizes how important they are to the accomplishment of that vision.

The ultimate goal is for each person in the team to understand where they fit in the culture, have an innate sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves, bond, and adopt common values that make each member feel like they are valued.

The implicit organizational messages that permeate the corporate environment can be lost very quickly in the home office. In the virtual environment, wise team leaders make sure that each team member not only feels like they’re part of the team but also understands what they are contributing and how it helps the larger organization achieve its strategic vision.

2. Performance Goals – It’s All About the What

No effective team has ever been able to thrive long-term without establishing and reinforcing sound performance goals for both the team and the individuals that make up the team. In the virtual environment of today, it’s not uncommon for individuals to be operating in a highly autonomous environment with somewhat limited or changed corporate resources at their disposal but with the same performance goals and expectations still in place.

Changing and adapting expectations and performance goals to fit the virtual business model of the team member can be empowering and strengthen and reinforce the team member’s sense of relatedness to the rest of the team. The age-old goal-setting acronym of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound) is still very relevant and useful in the virtual environment. Pay attention to the “attainable” and “realistic” elements of that goal-setting acronym as they are even more important in the virtual workplace.

Goals that were readily attainable and completely realistic may be far less likely to achieve virtually, and acknowledging and adjusting those goals mutually with the team leader can go a long way towards reenergizing and empowering virtual team members.

3. Team Approach – How We Do It Matters

One of the most significant challenges that teams face as they transition into virtual team effectiveness is standardization and making sure that the customer or client experience is the same regardless of which team member is providing the service. This applies to the external clients as well as the internal clients of any organization.

Maintaining a unified approach in a corporate setting is far easier than it is in an individual virtual setting. Lack of proximity means that each individual on the team can easily slip into habits and procedures that are comfortable for them but may not be aligned properly with the focus and directionality of the overall team.

Clarifying and focusing the team on the best practices and preferred methodologies is a clear winning strategy in the pursuit of fostering a unified approach in the virtual environment. Striking a balance between total autonomy and micromanagement can be challenging, but it’s worth the effort. A strong team leader can be invaluable in helping each team member understand specifically what’s expected and where the boundaries of the team methodologies lie. If the boundaries are too narrow, team members will feel stifled and unempowered; if the boundaries are too wide possible issues with compliance and ethics can arise.

4. Mutual Accountability – Whose Responsibility Is It Anyway?

Mutual accountability is the hallmark of an effective team experience. Individual team members are proud to be affiliated with their teammates because it gives them a sense of belonging to something successful and bigger than themselves. This type of positive team culture doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Successful teams are comprised of members who enjoy working with each other, whether it be face-to-face or virtually.

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Effective teams have a common characteristic, which is a natural competitive desire to compete, excel, and win. When teams embrace a common purpose, set high performance standards and hold themselves mutually accountable, they can execute regardless of location or proximity.

Remembering the fundamental leadership principles will keep the team strong, regardless of the ever-changing working conditions and challenges they face.