10 Tips for Building a Strong Team Environment

Having a pleasant, motivated team environment is key for retaining employees and enticing new ones. Here are some helpful tips to keep things running smoothly.

Companies who are often described with adjectives like powerful, dominant, or successful are often thought to have cut throat or negative environments. However, many of these booming companies don’t operate on bad energy.

It’s quite the opposite in fact. Creating environments where each individual on the team feels they are a vital role in the success of a business will make them feel ownership of it. People take care of what they feel is theirs and work harder because of it.

You’ll also get the results you want with positive reinforcement, not punishment.

Having a positive work environment will not only make your business boom, it can make your day to day in the work place an enjoyable existence. It can retain employees and entice new ones to want to work for you.

Creating an environment that people are vying to work in will make your roster of employees the best and most qualified of the bunch.

Here are 10 tips for building a strong team environment within your startup:

1. Get To Know Your Team

Being best friends with your employees is certainly not your responsibility, especially if you are the leader. However, getting to know them is your responsibility. Do you know what makes your team individuals tick?

Monthly outings or dinners can help you get to know your team in a relaxed environment.   If your team is remote then setup times to have group calls and take the conversation away from work.  Find out what is happening off hours, with their families, and during the weekends.  Learning the small things like the name of a spouse or pet shows that you care about them as real people.

When people feel cared about, they’ll return that care in their work ethic.

This is especially important when you’re starting up a business.

[TWEETBLOCK text=”Tweet this”] Your startup team is one of the most critical pieces to success.  -Aaron Vick[/TWEETBLOCK]

2. All Things Are Created Equal in a Team Environment

Even though the positions or “ranks” of your team individuals may be different, try to make your employees feel equal. Whether man, woman, gay, straight, black or white, make sure you’ve created a team environment where everyone feels appreciated for their unique take on the work load.

3. Empower Your Employee

Make your employees feel heard and empowered. Whether you think their idea is brilliant or off the mark, discuss the idea in depth with them. Don’t dismiss an idea when someone brings it to the table or a group meeting because it’s not right on the mark.

It’s possible an employee worked up a lot of courage to vocalize their idea in a group meeting. Perhaps they spent a lot of time on it and think it’s great.

Never make your employee feel silly about what they offer, even if you dislike it. Encourage them to go back to the boards and come up with a different approach with positive feedback.

Startups teams require everyone to wear many hats so be sure to keep everyone motivated and empowered.

4. The Great Communicator

Communication is key in any successful relationship. Lack of communication is the number one reason marriages end. Believe it or not, your relationships with your teammates are like little work-based marriages.  Communication is everything.

If your employee doesn’t know exactly what you expect from them, they can’t deliver. If your employee feels upset by something and it’s affecting their productivity and costing you money, you’ll never know it if they don’t feel comfortable telling you.

Communication is the key to any great team environment. Having everyone on the same page will create an unstoppable force for your goals.

5. Be Consistent

There is nothing worse that a boss who comes in cheery and delightful one day and then turns into a fire-breathing-dragon the next. Consistency is key with not only what you expect out of your employees, but with your mood.

Mood swings can instill fear your in employees and create an environment that isn’t conducive to success or communication. If your team doesn’t feel like they can tell you exactly what’s going on in the work field because they are afraid of a blow-up, this will only deter you from your desired results.

6. Set Goals

Your team can’t succeed if they don’t have an end goal. Short and long-term goals can be a great foundation for teamwork. A new study shows that knowing the end goal increased productivity for a team.

With a common goal, your team will want to work with each other to accomplish it, knowing that the end result will benefit the entire company.

7. Let Them Know Their Roles

Having each team player know exactly what their role is will not only make for a positive team environment, it will help eliminate stress and resentment. If one employee feels that they are doing someone else’s job, there is sure to be some pent-up anger at one point or another.

But perhaps a certain employee doesn’t think certain responsibilities are in their job description. Perhaps they are completely unaware that someone else is picking up their slack. If the role of each individual isn’t clear, not only will they struggle to deliver, it can also create a hostile environment.

Startup teams are small and become family.  Be sure to set boundaries, acknowledge when you need help, and thank those that go the extra mile when they don’t have to.

8. Smile

Honestly, just smiling more at your work place creates a positive team environment and encourages good energy. It sounds like a simple thing, but many team leaders really struggle with this.

Besides, no one wants to come to work on a daily basis and see a frown.

9. Train

Your team will be more efficient and effective in their responsibilities if they have received the appropriate training to aid them. Whether it’s with the latest computer technology or new human resource tactics, keep your team up to date with the latest tools in job training.

10. Celebrate Good Times, Come On

Celebrating the good moments of your business triumphs is extremely important. Allowing yourself and your employees to indulge in their moments of accomplished milestones or big sales allows everyone to see that when they work together, great things can happen.

If an individual does something fantastic in their role, celebrate them in front of your other employees so the team can note that you take notice! Helping each member of your team will with make them feel that every effort made won’t go unnoticed.

Celebrating your team and their milestones creates a team environment that will make your employees feel that what they do actually has an impact on the business. If your team fails with a goal, there is no need for negativity. Instead, state how the team can improve and help them redirect their efforts.

Delegate equal responsibility in your team environment so no one feels they have more or less than another person. That way everyone can celebrate the successes and take responsibility for the failures and continue on as a team.

Force Field

Make your startup team environment an unstoppable force for success. With positive reinforcement, knowledge of individual responsibilities and celebrating successes, you’re sure to create a startup environment where people want to work.

Boosting your group morale can only boost business. When you’re ready for optimal team productivity and a positive work environment, click here so I can help.