No One Can Whistle A Symphony...

It takes a whole orchestra to play it. - H.E. Luccock

When I say “teamwork” what is the first thing that comes to mind?

A Stanley Cup winning hockey team
Company retreats where you’re forced to build marshmallow towers
Sitting around a conference table exchanging ideas
“There’s no I in teams”
Teamwork makes the dream work!

Some of these answers bring joy, others bring exhausting sighs and rolling eyes. When thinking about your company, teams should not cause anyone to break out the bottle of Tums. Not every organization is going to run smoothly, not every company will have perfect teams, not every coworker will get along.

What your company should strive for is a high-performance workforce.

But I don’t want to hear about teams

Before you close this article, hear me out. All of our companies and organizations are struggling with recruiting and retaining employees. There are a million and one reasons why that is happening but by implementing a few minor culture changes in the workplace, you can create an environment that employees are proud to be part of and others will want to join.

A high-performance workforce involves an interdependent group of employees who share responsibility, have mutual trust, and are focused on a shared goal under strong leadership. This doesn’t happen overnight or by osmosis. It takes several steps including:

Establishing the team – whether you’re a company of 5 or 500, you can establish a team environment.
Creating cohesion – allow time for members to gather and build relationships.
Talking to the team – don’t address team projects to one individual, gather the group so everyone is hearing the same message. Make this your norm.
Setting goals – be specific with the team goals. Don’t just build the box, high performing groups envision what the box will look like and how it will be used.

A word of caution that any Star Trek fan will understand: don’t create a Borg collective. Your high-performance workforce is only effective if they remain objective and open to input from outside sources.

Establishing a high-performance workforce environment allows your employees to feel more involved in the operation of your organization. When they’re more positive about your company, they demonstrate that to customers, vendors, and the general public.

So do you need some assistance with creating your ideal workforce orchestra? Contact SEWN and let our staff provide you with a no-cost assessment to get your company and workforce performing for you.