Creating the right mindset within your teams

Positive, motivated and engaged teams can accomplish far more than teams that struggle with negativity and low morale. So, as a leader, how do you create a team environment that enable employees to flourish?

Trust amongst teams gives them confidence; knowing that their colleagues are going to do a good job, or indeed their line manager is there to support them when they need. As a leader, you need to delegate and let your team do their thing. Trust that they will do a good job. Direct reports don’t like to be closely managed, it can become stifling and overbearing. Trusting in your team means that they feel empowered to make decisions which in turn motivates and inspires them.

There are several steps you can take to aid in creating a trusting environment. Taking the team away from the office and having an ‘away day’ gives the team the opportunity to get to know one another better. Use this time wisely, by providing training in a particular area that would benefit the whole team; run a creative session that gives them the opportunity to think differently with no constraints.  Also work with your team to develop team goals. By having your team create these goals collectively, they will work together to achieve them. Introduce some fun elements too that enable the team to gel such as outdoor pursuits or creating a piece of art. Such exercises not only provide an insight into people’s capabilities outside of work, which can also be utilised inside of work, but also encourages team working.

You should also recognise when the team has achieved certain goals or delivered a task well. Vocalise the achievement to the wider team and ensure that everyone is aware of the progress. This motivates and inspires others to want to do well.

It is also important to challenge your team to avoid complacency and to keep them committed to performing. A good time to do this is when there are high levels of confidence. Give them a task that is slightly more challenging than what they would be doing normally. Their high level of confidence and self-belief will enable them to have a positive approach and more likely complete the task successfully.

Finally, seek feedback. Ask your team what they want from the role and what they want to achieve, and how you can help them achieve it. Find out what you might need to do differently, be open and honest, create trust. A happier team is a motivated team and one that is more likely to be successful.

Contact us to discover how we can support you in creating a successful team environment with the right mindset:  help@pureblueocean.com