6 Tips To Build A Collaborative Team Environment

Many characteristics define a successful business, such as an innovative approach, a definable, unique strategy, strong leadership, creative intelligence, trust, the company’s culture, creative and out-of-the box employees, and collaborative teamwork and development. 

For small, middle-sized and large businesses, it’s equally important to create a team of professionals who understand the value of communication and collaboration. Building an environment of trust within a team, and empowering collaboration, is paramount.

These days, companies and organizations put an increased value on virtual teamwork to get the job done - companies are bringing together a diverse team of highly educated specialists to meet the need of a challenging project.

On such projects, the team members must communicate freely, share knowledge and skills, understand emotional intelligence, be able to learn from each other, share resources, be flexible, and have a common goal - all the qualities of strong collaboration.

How can businesses empower their collaboration teams?

How to build a collaborative team environment ?

If you want to know what makes a company successful, read on the tips on how to build your collaboration team.

Set realistic expectations

Why the team exists? Do members of the team understand their roles? Do they understand their tasks?

When expectations are not clearly set, and the roles not clearly defined and understood, the team won’t be able to focus on the tasks and goals. The success of the team in many ways depends on realistic expectations.

To transform a group of strangers in a united team, you also need to allow the team to take part in forming and decision-making, and an opportunity to present their ideas and get support for the same.

Build strong leadership

A failure or success at collaborating reflects the company's leadership. 

If the leaders and managers have an innovative approach to team building, demonstrate collaborative behaviour, support creativity and social relationships, teams are focused and efficient, and they achieve results and perform well. Innovative leaders, who are supportive, flexible, and task- and relationship-oriented, lead the most productive teams. 

Create an environment of trust

Innovation and creativity thrive when people trust each other and have trust in their organization. 

There are always certain risk involved in innovation as some ideas and suggestions might sound irrelevant, ridiculous, and even stupid. To get your team communicate freely and easily, one needs to build an environment of trust. If employees don’t feel trusted and respected, they will not participate or share their ideas.

The fear of being ridiculed is a great treat to innovation and success. If you promote team’s autonomy, you are supporting your team to discover better ways of accomplishing goals.

While autonomy can result in mistakes and misjudgement, it’s essential to have a team who is ready to learn from their mistakes and inefficiencies.

Support a community spirit

Successful companies understand the importance of promoting and reinforcing the idea that a company is a community, a family.

The importance of team building activities, occasional informal networking and random fun and stress-relieving activities is often underestimated. Informal and formal networking plays a critical role in cultivating team spirit.  Through these activities, one is building a strong community. Moreover, a strong community empowers motivation and creativity.

Invest in your employees’ skills and expertise

The company that supports their employees through seminars, mentoring, coaching and participation in relevant conferences and events, empowers collaborative behaviour, supports community and promotes the environment in which people know they can excel. Such company’s policy is especially important for teamwork. The most productive employees are those ready to learn and improve in their field of interest.

A team is then highly motivated to actively participate and contribute to business success.

Invest in collaborative technology

What happens when you have a team who wants to collaborate, share knowledge and communicate freely but don’t have the right collaboration tools?

Today, collaborative technology is crucial for effective collaboration.  A team can have a collaborative culture but lack the skills of practicing and working in collaborative tools.  Choosing the collaborative technology that suits the need of both your team and the tasks they are working on is a win-win situation.

Strengthening your collaboration team requires different set of skills; however, the most important is to understand that building your team’s capacities takes time and long-term investments.

While you can start building your collaboration team using these tips, you also need to keep in mind that businesses need to adjust to current business environment.

Building a collaborative team evironment is a long-term process.