11 Ways to Improve Team Dynamics Leaders Should Know About
One of the hallmarks of a strong team leader is their ability to create and sustain positive group dynamics. People typically perform at their highest level when they’re part of a team that allows them to focus on their specific tasks and avoid the stresses and strains that come with negative behaviors.
If you’re a team leader, you may be wondering what the best way to improve your team's dynamics is. Here is a list of 11 strategies you can use to build good group dynamics and a highly effective team.
1. Keep Everyone Focused on a Common Goal
In high-performing teams, everybody understands their role. They know how their department or unit helps the company achieve its objectives, and they all pull in the same direction.
To find out if your employees are all on the same page, ask each team member two questions:
How does your department fit into the company?
How does your role contribute to the department?
Their answers should be generally accurate and similar. If they aren’t, it's likely time to discuss that lack of clarity with the individual and potentially meet with the whole team to help them understand the common goal.
Once the shared goal has been established, continue meeting with the group every few weeks to make sure they continue rowing in the same direction. You should also speak to every individual team member to reinforce how their performance is contributing to the company’s success.
2. Ensure Everybody Pulls Their Weight
Nothing leads to poor group dynamics quicker than an effort imbalance.
Put simply, if some of your employees are hustling every day while others phone it in (and enjoy the same rewards), people are going to become upset. It’s human nature.
As a leader, it’s your job to make sure everyone does their fair share. You can do so by:
Rewarding Hard Workers: People pay a lot of attention to the rewards handed out by their managers. Use that fact to your advantage.
Speaking to the Slackers: People also pay attention to who is allowed to slack off. Speak to your low-effort workers. Get them back on track.
Bottom line is, social loafing creates negative dynamics and hurts team performance. If you want to succeed as a leader, you need to nip it in the bud.
Note: When it comes to work, fair doesn’t necessarily mean equal. In the real world, the amount and type of work expected of various people often can and should be different.
3. Consciously Design Your Culture, Then Actively Monitor It
As a manager, you have the ability to shape your team’s culture. If you can create and nurture a positive working environment, you will develop highly capable employees.
If you want to maximize your team effectiveness, try to build a culture that encourages people to share ideas and communicate freely - a culture that won’t punish them if they happen to make a mistake. Workers thrive when they have psychological safety.
If you aren’t sure whether you are currently nurturing the right kind of environment for your team members, ask yourself a simple question:
How do I think my employees feel as they prepare for the upcoming week on a Sunday evening?
If you think they’re excited to get to work, you’re probably doing something right. However, if you believe they dread that Sunday evening feeling, it may be time to make some changes.
4. Understand What Motivates Your Team Members
If you want to become a strong leader and develop positive dynamics within your group, it’s vital for you to understand what motivates your team members.
Don’t make the same mistake I did and assume everyone wants the same things.
Remember, there are many things that may impact an individual’s motivations, including:
Their personality
Their aspirations
Their experiences
Their life situation, and
Their reasoning for being in the job
If you’re not sure what your group members want, ask. In most instances, they’ll be happy to tell you. In fact, they’ll likely be thrilled to see you taking an interest in their development!
5. Establish a Level of Trust with Your Group Members
Successful teams trust their leaders. If you recently joined your unit, and have not yet developed that level of trust, start working on it as soon as you can.
There are, of course, a variety of tactics and techniques you may use to establish trust with your employees. However, the best way is to act with integrity in everything you do.
Don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Do what you say you’re going to do. Period.
This approach isn’t always easy, but it will reap dividends over time.
Note: Once that trust has been established, your group will give you more leeway if you slip up once in a while.
6. Build Strong Relationships with Your Team Members
It’s one thing to establish trust, it’s another thing to maintain it.
During my years in the business world, I’ve learned that the best way to keep a team’s trust is to forge strong relationships with every member of the group. People trust leaders they feel they’ve got a personal connection with.
To build good relationships, remember to take advantage of every touch point, including:
One-on-one meetings
Team calls
Text messages
Email exchanges
Slack chats, and
Water cooler conversations
As you build those relationships, don’t forget about your remote workers in different time zones. Their trust is just as important to your group dynamic as that of your on-site workers.
7. Understand the Art of Effective Communication
Weak leaders often believe communication means telling people what to do and expecting them to do it.
Strong business leaders know effective communication is much more nuanced than that.
To build a team with a positive group dynamic, you need to understand that different people prefer to communicate in different ways. One of the most effective ways I’ve found to understand the different ways people communicate is the DISC model. It says there are four main “Styles”. They are:
Dominance: Confident speakers who place an emphasis on results.
Influence: Open people who understand how to persuade others.
Steadiness: Dependable workers who know how to cooperate with others.
Conscientious: Meticulous people who place an emphasis on quality and accuracy.
DISC is a great first step to building communication skills within your team. When I've run these reports for coaching clients in the past, they've proved extremely valuable - and freakishly accurate. If you'd like me to run some reports for your team, feel free to send me a note.
8. Learn to Listen to Your Employees
Listening sounds like it should be simple, but lots of managers get it wrong.
Some simply zone out during conversations. Others interrupt people when they’re sharing updates or concerns. Many leaders “listen” but aren’t really hearing.
These approaches will usually prevent leaders from gaining any useful information. In fact, they'll usually have a net-negative impact as team members will feel ignored.
If you want to improve your team dynamics, practice listening to your people. Sit. Focus. Do not interrupt. Take in their meaning. When they finish talking, respond appropriately and follow up with them again later if necessary.
9. Don’t Shy Away from Conflict Resolution
During my years in the business world, I saw countless leaders avoid and ignore conflict in their teams to their detriment. It’s never a good idea. It always leads to poor group dynamics.
If you want to be a good leader, and create a positive work environment for your staff, you need to tackle conflict head-on. You can’t let disagreements fester and turn into bigger issues.
Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to conflict resolution. Different situations call for different techniques. The most effective approaches include:
Speaking with the parties individually
Speaking with the parties together
Speaking with the entire group and resetting expectations
Speaking with the entire group and following up with individual conversations
Each situation is different. You'll need to use your situational leadership skills as well as your knowledge of your team to decide on the right approach.
10. Invest in Your Individual Team Members
Many leaders believe compensation is the primary reason why people choose to stay in their job or leave a company. However, in many cases, professional development matters a lot more than money.
Put simply, individuals who believe they can learn and grow professionally generally stay in their roles much longer than those who don’t.
If you want to foster positive team dynamics, you have to invest in your people. In other words, team development should be one of your highest priorities.
Those opportunities can take many forms, including:
In-house trainings
Personal mentorships
Development courses
Tuition reimbursement
Offering these opportunities will keep your team content and also improve their competencies in ways that will benefit your department and your company as a whole.
11. Take Steps to Become a More Effective Leader
Building a happy, high-performing team doesn’t just involve developing your workers. You’ll also need to work on your own leadership skills.
Great leaders tend to have a solid mix of skills such as:
Adaptability
Time management
Critical thinking
Decision making
Communication
Problem solving
If you feel like you are lacking in one of more of these areas, take steps to address it. Your team will respect you more if they feel you have the attributes required to lead them to success.
Note: Leaders are constantly adapting and evolving - learning, growing, sharpening. Take pride in - and have fun - honing your craft.
Do you need help developing your leadership skills or improving your team’s dynamics? Let’s talk! I’ve been helping executives and managers reach their next level for years, and I’d love to do the same for you!
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About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.