Team Influence

[Anonymous]

“Individual commitment to a group effort–that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” –Vince Lombardi

We have often heard that strong family Units build strong societies which in turn build a strong community and nation. The moment there is a breakdown of the fundamental family structure it negatively impacts the larger system of which we are a part.

The same is true of a Team Unit within an organization, the better the team performance on both the social and effectiveness ends of the scale, the greater the positive cultural impact on the organization as a whole.

Individuals may contribute to the success of a team, but it is the collective team result that can influence an organizations success in the marketplace and make it a great place to work at.

Here are a few tips on how Team Performance can influence Organizational Culture.

1. Team Empowerment: Instead of only empowering and supporting the team Leader as most companies do, it is critical to also empower the team to find its own solutions, encourage innovative solutions, celebrate the intelligent use of resources and be empowered and not suppressed from interacting with cross team members in order to drive solutions that impact multiple teams instead of operating as a silo.
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2. Team Recognition: The organization should reward team performance for their accomplishments and hold the team as a whole, as an example for the rest of the organization to follow. Individual recognition should be given within the team for their contribution to the team’s success. But every team member should get to experience and celebrate a Team success.

This will encourage the all for one and one for all approach trhat excellent teams are made up of, instead of the prevailing competitive culture where it tends to be every man for himself.

3. Team Experience Expansion: This is where team members get to walk in the shoes of members of a different team, in a different or new role in order to expand their work experience and also to understand the constraints and opportunities inherent on a different team. This will undeniably grow the team member who will gain a fresh perspective from the inside of the team.
However this is not to be confused with serving in one capacity but as a member of several teams. The upside is they will find their perfect fit and motivation by having their abilities tested in a different environment, and the downside is they may get caught up in a snare of multiple priorities, often ending up burnt out because of this.

4. Team Leadership: The average team often looks to their team leader for permission, direction, judgement of performance and rewards. Depending on the skill set of the Titled Team leader this can stunt team performance or enhance it.

However the empowered team will learn how to build each other up, give positive feedback to each other, and give a helping hand to each other where needed.
The leadership role will be rotated depending on the work project lifecycle where everyone strives for the ultimate success of the team, not just their own performance.

Ultimately excellent teams thrive in a high morale environment of mutual support and an intentionally collaborative culture, in which not just the team itself, but the entire organization gets lifted up by modeling the achievement of the successful team. And once that is in place, the influence of the team can impact the culture of the very organization itself.

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