Essential motivation through team building

John David
June 30, 2009 — 2,336 views  
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Unity - This is a word which creates a concept of ones.  Whenever there is a motley crowd opinions will differ.  But, if they behave as a cohesive force, that unity will prompt victory in all fields.  "United We Stand Divided We Fall "- This is a well known quote.  In any enterprise, expertise counts a lot.  But, more than that, the unity of the participants will bring rich dividends. Manager or entrepreneur, worth the term, should have a skill for team building.  Even otherwise, as an ordinary employee also, he can participate in a team work with the real concept ingrained in his mind.  When a group of individuals contribute towards a common goal unitedly, this strong synergy will result in a larger contribution than when the very same persons work towards the goal without any bond or cohesion.

Whenever there is a group of people it is but natural that it is difficult to achieve consensus on any given topic.  It is as good or as bad as a nation's body - politic.  Democracy indicates liberty of thoughts.  But, that become successful when individuals think rationally.  But, the nature of rationalism differs from person to person.   So, as in democracy, in enterprise also, the team work matters a lot.  Different mindsets may lead to conflicting moods.  People with common goal but different career - graphs in mind, may try to outwit one another in pursuit of personal progress.  There may not be team commitment and dedication.  Lack of trust and dearth of communication may be stumbling blocks to completion of common goals.  Here comes, the necessity of a good leader who can ignore minor drawbacks of the members and carry forward the mission with full coordination from everyone.

The following ideas and indications will be useful for team building exercise:

  • There should be clarity in ideas which have to be properly grasped by the team members
  • Individual domains of functions should be categorized so as to avert overlapping authority.
  • An ambience of honesty and open mindedness should be encouraged to avoid one-upmanship.
  • Complete trust and mutual confidence must motivate the attitude of the team members
  • Socializing sessions are to be encouraged to infuse comradeship among workers. 
  • Employees should be activated to take part in the decision - making process.
  • Participative democracy leads to better and faster goal - realization.
  • Collective responsibility of the team members will evoke good response from the management.  They will come out with meaningful solutions to the issues and any faulty idea can be corrected with the ultimate goal in sight. 
  • Care should be taken to remove all blocked lines of communication so that all decisions reach the higher authorities.   Even when the team members are scattered in different locations, you can chat online with them and take decisions.
  • As a team leader, interpersonal issues should be dealt with as early as possible.
  • Pat on the back, a word of praise is an effective incentive.  Employees yearn for appreciation whenever they deserve.
  • Negative feed back will demoralize the hardworking team.  Positive response will boost the sagging morale. 

    • The following actions are required to stimulate a high performance team.

  • Posters, art prints, literature, brochure - to emphasize team work. 
  • Corporate team-building  exercises,  games and activities to be encouraged
  • Effective quotes and quotations to underscore team-building efforts are to be catalogued.
  • Seminars and symposia, workshops, articles, training modules- all such proactive procedures to be brought into focus for a genuine promotion of team spirit.

    • John David