Three cornerstones of a successful team

Even the best possible employees do not ensure success of the team as a whole. In any given field, team success depends primarily on how the group works together as a unit. Every person is different and thus each team member will have different strengths and weaknesses. The key to success is setting up a form of cooperation which makes maximum use of the strong points of individuals. This article will look at the three pillars that make a successful team.

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1. Respect for diverse approaches

In simple arithmetic 3 plus 4 is 7, but then so is 5 plus 2. In other words, we all have our own methods and means, and two people can use quite different paths to reach the same conclusion. As McKinsey & Company state, team cooperation depends on how individual members respect the differences of their colleagues. A variety of attitudes then provides the team with the necessary flexibility to react to various stimuli and initiatives that one person alone could not cope with.

2. A shared vision

The only way to make a team work as one is to have a common goal. However, this goal must be concretely defined and specified. And that is your task as a manager. A common vision should be more than just an abstract idea. You need a quantifiable plan that can be split into partial steps; these are then distributed among individual members of the sales team. So, instead of a mere vision of improving customer service at your company, for example, you should set a goal that within three months the number of satisfied clients in this area will improve by 15%.

3. Competence

Even the most united and functional team cannot succeed if its individual members lack the necessary competence. Every team member should be a genuine professional in the given field so they can perform the duties stemming from their role. Weak spots are very dangerous, potentially causing the entire team to lose credibility and projects to fail because of one missing link in the chain. Professionalism and competence are the basis for success of the team as a whole.

 

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Article source McKinsey & Company - global management consulting firm
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