“It takes a lot of people to make a winning team. Everybody’s contribution is important”. – Gary David Goldberg
In an earlier exposition, we spoke about aligning company goals and employees. The basis for any company strategy should be to have well-organized teams. The main reason for any business to exist is to be successful and at the core of every successful company is a great workforce – committed, adaptable, skilled, collaborative and other such positive traits, which overall means that there are well-organized teams. Such a taskforce can turn any company vision in to reality and spell sustained success for the company. Isn’t this the dream of every business / company?
There is no doubt that well-organized teams, focused on a common aim can boost a company’s chance of success. What are some of the benefits of well-organized teams? To begin with, it would be an enhanced sense of commitment. Each person within these teams will feel responsible not just for their own performance but would also help the others in the team to reach their optimum work output. When teamwork is not encouraged or the teams are not organized, there is a tendency for the individuals to slack off – however when part of well-organized teams they would be more mindful that their inertia would affect the whole team and would be noticed, making them stand out for the wrong reasons.
The other great benefit of well-organized teams is that the quantum of knowledge is far greater. Each person within the teams would have their share of skills and knowledge base which when combined can bring about many more positive changes than when attempted individually. This expertise sharing also encourages the newer members of the team to contribute and provides them with an invaluable learning experience.
Well-organized teams remain so when they are headed by experienced and effective leaders. They would be the ones to guide and support the teams and their proficiency on a wide range of subjects will help the teams overcome difficult times and problems. The more experienced leaders are even able to keep very large teams organized and working together in conjunction. Larger and closely knit teams allow the spread of work to each person without a few being overwhelmed by too much work.
Well-organized teams are also aligned to the company goals. This increases efficiency, clarity of roles, removes overlaps and eliminates conflicts and priority confusion. In fact such teams reduce the need for too much hierarchy – a flat organization is known to more agile and effective.
Well-organized teams are also empowered teams. They are able to make decisions on a day to day basis without always ‘running to senior management’ for help. Smart companies ensure that their employees are empowered to make at least those decisions that would affect their own jobs and the role of their individual teams. This not only enables speedier decision making it also inculcates responsibility and ownership in the employees. They understand that they would need to stand by the decisions they make and also be answerable for any problems that may ensue as a result of those decisions. As teams make their own decisions, there would be some members who are significantly smarter than others. This paves the way for succession planning and career growth for such individuals. When good performance is recognized and rewarded employees tend to stick on in the company and the others are also encouraged to up their performance in order to be recipients of the rewards.
Another hallmark of well-organized teams is the fact that they would be able to make strategic plans for the team, which in turn would affect the company. This allows the management to focus on the bigger decisions such as major customer service initiatives, better and more innovative products, planning for the future and other such crucial strategies. With well-organized teams and focused management, the planning would be focused on finding the best solutions which in turn would lower the opportunities for errors.
A company with well-organized teams is able to gain unanimity faster than one that has divided teams. When teams are called upon to provide suggestions and make decisions, the company will get focused and more right answers from teams that are working together. Meetings and brainstorming sessions become more effective – better suggestions, quicker agreement and swift decision making together will enhance the efficacy of meetings. With well-organized teams work will not slow down even if a few members are called away to attend such meetings. The team leaders would be able to share the workload equally among the remaining members without the members becoming disgruntled or feeling overloaded by the extra work.
With a smart set of people companies are able to achieve a lot more. The famous quote: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” – Red Adair – amply describes how tough it would be for any company to move ahead if its people were amateurs and not motivated. The fact is that building well-organized teams must start with hiring the right individuals – those who exhibit commitment and passion and also those who have the matching skills and knowledge for a particular role. It would easier to train such people and align them to the company faster, allowing for a positive and more collaborative work environment.
The truth is that it is in the best interest of companies to have well-organized teams. It is much easier for each person within the team to see that with cooperation and teamwork, even their own personal goals and interests will be met with sooner. Within closely knit teams too, there would be different opinions and interests – a smart company would allow such individuals to align themselves based on these interests and also reward them when they do achieve milestones. It is human nature to work better for things that are of their interest – guiding and channelizing such interests is beneficial for all those concerned in a team and an organization – the interests of course must not be hamper the achievement of the company’s and team’s goals in any way.
As we said earlier, well-organized teams become and remain so when the people within the teams are smart and have inherent intelligence and a positive attitude. It is much easier to teach people certain jobs and train them to acquire certain skills but it is hard to ‘teach’ basic intelligence and good attitude. The current surge in the number of start-ups clearly indicates that with willingness, brainpower and a desire to succeed, any company can become a success because they have people who work together in well-organized teams rather than moving in separate directions.
Some traditionally run companies still make the mistake of providing benefits and career movements mostly based on seniority. However, with the new ‘breed’ of employees and companies, it has become imperative to provide rewards and recognition to the deserving employees – those who consistently deliver great results and performance. Towards the end of sustaining well-organized teams and a congenial work environment, the mind-set must change toward rewarding those that offer the best suggestions and most creative ideas. The employees who aren’t satisfied with the status quo and can look beyond traditional and obvious solutions must be encouraged.
Well-organized teams enable a company to achieve things that directionless individuals or people working independently cannot achieve. Team work and a collective thought process allows a company to use its limited resources to the optimum and yet yield results that are far richer and sustainable, leading to its success.
