Team collaboration can make a world of difference when it comes to workplace harmony and productivity. If your team members are butting heads, you likely need to make some adjustments. Here is how to strengthen collaboration among your team.
Ensure Everyone’s Voice Is Heard
One of the main sources of conflict and dissatisfaction in a team environment is when one person feels like their ideas or opinions are often dismissed.
This issue is most common among employees who belong to minority groups, particularly women and people of color. While it may not be malicious, subconscious bias means that other team members are more likely to devalue suggestions made by these employees.
To remedy this, it is important to make sure everyone’s voice is heard. In a team meeting, each person should feel that their ideas are received and considered.
This does not mean that the team must go with that person’s suggestion; it simply means that their idea should be given the same weight as every other team member’s.
Work With Their Strengths
On a team, each individual should be assigned work that coincides with their individual talents. If Rick is a compelling writer and Susan is a numbers whiz, it doesn’t make sense to have Susan writing the company blogs and Rick doing the books.
Assign the members of your team to areas of the project where you know they will thrive. This will increase productivity, employee happiness, and customer satisfaction! The work that your team puts out will be of a much higher caliber.
Encourage Them To Learn From Each Other
Each member of your team has different experiences. It is likely that they have all worked at your company for various amounts of time and in various roles. Because of this, we highly recommend encouraging your team members to participate in peer coaching.
Peer coaching has numerous workplace benefits, such as enabling your employees to share knowledge and perspectives. This will make your team more cohesive and teach each of your employees valuable new skills.
Strengthening collaboration among your team members shouldn’t be a hassle. When in doubt, ask your team members where they see contentious issues. This will give you the necessary insight to resolve the problem.
