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Modern business society places a progressively greater emphasis on establishing a unified corporate culture as a way of boosting the performance of employees. Scaling your company takes both intelligent and skilled personnel and the right chemistry between them. Workers should be able to get along with each other and with the company’s management if they are to work towards the same goals.
Surveys identified senior executives as the party that primarily influences an organization’s culture and development. 76% of respondents indicated that founders and CEOs impact corporate culture the most.
From a C-level executive’s perspective, building a strong team is not only about hiring capable people who can be trusted to do their job in a quality fashion. It is also about properly communicating the company’s mission and values to these people.
In this article, I will share some thoughts and tips on building and managing a strong team based on my personal experiences as a business and team leader.
Related: 4 Expert-Backed Strategies for Improving Your Communication Skills
1. Convey your strategy and motivate employees to reach transparent goals
One of the first steps when it comes to communication with your workers is being open with them about where your company is going. When everyone in a team can share a common objective and an understanding of what they are working towards, it creates a sense of unity and purpose. It allows individual employees to put their efforts in alignment, fostering collaboration towards the same goals.
Additionally, having a rational and well-defined strategy provides structure and direction to the team’s actions. Having a clear roadmap with outlined steps, responsibilities and timelines helps team members understand their roles and contributions, minimizing any potential confusion and conflicts. They can prioritize tasks and make collective decisions aligning with the objectives and target milestones.
As such, communication with team members must always be open, and the company’s plans and strategies must be transmitted to everyone in a transparent fashion. It is crucial to foster mutual understanding between employees and company leadership.
2. Trust your people to manage things without supervision
When you are a business leader, you can’t afford to take the time necessary to keep a close eye on the day-to-day workings of your company. Nor should you, really. A crucial aspect of fostering healthy leader-employee relationships is being able to trust your people to complete the tasks you give them without oversight.
When a team leader demonstrates trust in the abilities of his or her subordinates and provides them with autonomy, it promotes a sense of responsibility. It means the leader acknowledges their competence and expertise, thus boosting their confidence and motivation.
From personal experience, I can say that if you don’t have that kind of trust, you will have to micromanage every little thing yourself, leaving you with little to no time or energy to focus on the more strategic aspects of running and scaling your business.
A culture of trust also encourages open communication within the organization. When employees feel trusted by their superiors, they are more likely to reach out with ideas, share concerns and seek guidance when needed. This serves to cultivate a positive-minded work environment that promotes creativity and productivity.
3. Promote relationship-building in your company
Encouraging a sense of community and fostering deeper relationships among your employees can easily be a cornerstone for strengthening team bonds. When coworkers can connect personally, it helps build a sense of trust, empathy and collaboration.
Organize team-building events, create spaces for informal interactions (physically or online) and strive for an environment where employees feel comfortable and motivated to build relationships with their colleagues. When they have established relationships with their peers, people are more likely to share ideas openly, ask for help when needed and work together, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.
Not only that, but stronger team bonds also improve employee satisfaction and job retention. Workers who feel seen by and connected to their colleagues are more likely to enjoy their work environment than when they are simply considered cogs in a mechanism.
Overall, fostering relationship-building within a company is a win-win situation as it encourages teamwork and can contribute to higher levels of engagement and loyalty within your company.
Related: 4 Trends That Will Disrupt Your Communication Strategy
Bottom line: Better communication supports individual and organizational success
Effective communication is the foundation of pretty much everything that your team does. It is a fundamental part of any work-related activity, workforce performance and output your company demonstrates.
This is why any leader who seeks to improve their business and push it towards greater heights must emphasize the people who support all their endeavors and take time to build mutual trust with them. Some of it might come naturally; some of it will take time and effort. But if you can get it right, the results will be worth it.
