Strategies for Healthy Team Dynamics

All successful business leaders surely recognize that their company’s success depends on the dynamic of the individuals who make up their team. As the saying goes, “One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch,” healthy team dynamics can be the deciding factor in whether an organization succeeds or fails.

Individuals come from varying backgrounds, with different areas of expertise and experience, and often times with a different set of values and beliefs. Getting everyone on the same page and promoting and atmosphere of trust and respect is no easy task. As much as a leader must focus on tactical, measurable, big picture business concepts, they must also consider the psychological factors that influence individual and team behavior.  There are several ways a good leader can set up his team for success!

Key strategies for building and maintaining a healthy team dynamic include:

1. Fostering individual and communal growth. When employees are able to both keep pace with the growth and maturation of the company as a whole as well as dig into their specific areas of expertise the results will be obvious. Teams that grow together, tend to stay together. Individuals given an opportunity for further education – be it conferences, workshops, tuition support – will be more satisfied in their career and more appreciative of the company who made the experiences possible.
2. Build trust:The best way to get others to trust you is to show them the trust you’ve placed in them. Employees who feel trusted by their superiors report feeling empowered, more satisfied in their work, and are less likely to burn-out.
3. Establish team culture. Regularly taking time away from the day-to-day work to spend together as a team can provide insight and relationship building that you wouldn’t otherwise experience. Additionally, valuing and honoring diversity and supporting open, honest communication will establish a team culture where employees don’t feel like they are just a cog on a wheel.
4. Accept that change is inevitable. Learning to lean in to change and embrace new strategies and ideas will allow employees who have more to bring to the table the confidence to do so. Recognizing that an evolving workplace is a key component of growth and being comfortable in the uncertainty will provide a healthy model for employees to follow.
5. Invest in yourself. Successful leaders are notorious for working long hours and giving all of themselves to a job. Establishing a good work/life balance will be beneficial to you and your employees who will feel comfortable doing the same.

Team dynamics can change rapidly. By remaining aware of what’s happening around the office and being willing to lean in to uncomfortable truths, you can support your employees on an individual level, empowering them to contribute on a team level.