How You Can Provide Your Team with the Tools They Need to Succeed
We can all agree that sometimes things at the office don’t always go as planned. Sometimes assignments are suddenly changed at the last moment and there are times when the office can seem like it is in plain chaos. We may not always realize the responsibility and the need for a hard-working office management team. They have become an integral and crucial part of any highly functional business.
The right management team can tip the scale of a business from one that is fairly succeeding to one that is flourishing with abundant business opportunities. Without realizing it, a proper team can be a sturdy foundation for an office.
But what makes a proper team? What are the tools and skill needed to create a team that is separate from the rest? What atmosphere do you need to make your team the ideal force for your company?
We’ve listed a few different characteristics and skills you help you become a “Jack of all Trades” in the workforce. We can show you some tactical ways to maintain productivity in an office environment and foster a good quality of life at work.
It All Starts With….
Communication
Miscommunication can fundamentally destroy a company from the inside out. It’s not merely saying what needs to be said or established at the next team meeting, it’s about listening. Sometimes we aren’t always aware we are actually creating miscommunication; a video here from TED talks highlights the different ways we unintentionally create a lack of communication with one another. There has to be a back and forth dialogue, between both employee and boss, members and team leader, co-worker to co-worker, and, especially, from company to clientele.
Think of communicating effectively as a continuous flow. Here’s the thing, in order for a business to rise and stand out from the competition, it needs that stream of input. Communication offers information from both internal and external sources. A valuable channel. No decision can be made and no action taken without the proper facts. If that stream of communication is cut, then the source of information is lost as well. Having a set of communication skills can only further your company rather than hinder it.
Organization / Time Management Skills
Using your time wisely sounds easier than it may be to actually apply to your everyday work habits. This applies not only to your personal desk but throughout the entire office. What you put out to your office team will be brought back to you. If you’re organized, present, and collected in front of your team, they will be encouraged to do so as well.
Your goal, for your team, is to make sure that each project or given task is handled properly and effectively. Here are some helpful tips and tricks from a business help blog which explains how to create optimal time management skills.
Prioritize what needs to be done first. Which projects need more attention to detail than another project? Give your team a set of goals to complete in a specific time period and set out the jobs each member has a to focus on. Find out what works best for your team’s working environment.
Multi-tasking
The ability to juggle tasks simultaneously is no easy feat. But it’s a skill that is worth its weight in gold. In this day and age, in the business world, everything is moving faster and faster, so instead of trying to hold on and keep up with everyone… set the speed and charge ahead of the competition.
The American Management Association (AMA) shares its secrets on creating an effective multi-tasking workforce. Instead of focusing on a single task at a time, practice task switching. Allow your team to tackle the up and coming projects. Divide that time up into different projects and plan ahead so you are able to accommodate the curve balls that get thrown at you on any given day.
Set plans, mark calendars, and keeping everyone on the same page on assignments and due dates will truly help your company stand out from the crowd.
Team Relationships
You may have the ideal project, and you may have carefully detailed every project, every time frame, and finite detail to make sure everything goes smooth and efficiently. But if there isn’t a good relationship between team members, everything will simply fall apart at the seams.
An article from Berkley highlights various ideas on how to build up your team member and encourage organic conversations. Allow co-workers the opportunity to get to know one another by regularly holding team-building exercises to create positive relationships and establish a positive work environment.
Coming Together Full Circle
All these factors flow into one another: building up the other to create a concrete foundation that can help your team excel. Just be careful not to neglect the integrity of one part for another. Keep it all on a level, equal playing ground.
While each factor serves as a great tool on their own, it’s formulating a mixture of all these factors that really sets your business up for success. Each tie into one another; without a proper relationship with one another, communication runs at a slow pace, there is no active listening. Neither written nor verbal communication can ever be truly successful if your team members don’t get along.
A lack of communication creates disorganization throughout the group. Tasks won’t get accomplished on time, things are set amiss and due dates are askew. Suddenly you are drowning in complaints and overdue assignments. The decision-making process is nonexistent and the effective strategy for your team is gone.
All the above sounds truly terrifying. Yet, taking the time to build up your team to the best of your abilities can create a high powered optimal dream team that can tackle any problem that comes your way. A strong relationship can create a great communication channel which encourages and promotes ideas instead of being afraid to share. Strong communication creates a well-oiled multi-tasking team that can juggle better than a circus performer. A team that expertly handles multiple projects has a fantastic grasp of organizational needs and time management skills.
An office management team that can apply all these tools can help their company achieve any feat or goal they wish to reach. All it takes is the right team with the right mindset.
