The Oxford Dictionary defines team spirit as feelings of camaraderie among the members of a group, enabling them to cooperate and work well together. Does that sound like something that would benefit you and your business? We thought so.
Teams are the foundation of most modern businesses. Marketers, customer service reps, designers, developers, you name it; all roles are increasingly becoming part of teams rather than working on their own. Collaboration is often emphasized, but how do you maintain team spirit and keep your employees happy dancing, in addition to them pulling their own weight and more? Sounds exhausting!
Lucky for you, we’re masters at building team spirit and engagement! Here are six tips to help you ignite that spark and keep the flame burning all year long.
Building Team Spirit in the Workplace [6 Tips to Help Managers]
1. Encourage Individuality
Employees want to feel like they bring their own unique set of skills to the table and feel confident that those talents are valued. As a team leader, one of the most important things you can do is be yourself and encourage your team members to do the same. When an employee feels like they can be comfortable by simply being them, not only will they be more willing to contribute to the team, but they will also be more likely to look forward to coming into work every day. Support your team’s diversity! The more diverse your team is, the more work you can tackle and the more creativity you’ll have flowing through your work. Sounds like a major win, am I right?!
2. Practice Compassion
Things happen…like…you get stuck in traffic on a day you have an early morning planning session with your supervisor…a family member who lives a few hours away needs some immediate support…you get a migraine that you just can’t shake. In these instances, compassion is one of those things you can never get enough of (major key!!!!). Be compassionate towards your team and they will establish trust in both you and each other, so when those things happen, the rest of the team will help make sure all bases are covered.
3. Include Everyone
There are six words we live by here at Baudville- Team. Work. Makes. The. Dream. Work. Let me say it louder for the people in the back…TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK! This means everyone gets included, and everyone works together. The quietest member of your team will be more likely to put their best foot forward (even if it’s a shy foot) if they feel like they’re on the “inside”. Don’t get cliquey. Nobody likes cliques- they can lead to decreased productivity or create a bad work culture.
4. Celebrate All Wins
Big wins consist of a bunch of small wins. While you’re focused on a big deadline or big product launch, don’t forget all those little things you checked off your list to reach the finish line. Did your designer fix a graphic twelve times before getting the final OK? Did one of your team members consistently reach out while they were powering through a challenging task? Does the final product look so much like the wireframes you could just cry? CELEBRATE IT! There’s no such thing as celebrating too much! Consistently give out high-fives or ePraises– it makes success taste that much sweeter.
5. Communicate Often
Communication can be the beacon of light that gets teams through the darkest times. Daily morning standups to run through what you’re working on and what you’re stuck on, weekly updates on a big project, light-hearted “you can do it!” Slack messages are all ways you can keep those lines of communication open. Doing so keeps your team comfortable to reach out when they need help and prevents mistakenly skipping over key points.
6. Encourage Work/Life Balance
This one can be tricky, but it’s a MAJOR KEY for establishing team spirit. Everyone works hard to balance their work life and their personal life. Don’t be afraid to get to know your team! Celebrate their birthday! Ask about their kids! Talk to them about their fun weekend adventures! Creating an environment that thrives off the flourishing lives of your team members outside the walls of the office will set you up for wins upon wins in the office.
