Building a Team in a Challenging Economy
Building a team or increasing teamwork in an organization can be more challenging in a tough economy. However, it is critical that good leaders spend time building a strong team culture and a positive team atmosphere. It becomes even more important when things aren’t going so well in the company.
When the economy is booming, many organizations focus on effective team-building strategies, such as team activities and team-building games. Leaders want to make sure that they attract and keep the highest quality employees and associates.
Often, though, when uncertainty in the economy occurs, leaders often cut back on training and team building. This can be a big mistake, though. When morale is down, team-building activities can give a team a much-needed boost in energy. They can also increase their positive expectations of the future. If you increase morale, you decrease the fear that many associates will typically experience.
Decrease Fear and Increase Efficiency
When there is a challenge in the economy, most people, good hard-working people, go into a defensive stance. They want to keep their head down and not make waves. We do this out of self-preservation. But this type of behavior takes away the enthusiasm and creativity that companies, especially young companies, rely on to create those breakthroughs that give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace. In addition, fear in the workplace makes this creativity go away. So, great team building exercises can help foster creativity — at least for a short period of time.
One of the important things for leaders to do during these times is to go to their people individually and let each of them know how important they are to the success of the organization. Encourage them to share their ideas. Great leaders make this dialogue a part of their normal day-to-day discussions with their people. They also make it a part of the communication to the organization as a whole at conventions or annual meetings. This makes building a team more structured because it creates a balanced dynamic and promotes creativity and fresh ideas.
Improve Morale with Team Building Activities
When morale is down, normal communication tends to dwindle as well. This communication, seemingly regular and unimportant, is essential to the success of an organization, especially during tough times. When this occurs, mistakes start to increase. When your team starts making more mistakes then they waste time having to redo and rework tasks. This is inefficient and causes a decrease in productivity. An easy way to boost morale very quickly is to invest in a fun, professional team building activity. This will get your team to focus on the good that your organization accomplishes every day.
Charity team-building events can be a fun way to improve morale because they also donate proceeds to charity. This is a great way to get a double return on your investment. Your team feels good about themselves and the company. Second, the charity receives much-needed proceeds. Finally, your organization might even get a nice bump in positive publicity.
Teamwork Starts at the Top
The team will always be a reflection of the leaders at the top of the organization. So if the leaders are scared of the future, the entire team will become wary and concerned. If the leaders are keeping their heads down, then the team members become more reserved and nervous. Anytime communication comes from leadership, it needs to reflect optimism and team culture. This includes internal documents, press releases, or even just communication between executives.
Strong leadership with clear goals, team values, and effective communication plays a crucial role in creating a high-performing team with confidence and a strong team dynamic. Remember that your team is always looking towards the leaders for indications about everything from project progress to company concerns.
Edify your coworkers and your company, and you’ll see morale and teamwork improve very quickly. When you organize conventions and annual events, make sure to focus very specifically on the perception that is created by your speeches, guest speakers, activities, and events.
A Fun Example of How You Can Improve Morale within Your Team.
Recently, I was asked to help deliver a team event in Orlando where the company rented out the entire Omni Hotel. They did this just so that they could really customize the entire event for their team. I was impressed when I was walking around the pool and noticed my client’s logo “painted” on the bottom of the pool. My first impression was, “Wow, this company is doing really well.” In reality, though, that logo printing might have cost about $100 or so to create. (It wasn’t actually painted.) Those small additions to your events add a lot to the perception that you are creating.
So when times are tough, make sure to use this as an opportunity when building your team culture. Focus on improving your team morale and decreasing fear in the workplace. Make a conscious effort to present positive and open communication to your team, your coworkers, and the general public. Building a team doesn’t have to be a difficult, long drawn out process. Working with your team and building trust with open dialogue is a great way to create a positive work environment where your team can grow. Use these steps and you’ll build a stronger and more efficient team, while your competitors “keep their heads down.”