Customized Leadership Team Development Programs Create Stronger Businesses in Salem, OR

Team Training - The Benefits of Deploying a Team Assessment and Team-Building Program to Develop Trust, Cohesion and High Performing Teams in the Salem area

The best teams aren’t just a random conglomeration of strong team members, just as a quality jewelry chain isn’t simply a bunch of precious metal strung together. Fine gold doesn’t gain any value if it’s soldered together without care, and the same is true for your work teams. Approaching team building with the right resources and level of consideration lets you increase the value of each member’s contribution and ensure a culture where everyone supports each other in a positive, productive manner. One way organizations can invest in their teams is via customized team development training.

Five Behaviors that Make Teams Great, and How Companies Can Encourage Them

Even if you hire the cream of the crop, if your team doesn't work together in a cohesive manner, you might not see results. In a manufacturing environment, we know that production is only as fast as the slowest machine — this concept is true in any situation where people must work together to accomplish goals. If one person isn't working in the same direction as everyone else, the entire team suffers. If technical skills are robust but communication falters, the team is likely to face obstacles. By understanding and encouraging five behaviors for team cohesion, companies can develop teams that bring coveted hard and soft skills to the table and work together to achieve and exceed expectations.

At Turnkey Coaching & Development Solutions, we provide customized team development programs that teach these five behaviors and provide work groups with the resources they need to continue building on skills learned. During personalized training, your team of 6 to 40 individuals will learn about:

• The importance of trust among coworkers. It's not enough for a few personally close members of the team to trust each other; all members — at all levels — must believe everyone else is capable of handling their position, willing to ask for help when needed and honest in working toward shared goals.
• The role conflict plays in any team. Even teams that share consistent trust are made up of individuals, and people don't always agree. Teams that want to move forward can't always avoid conflict, so it's important for groups to learn constructive communication skills and how to disagree without unbalancing progress.
• Why commitment to each other and excellence is paramount. Every person on the team must buy in to the end goal and be willing to do their part in working toward it.
• How accountability falls on every member of the team. Passing the buck isn't an option in a team environment: everyone rises and falls together, so team members can't fall into blame games or avoid accountability for duties that are theirs.
• How to work toward results together. Meeting goals as a team involves flexibility as individuals and as a unit, and this isn't something everyone is naturally equipped to handle. Team development programs help groups — from executive leadership to production staff — learn how to see the big picture and how each person fits into it. That knowledge, along with all the other skills learned during team training, helps everyone contribute positively to results.

The Statistic-Backed Argument for Collaboration

In a study conducted by the Queens University of Charlotte, 39 percent of recipients expressed that they believe other people in their organization weren't collaborating enough. Additionally, three out of four respondents said they felt working together was “very important.” Those two facts illustrate the seriousness of teamwork and the dire straits an organization can be in when collaboration is shoved on the back burner, either intentionally or as the product of a strained office environment.

Employees or group participants don't want to feel like they're bearing the brunt of the workload. Feelings of resentment and discontent inevitably follow, as does isolation and, in many cases, a breaking point. In short, poor teamwork is a breeding ground for miscommunication, lack of productivity and even the loss of valued employees. Luckily, although prevention is preferable, repair is absolutely possible. A thorough evaluation of your team — not just as a whole but as the sum of many moving parts — is a vital starting point for what can ultimately become a long-term exercise in reflection and improvement.

Team Development Results You Can See

Organizations that invest in teams see both tangible and intangible results. Communication that inspires and motivates helps create morale among the entire team — something that would be worth its weight in gold if you could measure it. Other results that come from strong leadership team and work team development include higher employee retention rates (and substantial HR cost savings), increased production and efficiency and better problem solving.

In addition to teaching teams to employ the five behaviors that make them cohesive and productive, we provide you with tools for monitoring results. Turnkey Coaching & Development Solutions’ team development program includes a progress report framework . You'll receive survey results, points of discussion, a customized plan of action, guidance on setting priorities and a DiSC® team map — all designed to help your team navigate ongoing team building as you go forth to conquer business goals together.

Understanding Where Your Team Is Today

Team development isn't a one-and-done task. It's something companies must commit to and invest in consistently over time. As new staff members integrate into the fold or long-time staff members continue to grow or face new challenges together, team development training provides the communication, collaboration and conflict-resolution skills required to support productivity and continued improvement. It's also important to know where your team is now so you can accurately measure improvement.
Ask yourself: Do you have a pseudo-team, a potential team or an actual team?

• A pseudo-team is a group of individuals who all perform their own tasks, working individually to complete whatever work was provided to them. The assumption of pseudo-teams is that someone else — a supervisor, project manager or work group coordinator — will cobble all the pieces together and present a final product or result. The problem with pseudo-teams is that no one is able to fully support each other, ask for help or understand the big picture, which means the team isn't cohesive or growing.
• A potential team is a work group that's moved beyond the pseudo-team environment. The individuals may still work on tasks individually, but they share some level of trust and camaraderie. This leads to more communication, a better understanding of big picture requirements and a greater likelihood that each team member may ask for assistance if they need it. Still, the lines between employees exist and they don't work as a fully functional unit.
• A real team moves and works as one entity — even though each person may be responsible for various elements. The team members don't just trust each other and ask for help when necessary; they work together to develop aligned processes and share work in ways that benefit the company.

To get a better idea of these three team structures, imagine a giant field of wheat that needs harvesting. The pseudo-team attacks the field with scythes and other tools, and each person is responsible for gathering a certain amount of product. Some team members have better skills or tools, and they collect wheat faster. When they fill their quota, they go home, and an overseer is responsible for ensuring all sections of wheat are harvested.

Individuals in a potential team repeat the same process, but they might share equipment or help each other meet quota. This ensures the entire field is harvested faster and the overseer isn't left cleaning up unfinished work.

The members of the real team gather alongside the field first. They present ideas for getting the job done, and they pool the tools and skills they have. They might build a machine or devise a process from what resources they have; the wheat is harvested quickly and everyone is less stressed, less tired and happier with the outcome.

Any organization can have real teams — teams that ideate, plan and work together toward common goals. At Turnkey Coaching & Development Solutions, we offer customized team development programs to help you take pseudo- and potential teams and turn them into real teams.

Turnkey Coaching & Development Solutions offers programs throughout cities all over the United States. Starting with well-respected resources and building custom solutions for each organization ensures participating organizations get maximum ROI from each training. We don’t provide cookie-cutter training seminars or weekend programs you send a single employee to; instead, we work with you to develop customized team development solutions that hit hard out of the gate for your organization.

The constituent parts of anything — a vehicle, recipe or composition — determine its efficiency and success. Some components have major operational roles while others perform smaller essential tasks, but every element counts, and all of them require regular maintenance. The same rules apply within businesses. When you provide your work teams and cross-functional teams with well-planned team development courses, you nurture individual professional growth and increase company prosperity in general.