Technology Personnel - A Closer Look at Creating Great Working Teams

Teamwork is a very important aspect of just about any employee's work-life. In this report one will discover how a manager can create a strong team and willingness to work well with others. Communication, balancing and emphasizing employee skills, whether or not one should set clearly defined goals and high standards, allocating tasks, listening, communicating, public praise and private criticism will be discussed, thus proving there is a way to create effective employees and teams.

These methods can be used in any business and, as such, varied companies do implement them; companies like schools, data compiling firms and insurance companies have successfully turned individual workers into team players and each company agrees that having strong teams increases morale and production, thereby decreasing employee turn-over.

Teamwork:

Today, more people than ever before are expected to work in groups or teams rather than as an individual, thus creating special issues that must be addressed and altered. Individuals must learn new methods for dealing with these forced situations successfully and this is where management comes into play.

There is no one way to create effective teams; in fact there are several methods that management can implement such as, balancing or emphasizing employee skills, setting goals and high standards, managers should stay positive and treat employees with respect, and one last example is communication.

Balancing or emphasizing employee skills:

When a manager builds a team he or she needs to consider the employees and their individual skills and experience. Every one is unique and possesses different skills that potential team members can feed off of and use to strengthen the team and project at hand. Balancing teams can be a difficult task for a manager but can pay off in the end for the manager, employees, and business.

"An overwhelming body of evidence exists to highlight the important and vital role of managers on employee performance and retention" (Trinka, 2006). A manager or leader should take the time to select individuals who are confident in their working knowledge which consists of critical-thinking skills and experience, and individuals who are team workers should be selected as well; in essence an individual should be able to be supportive of others, open and honest, can work under pressure and receive feedback well.

Setting goals and high standards:

Once the members have been selected special attention should be placed on setting specific goals for the team. Setting goals gives members something to strive for, a sense of purpose and value and gives them a sense of accomplishment once they reach that goal. This not only builds trust for each member but also builds trust and respect for the manager. Having goals that are attainable creates confidence and a confident worker is someone who will be happy to perform his or her task - this helps to create harmony in the workplace, and this benefits everyone. Again, "the achievement of goals along the way builds momentum, fosters trust among members and helps build continued commitment" (Brusman, 2007).

When a manager sets high standards for herself or himself this generally sets a good example for the employees. The previous statement means that if a manager arrives late to work, is unorganized, disrespectful, discouraging, has a poor attitude (displaying displeasure about being at work), or have poor work habits like skipping important steps or having poorly written reports, this could have adverse affects on employees. The employees will soon become disgruntled and ineffective workers as they follow in their manager's footsteps. With poor working habits a business could break-down and fail.

Should a manager come to work promptly and has a good attitude, treats others around him with respect and is encouraging, or is organized and strives to do his best, this will soon have a positive affect on the employees. Having good work ethics and setting a good example does eventually rub off on others and makes them want to be their best as well.

Allocating tasks:

By allocating tasks, a manager is sure to place work with the correct employee. As previously stated, taking the time to define what skills and experience each employee has will help with assigning tasks. There may be some instances of overlap, but if the team members are willing to share some responsibilities and tasks, this should minimize resentment and create a sense of unity amongst the workers. Again, by allocating tasks a manager basically draws a clear line for each employee to follow. By drawing this line, employees are aware ahead of time what is expected of them and are more likely to have a better understanding of the tasks ahead and perform better as a team.

Listening and Communication:

A manager should take the time to listen to his employees' ideas, concerns, what does and does not please them, and their ambitions or long term-goals. When a manager understands what motivates an employee he is able to place that employee in a position that is tailored to him and this not only fosters self-confidence, but increases the employees' production and willingness to perform.

Communication is a must in any relationship, whether the relationship is personal or professional. When a manager communicates with his employees, he is not only expressing what he wants them to do, but by communicating with them openly and with respect he is showing his employees that he has confidence in their skills, ideas, and knows they can accomplish whatever task he has set before them.

Communication can go a step further: When an employee performs well or is appreciated it pays to praise them in front of others. This not only helps boost self-confidence, but increases morale and employees will want to do the best that they can. Generally, most people want to please others, and when they do a good job they like to know they are appreciated. Consider an employee who never receives praise - it will not be long before he is unhappy because he believes he is unappreciated, and soon enough he will begin to pursue new employment opportunities. The overall goal for companies should be keeping their employees working for their company and not somewhere else.

One last note on communication: a manager should never criticize or reprove his employees in front of others. Having witnesses to a session of criticism can do serious harm to morale and confidence of the employee and how other employees view the manager. This poor behavior could cause production and performance to plummet and soon any department could be in disarray and may need to be revamped.

Final affects:

By keeping a positive attitude and good work ethics, well equipped employees, strategically placed workers in positions for which they are knowledgeable and qualified, teams that are able to work well together in personality and skills, defining goals and allocating tasks, encouraging teams to share responsibility, setting high standards for oneself and employees, emphasizing skills and experience, communication, support and finally praising employees for a job well done in front of others and criticizing in private, a manager is sure to have a happy and productive team. Employees will look forward to coming to work each day and there will be less stress displayed at home and at work. Employees are more likely to befriend their fellow workers and this will create a sense of unity, compliance and willingness to work together as a team instead of as an individual.

References:

Trinka, J. (2007). What's a Manager to Do? Retrieved September 13, 2007, from
http://www.govleaders.org/whats_a_manager_to_do.htm

Brusman, M. (2007). Professional Effectiveness Articles Archives. Working Resources. Creating Powerful Teams.
Retrieved September 13, 2007, from
http://www.workingresources.com/professionaleffectivenessarticles/article.nhtml?uid=10007