Why do some teams perform well while others struggle? How can you assess how effectively your team is working now Aaron Donald Limited Jersey , and identify methods for improvement?
Research shows that 85% of the reasons that teams of people succeed or struggle has more to do with interpersonal issues, than technical competence. But both are needed for effective teamwork.
Below please find a checklist you can use to identify the strengths and development needs of your own team:
1. Clear Goals
It's very hard to get there if you don't know where you're going! And it's very hard to accomplish your goals if you haven't made them clear. Make sure there's no question about your team's purpose, function and objective.
2. Clear Roles and Responsibilities.
It's important that roles and responsibilities are clearly specified in order for people to be accountable for accomplishing their part of the team's tasks. Misunderstandings and conflicts frequently occur when roles and expectations are not clearly defined.
3. Information Sharing.
In order for the team to make the best decisions, each team member needs to be provided with relevant information. High performing teams don't guard information? they share it freely.
4. Competent Team Members
Competent team members need to be placed in the right position. At times Eric Dickerson Limited Jersey , a highly talented person can be ill placed which can throw off the team functioning. Consider both the competency and placement of each individual team member.
5. Values Diversity
We don't all work the same way, or have the same styles. This can be a key source for interpersonal conflict. However, when teams learn to value each other's differences they can leverage each other's strengths. Team building exercises can help individuals to appreciate diversity and work together more effectively.
6. Creative Problem Solving When you value diversity of opinion, your team can be more adept at solving problems. How effectively a team can generate new solutions Greg Gaines Elite Jersey , and focus on the end objective, will largely determine their success.
7. Flexibility High performing teams check their progress periodically and adjust their course when needed. This is an important element for allowing them to become adept at meeting the goals of their team.
8. Effective Conflict Resolution How teams resolve their conflicts can make or break them. Effective conflict resolution skills that focus on the task at hand, not the individuals, helps teams move forward and redirect their focus toward positive outcomes.
9. Effective Time Management How teams structure their meetings Bobby Evans Elite Jersey , and meet their deadlines, reflects on their effectiveness. Teams that manage their meetings well encourage higher performance and the increased likelihood of accomplishing their objectives.
10. Good morale. Low turnover and longevity is a benchmark of good morale. A team that successfully values the individual as well as the team has the best likelihood of success.
Mention "cookies" in this high-tech world, and the first thing that comes to mind might be those small files Web sites add to your hard drive to recognize who you are and personalize your visits. (A quick check just now of the computer I'm writing this on revealed 91 cookies present.) While electronic cookies have an air of mystery about what they really do, another type is definitely better certainly more delicious.
When it comes to the edible version David Long Elite Jersey , there is no doubt which cookies are most famous. Since debuting in 1917 - when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, sold them straight out of their kitchens - Girl Scout Cookies have become a highly anticipated annual tradition. This year, Brownies and Girl Scouts will deliver more than 200 million boxes of Thin Mints Darrell Henderson Elite Jersey , Samoas, DoSiDos and five other varieties in neighborhoods and workplaces across the country.
Girl Scout Cookies are big business, with: preferred vendors (ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers); strategic planning (budgeting by local councils and troops); marketing techniques (a "healthy living" initiative encourages bakers to find trans fat alternatives); and, sales incentives (coupons Taylor Rapp Elite Jersey , trinkets, etc.). Averaging $3.50 per box, Girl Scout Cookies could bring in $700 million this year, with 70% of the proceeds staying at the local level.
Success Handler Action: Girl Scouts of the USA utilizes cookie sales for more than fund-raising. Its nearly three million members have the opportunity to learn "life skills like planning Cory Littleton Elite Jersey , decision-making, and customer service." Plus they see the importance of "a team working towards a common goal, with each girl striving to do her best." After you finish reading this, ask yourself these questions to see if you're giving your small business team members similar opportunities to excel:
~ Who among your team knows your productsservices best? (Why doesn't everyone?)
~ What are your team members' biggest challenges? (Why aren't they being overcome?)
~ Where do you keep seeing errors? (Why haven't they been corrected?)
~ When do members act alone? (Why don't they think like a team?)
~ How do your team members view opportunity? (Why don't they see the big picture?)
More than 50 million American women participated in Girl Scouts as children Robert Woods Elite Jersey , and it's probably safe to say most had their first exposure to the entrepreneurial spirit by selling Girl Scout Cookies. Skills you use every day to be successful in your small business - such as honesty, respect and kindness - are all lessons developed when young Girl Scouts go knocking door-to-door, asking neighbors, "How many boxes would you like to buy?"