When was the last time you raised a glass to the success of your team? When was the last time you went up to your employees to thank them for their hard work? If your answer is “it’s been a while”, then you need to make some serious changes to your leadership style.

“It is the long history of humankind that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin

The importance of teamwork and collaboration cannot be stressed enough!

People thrive in work environments where they’re free to communicate, willing to work together, and recognized for their work. It’s been years since ProofHub was launched and I still remember every step, every opportunity, and every challenge that has come along the way. Do you know what else I remember? I remember each and every individual who has contributed to making ProofHub what it is today.

In my personal opinion, building a happy team is as important as achieving high performance. That’s why I always find opportunities to celebrate teamwork and the #PowerOfWe, hard work, and collaboration in my organization. And guess what? It works. In my company environment, team members are now naturally adapting to a collaborative mindset. They focus on collaboration and reflect active participation in the group dynamics i.e. being a part of something bigger than themselves.

Do you want the same for your team? Well, you’ve got to celebrate teamwork, hard work, and collaboration in your workplace. Here are a few tips that will help you in doing so.

1. Create a compelling cause

To create a culture that celebrates the spirit of working hard and working together, it’s important that people are convinced to be a part of the company mission. The more convincing and compelling the mission, the easier it is to bring people together and inspire them to accomplish what they aspire. It has been proved many times that when people are given the opportunity to be a part of a clear and gripping cause they tend to become as passionate about the goal as their leaders. Alternatively, if they do not care about the goals presented to them, there is no way they will be able to work together or collaborate at work.

Tip: Ask your team how does the purpose make them feel? If you hear responses like “proud”, “connected”, “important”, “valued”, and “winner”, you’re on the right track. Else, you need to stir the emotions.

2. Communicate expectations

Effective collaboration is the need of the hour. Every manager and organization must define and communicate collaboration as a standard practice in the workplace. They must provide teams with well-defined individual and collective roles and responsibilities. With a clear understanding of their as well as other’s roles within the team, each team member tends to work more effectively — without stepping on others toes or creating unnecessary conflicts. In fact, they show shared responsibility and turn to see success as a bonded group experience instead of individual achievement.

Tip: Get your people to collaborate on common topics effortlessly in one centralized place via one-to-one/group Chat and Discussions in ProofHub.

Need help communicating expectations as a manager? Try ProofHub!

3. Establish team goals

To derive success, it’s important to set goals that are measurable and realistic. Remember the purpose of a goal i.e. To provide a team with achievable wins. Having frequent wins helps to create a culture of positive momentum, both individually and collectively. Now, in addition to setting measurable goals, it is also imperative to re-evaluate those goals whenever necessary. Consider checking your goals for potential areas of improvements at each quarter’s end. It will help you avoid any confusion or disintegration of team cohesion.

Tip: Consider using a Gantt chart to plan and manage your project goals and deliverables more efficiently. Get a clear lineup of each task and milestone that your team members need to complete to achieve a goal using ProofHub’s in-built Gantt chart software.

4. Encourage innovation

A team grows when it brainstorms and questions the status quo in a completely open and non-judgmental workplace environment. Simply put, for teams to grow they should be encouraged to live up to a “can-do” attitude. You, as a manager, must ask your team for their thoughts, their ideas, and their reasoning on important matters on a regular basis. Try to connect with them on a more personal level so that you can motivate them to perform better, be creative, and to exceed those “can-do” expectations.

Tip: Empower teams to make decisions and take actions together. Encourage open and honest feedback, and make sure everyone’s opinion counts. Let them help each other improve and innovate.

5. Leverage team-member strengths

A great way to empower teams is to work with their strengths rather than working around their weaknesses. If you’re a project manager, it would be a great idea to plan and delegate work based on each individual’s strength. Also, allow every member of your team to get to know themselves and their team members in a much deeper manner. When teams work with this kind of connection and learn to play to each other’s strengths, they set the whole organization up for success.

Tip: Get a clear view of an individual’s activities, assignments, and projects in one central place with ProofHub’s Profile View and assign tasks accordingly.

6. Encourage people to socialize outside of work

We all are so busy in our own lives that the mere thought of going outside and socializing with people seems like a lot of work. However, socializing with co-workers outside the office premises is a great way to strengthen communication and break down the walls of mistrust or misunderstanding between team members. When people on the team share interests and challenges outside of work, the team feels more real.

Tip: Host simple, casual, all-staff events like game nights, short trips, birthday celebrations, outdoor activities, sports activities and holiday parties with a focus on sharing.

7. Recognize, reward and celebrate collaborative behaviour

Every accomplishment demands appreciation. No matter whether it is shared through a newsletter, annual report, seminar, or stories — what’s important here is that the leadership sends the right message to team members about bringing value to the organization by honoring and rewarding their collective and individual efforts.

Tip: Recognize employees and teams who have made a spectacular effort through a variety of channels, in private and out in the open too. ProofHub offers plenty of features for that purpose, including Announcements, Mentions, and Email Notifications.

Show employees that they’re appreciated. Make announcements and celebrate big wins with ProofHub!

An episode of a new TV series is only as good as the connection between the onscreen star cast and the people working behind the scenes. Likewise, a business venture is only as successful as t he team and the leadership behind it. That’s why it is important to establish a collaborative working environment where there is nothing more meaningful, fulfilling than a shared win. But that won’t happen on its own. If you’re a project manager or a leader, you’ll have to put the above tips into practice in order to create a culture of teamwork, trust, communication, cohesion, and most importantly, celebration.

Is there something that you would like me to add to this post? If so, then share it in the comments!

Author Bio:

Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management and collaboration software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organizations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.

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