{"id":4161,"date":"2020-10-28T00:06:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T00:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/?p=4161"},"modified":"2021-04-23T11:14:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T11:14:11","slug":"building-team-cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-sme-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/building-team-cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-sme-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Team Cohesion: a daily puzzle for an SME leader\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you are a leader of any SME, managing people is one of the most challenging tasks you face daily.<\/p>\n

Whether you supervise an individual or a group, people are generally tricky and unpredictable most of the time.<\/p>\n

But your ability to manage this crucial aspect of your responsibility is a function of your leadership style.<\/p>\n

Do your followers regard you as a controlling commander, delegator, coach, or sole decision-maker?<\/p>\n

Increasingly, with the outbreak of coronavirus, managing virtual and collaborative teams is becoming fashionable.<\/p>\n

That means your ability to create a cohesive team that delivers on results remotely is a valuable skill you must have.<\/p>\n

As Quarterli blog notes<\/a>,<\/strong><\/em> that no matter how great your business idea and thus enterprise, it’s team cohesion and leadership that will make it a reality.<\/p>\n

So how can you create a cohesive team, particularly in this post COVID-19 era, that will deliver results and leave you to focus on the core strategy of the company?<\/p>\n

Here are some of the best researched ideas that you may consider and apply to your organisation.<\/p>\n

Hire employees with teambuilding skills and attitude<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The most crucial aspect of your business is your team.<\/p>\n

It is your employees who will determine if your business will have customers as a result of the quality of the goods and services they deliver.<\/p>\n

In recruiting any staff into your organisation, a candidate’s potential to work well in a team setting should be given the utmost attention.<\/p>\n

Yes, the company needs a candidate with high technical skills and abilities, but if such a candidate lacks teamwork, avoid him or her.<\/p>\n

It is better to hire someone with limited skills but trainable and can work well with others.<\/p>\n

You will be saving the company time and money resolving conflicts.<\/p>\n

In one of its articles,<\/em> Corporate Finance Institutes<\/strong><\/em><\/a> singled out the ability to work in teams as one of the core soft skills to have.<\/p>\n

From our decades of experience in entrepreneurship leadership and training, we advise you to consider teamwork seriously.<\/p>\n

Acknowledge everyone’s contribution to the company<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once a leader has assembled his or her best team, the next step is ensuring that members participate in all decisions, though the final call, is the exclusive reserve of the C-suite executive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Related article:\u00a0How SME leaders can improve the financial wellbeing\u00a0of their staff<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Although individuals in the company have different abilities, skills and thus will perform; differently, a leader should acknowledge every little contribution made by the team.<\/p>\n

That way, team members will feel appreciated and stay focused to strive to reach their full potentials.<\/p>\n

Annamarie, M. & Nate, D. (2016)<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, in their study, warned that employees who feel they are not adequately recognised, are twice as likely to quit.<\/p>\n

In another study by Umlas, J. W. (2009)<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, the conclusion was that acknowledging each team member’s contributions to the company, creates a bond that strengthens their working relationship and serves as a buffer in times of stress.<\/p>\n

Delegate power to your team members<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Delegation is a sign of maturity and security of the leader.<\/p>\n

Generally, by the position of the C-suite executive, or entrepreneur, you are in the driving seat, and any decisions that go south becomes your responsibility.<\/p>\n

But you stand to miss out on the creativity and innovation of the team if your leadership style is the type that excludes your team in every decision-making process.<\/p>\n

Let your team members contribute to the collective decision-making process of the company, and you will gain a lot at almost no extra cost.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

And you can effectively do this by delegating some tasks to the team to guarantee their sense of ownership and commitment to the company.<\/p>\n

Recommended article:\u00a0Five Fundamental Entrepreneurial Leadership Qualities Every True Corporate Leader Must Possess<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dianne, C. (2011) blog<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, affirms that by delegating tasks and authority, leaders build trust, cohesion, and productive team behaviour.<\/p>\n

Importantly, ensure that you share the success of the organisation with your team both privately and publicly. And never at any time take ownership of their ideas without crediting them.<\/p>\n

Manage conflicting interests within the groups\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Managing and solving conflicts is one of the essential skills that you should have as a team leader if you are to build a cohesive team.<\/p>\n

Conflicts will no doubt emerge in your team.<\/p>\n

But your ability to resolve them and fix the cracks is what makes the difference.<\/p>\n

According to Carole A. T.<\/a>,<\/strong><\/em> a senior contributor with Team Building Directory, conflict is the biggest problem for leaders leading large organisations.<\/p>\n

To solve a conflict, listen to both sides and show them the way to work together.<\/p>\n

If you take sides for whichever reason, know that you are sinking your team cohesion.<\/p>\n

Constant communication and team building activities have also proven to be additional tools you can explore to resolve conflicts among your teams.<\/p>\n

Create growth opportunities to avoid threat and competition<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In organisations, employees will work to outcompete each other to attain a promotion or pay rise.<\/p>\n

This is normal, and as a leader, you should encourage healthy competition in your organisation.<\/p>\n

But unlimited growth opportunities will undoubtedly tear your team apart if not managed very well.<\/p>\n

Influential leaders know this very well and have developed the skill to offer all team members equal opportunities to shine and rise in the organisation.<\/p>\n

Significantly, growth opportunities for your team, and rewards should be based on merit, always.<\/p>\n

When you take steps to build your team cohesion by applying some of these strategies you reap its benefits eventually. Remember, united your team stands and divided they fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are a leader of any SME, managing people is one of the most challenging tasks you face daily. Whether you supervise an individual or a group, people are generally tricky and unpredictable most of the time. But your ability to manage this crucial aspect of your responsibility is a function of your leadership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-strategic-leadership"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1.jpg",1140,400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1.jpg",1140,400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1.jpg",1140,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1-1024x400.jpg",1024,400,true],"lshowcase-thumb":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1.jpg",200,70,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1.jpg",1140,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Building-Team-Cohesion-a-daily-puzzle-for-an-SME-leader-1-1.jpg",1140,400,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Ojambo Joel","author_link":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/author\/joelhumancapital\/"},"rttpg_comment":7,"rttpg_category":"Strategic Leadership<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"If you are a leader of any SME, managing people is one of the most challenging tasks you face daily. Whether you supervise an individual or a group, people are generally tricky and unpredictable most of the time. But your ability to manage this crucial aspect of your responsibility is a function of your leadership…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4162,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4161\/revisions\/4162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humancapitalinternational.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}