Developing and facilitating a team

Team cohesion strategies are essential to cultivating workgroups capable of working in a coordinated, efficient and positive fashion towards achieving their every goal. 

What is team cohesion?

Team cohesion means everyone is working in sync towards the same goal. It is the hallmark of an effective team and goes hand in hand with team building. It is the foundational bond between team members and the organisation and the goals, objectives and tasks at hand.

It is this bond that allows a team to function in coordination, efficiently and effectively. This vital bond of trust and accountability drives teams to excel and innovate, going beyond the realms of average performance.

Team cohesion is critical to justifying the formation of the team. The whole purpose of a team is for the individuals within it to cohere and become an entity that is far more capable than the sum of its parts.

Building a cohesive team is a never-ending process, but the more cohesive a team becomes, the more potential there is for greatness.

Frustration, resentment, suspicion, avoidance of accountability and lack of respect - all things that can make people frown at the thought of going to work - are symptoms of a lack of team cohesion.

Every new project brings its unique challenges. Be consistent in ensuring that your team is working in concord and achieving success through all of its endeavours. There is nothing unhealthy about striving for perfection and developing a driven team that can overcome every challenge as one unit.

Resource

Read What is team cohesion by the Corporate Finance Institute to learn more about team cohesion. 

Strategies to drive cohesion

A variety of strategies can be used to drive team cohesion, including: 

Open communication

Good communication is the foundation of successful teams. 

Good communication requires:

• Being clear about the purpose of the team's work and their common goals
• Giving and receiving constructive feedback routinely
• Encouraging team members to openly express their thoughts and ideas
• Making sure all team members have the opportunity to contribute to decision-making processes. Give equal time to each team member during meetings or by rotating the responsibility of leading meetings. 
• Holding regular meetings.

Use communication methods that are appropriate for your team and use them consistently.

Inclusive long-term and short-term plans

Long-term and short-term plans should always factor in opportunities for input from the whole team and individual team members.

Good teamwork is a harmonious concert of varied personalities, specialities, strengths, talents and skills, cohesively working to create something greater than an achievement generated by one person alone.

It is important to remember that your team will find it difficult to work together and cohere unless you create opportunities for each team member to contribute and show the rest of the team what they are capable of and what they have to offer. These opportunities must be included consistently in your long- and short-term plans.

Team policies and procedures

Ensure that your organisation and team have policies and procedures that support positive teamwork and expected behaviours to promote a positive team environment.  All team members must be trained in the policies and know how to access the policies and procedures for guidance whenever necessary.

Mentoring

Implement mentoring and buddy systems to support team members in providing input.

A team member who is, for one reason or another, unable to contribute as much as the others or is having difficulties or not 'paying their dues' may be shunned and excluded as a result. Likewise, team members who perhaps may not have developed their own unique strengths and skills might be regarded as 'dragging the team down' or 'not of much use'. Either way, the effect of such team members on team cohesion and teamwork can be devastating.

Mentoring and buddy systems offer a great solution, as they give team members one-on­one support systems while creating mentor-mentee relationships that will instantly provide some team spirit to the 'odd ones out'.

Newsletters and workplace social media

Digital newsletters and workplace social media such as group chats can offer great opportunities for team members to get to know one another and support and encourage each other in a manner that may not be possible through their in-person work together. 

Mediums like group chats can serve as platforms for ‘humanising’ employee relationships in workplaces where workstations are very sequestered or where the conversation is very much limited to the work at hand. Supporting employee relationships will boost interpersonal confidence and empathy among employees, making team interactions more confident, comfortable and dynamic. 

It is, however, important that these platforms are well-managed and not allowed to become a distracting or unruly influence. 

Furthermore, these platforms are great places for leadership to offer encouraging words, announce team member achievements and build excitement over upcoming work developments, projects and more. 

Training and development

Training and professional development in various skills and competencies offer many of the same benefits as mentoring in that it boosts the potential and capacities of employees to contribute and partake significantly in team efforts. 

Additionally, training and development weekends, meetings and programs offer opportunities for team-based activities in enjoyable, impactful settings and removed from the everyday grind. 

Training and development events can be developed and arranged to specifically target team cohesion, communication skills, team coordination, etc. 

Training cohesion activities and training

A team that is not cohesive is an ineffective team, which is why team-cohesion development and team building are making such a big comeback in the modern workplace. 

Planning days allow the team to focus on future goals and to identify ways to improve services, policies and procedures. 

Outings that feature entertaining, non-work-related exercises and activities that require extreme teamwork are good places to start. 

Many venues and organisations now offer corporate team-building day and weekend packages for companies looking to create an environment in which no one’s job is on the line so they can instate trust in work teams, help employees relieve stress in partnership with their colleagues and help employees start to develop truly cohesive bonds. 

Some examples of team-building activities include: 

• Rafting, kayaking or canoeing 
• Volunteer work 
• Scavenger hunts 
• Cook-offs 
• Karaoke nights 
• Kart racing 
• Quad biking 
• Paintball or laser tag 
• Escape rooms 
• Painting competitions 

Select team development activities that are fun and suitable to the needs of your team members. Also, consider activities that are free and that you can do in the comfort of your workplace. 

Watch

Watch the video for an example of a workplace-based team-building activity: Dynamic Team Building Exercises for Small Groups – Paper Holding by Mark Collard. Duration: 4:16

Watch the video to learn about conducting a training needs analysis for your team How to Conduct a Training Needs Analysis for Your Team – Blackboard Fridays Ep. 32 by businessDEPOT. A training needs analysis for your team can be useful to identify the skills that a team may be lacking and the training that could be beneficial to employees and the team. Duration: 6:54

Developing or modifying policies and procedures for promoting team member accountability is an important aspect of effective team management. Policies and procedures serve as guidelines for behaviour and set clear expectations for team members, helping to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Policies:

• A policy is a document that stipulates what a company expects from its employees in terms of behaviour, actions and conduct; and the processes employees should apply to the various expressions of their roles. This can often be referred to as the code of conduct. 
• A policy includes organisational principles that are intended to provide direction and guidance. 
• A policy exists to channel and influence decision-making. 

Procedures: 

• A procedure is a specific method employed to express policies in the day-to-day operations of an organisation. 
• A procedure is a particular way of accomplishing something (e.g. a routine work task or an undertaking) contained within a policy. 
• A procedure would likely offer an approach or cycle to accomplish a result. 
• To be effective, a procedure should be designed as a series of logical steps to be followed and reviewed. 

Common policies and procedures used in early childhood education and care include:

1. Performance expectations: Define the performance expectations for each team member, including the quality and quantity of work that is expected.
2. Time management: Establish guidelines for managing time, including deadlines for completing tasks and expectations for punctuality.
3. Communication: Establish protocols for regular communication and collaboration between team members, such as regular meetings, check-ins, and progress reports. Protocols may cover reporting relationships and which staff can and can’t talk about activities and issues within the centre. 
4. Professional development: Establish a policy for ongoing professional development and provide opportunities for team members to improve their skills and knowledge.
5. Feedback: Establish a process for giving and receiving feedback, including regular performance evaluations and opportunities for team members to provide feedback to one another.
6. Conflict resolution: Develop procedures for resolving conflicts and disagreements within the team, including methods for communication, negotiation, and mediation.
7. Record-keeping: Establish a system for keeping records of team members' work, including documentation of completed tasks, progress reports, and evaluations.
8. Safety and health: Develop policies and procedures for promoting the safety and health of both team members and children in their care, such as regular training on emergency procedures, infection control, and injury prevention.
9. Team responsibilities: Clearly define the responsibilities of each team member and establish procedures for delegating tasks and ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Follow these steps to develop or modify your workplace policies and procedures: 

1. Identify the need: Determine the reasons for developing or modifying policies and procedures. Are there existing issues with accountability or areas where improvement is needed?
2. Consult with team members: Involve team members in the process of developing or modifying policies and procedures. Ask for their feedback and input to ensure that the policies and procedures reflect their needs and the needs of the team as a whole.
3. Define clear expectations: Ensure that the policies and procedures clearly define the expectations for team member accountability. This should include both personal work and team tasks.
4. Use simple language: Use language that is easy to understand and free of jargon. This will ensure that the policies and procedures are accessible to all team members.
5. Provide training: Provide training to team members on the policies and procedures to ensure that everyone understands the expectations and knows how to meet them.
6. Regular review: Regularly review and evaluate the policies and procedures to ensure that they are still relevant and effective. Make changes as needed to reflect the changing needs of the team.
7. Enforce consistently: Ensure that the policies and procedures are consistently enforced. This helps to promote accountability and reinforces the importance of following the guidelines.

By following these steps, you can develop or modify policies and procedures that effectively promote team member accountability, resulting in a more productive and efficient team.

Ensuring accessibility

Policies and procedures should be easily accessible to the workforce. 

An organisation can share team-cohesion policies and procedures through: 

• Hard copy policies and procedures placed in rooms or offices
• Company websites 
• Email 
• Blogs 
• Formal meetings 
• Induction processes 
• Conferences.

Providing feedback to team members on their effort and contributions is an important aspect of being a team leader in Early Childhood Education and Care. To effectively provide feedback, it is important to establish clear and consistent communication channels with your team members. This can include regular team meetings, one-on-one discussions, and written feedback via email or a shared document.

When providing feedback, it is important to be specific, objective, and constructive. Use specific examples of the team member's contributions to illustrate your points, and focus on their strengths as well as areas for improvement. Additionally, use a positive and supportive tone and always offer suggestions for how the team member can continue to improve and grow in their role. This approach will not only help to foster a positive and supportive team dynamic but will also help to motivate and encourage your team members to continue to make valuable contributions to the team's success.

The benefits of feedback

Feedback can be defined as advice, constructive criticism or information about work performance. 

It is an objective view and an invaluable new perspective on our work, our strengths and our failings, and it allows us to raise our standards beyond what we could have attained alone. Feedback tells us whether we are well received, whether others appreciate our input and whether we are appreciated for our work. 

Every ambitious worker strives to hear positive feedback from their leaders. Still, it can be difficult for workers to raise their work standards without receiving and responding to constructive feedback first. 

Many workers whose leaders do not consistently provide and encourage feedback in the workplace struggle with the fact that they are never sure whether they are improving or even doing the right thing! 

Facilitating feedback

One of the best ways to develop professional, proactive and high-functioning teams is to ensure that communication remains consistent, open, honest and constructive between team members at all times. 

It is up to leaders and managers to instil a positive feedback culture in a workplace, and you can begin by framing feedback as an essential part of every work process. 

As a leader, by facilitating regular back-and-forth feedback with all team members, as well as between all team members and each other, you can spark a culture of open, honest communication that will drive dynamics and positive outcomes for your team for years to come. 

Facilitating feedback in your workplace can be done through the following methods:

Sharing responsibility

Providing feedback is not solely the team leader’s responsibility. Depending on team size, it may not be possible for one person to observe everything happening. Furthermore, group dynamics will suffer if only one person is critiquing and giving praise. Everyone should have an opportunity to contribute feedback. 

The leader’s job is to ensure that team members provide regular, constructive feedback to each other so that a positive feedback culture is developed in the workplace. 

The expectation should be that feedback is a shared leadership responsibility, and all team members should provide it. 

Setting expectations early

Set expectations early on to establish or reinforce the team’s purpose: Ask members how they will hold each other accountable and come up with an explicit agreement on how issues will be handled. 

Right from the start, teams should be made aware that a positive feedback culture is one of the foundations of your organisation. 

Creating opportunities

Create opportunities for regular check-ins. It is better to start with more frequent check-ins and relax to an optimal amount over time. If things are running smoothly, this can be acknowledged and praised, and a check-in meeting can be cancelled. 

At check-ins, the leader should not begin with their feedback for the team. Expressing empathy by demonstrating a willingness to listen and assist in solving the team’s concerns will make your team members more receptive to any constructive feedback you plan to give them. 

The aim is not only to know where the team is on the path to completing their objectives but also to ensure they feel supported in the process. 

On some occasions, a team member’s feedback to you may affect the way you see their performance and, consequently, the sort of feedback you choose to provide when it is your turn to speak. This is another reason why you should hear their feedback first. 

Remember to listen attentively – the last thing a leader should do is simply wait for their chance to speak. When your turn comes, provide any constructive feedback and useful data from manual systems or measuring software, and include feedback from peers, customers or clients. 

Structuring reviews

Start the review process with discussions of a casual nature and work your way up to more structured reviews. 

As the team becomes comfortable with sharing feedback, the leader can look more closely at how individuals view each other’s contributions to the team. 

The 360 method of feedback and review offers an ideal solution. 360 reviews involve collecting verbal feedback from every member of the team and anyone who may have been affected by an individual’s work and behaviour. 

The leader should then analyse the information obtained for patterns of issue and impact. During this analysis, non-constructive feedback should be filtered out or, if appropriate, reworded to a more constructive format. 

The idea of these reviews is to show each employee how their contribution is viewed by the rest of the team, as opposed to simply informing them of whether they have performed to standard. 

Addressing issues

Address performance issues out in the open. 

The traditional view is that you should praise in public and criticise in private, but when a team has a problem, it should be discussed in the open. 

The leader’s role is not to always make people feel comfortable, but personal or sensitive issues must still be handled respectfully. Ensure that facts and observations are stated and never state assumptions. 

There needs to be group input to clarify the issue and a group plan for moving forward. 

The leader should then follow up with one-on-one conversations with the people involved to identify and provide any support needed. 

Fostering relationships

Conflicts between team members are inevitable, but the leader should never respond by saying something like ‘I’ll handle it’ because all parties involved need to be heard and to resolve things together, with the leader acting as moderator. 

People should be coached on how to have difficult conversations and helped to build trust before these conflicts take place. 

Encourage open conversation and ask people to give feedback directly to each other, as a positive feedback culture is the surest way to cultivate lasting and dynamic relationships between team members. 

Good work gets done through good relationships: The better the relationship, the better the work experience and the better the work itself. 

Resource

Read 15 ways to give negative feedback positively (+ examples) by Jermey Sutton, PositvePsychology.com, to learn how to provide negative feedback. You can share the insights and guidance with your team so they can cultivate stronger relationships through a positive feedback culture. 

Watch

Watch the video How to give feedback – Leadership Training by ProjectManager to learn more about constructive feedback and positive reinforcement. Duration: 3:36

The goal of any feedback should be to allow team members to improve and make informed changes. 

Team debriefing

Debrief the team with every project or milestone completed. 

The leader should: 

• Schedule specific sessions to discuss what worked and what did not, what needs to be addressed sooner and what should be done differently next time 
• Take careful notes because the information gathered in a debrief is needed for the organisation’s project review and the team members’ annual performance appraisals. 

A debrief aims to provide closure for the team and determine what each member needs to further improve their performance. 

Team cohesion, productivity and creativity through ownership of tasks can be achieved by providing healthy encouragement, empowerment and validation to your team members. 

As a manager and team leader, you will find that staff who feel encouraged, empowered and validated find it easier to collaborate, innovate, create and develop. 

With a leader providing encouragement, trust is built, workplace conflict is reduced, and a sense of ownership and autonomy takes hold, driving excellence in all tasks. You cannot go wrong when you encourage your team to be great and support them while they act on your encouragement. 

By acknowledging your team’s strengths, rewarding their efforts and demonstrating your trust in their abilities, you empower them to fulfil their potential, extend their capacities and make positive forward leaps for your service. 

It is your duty to encourage your team and facilitate team members’ encouragement and support of one another. Heed the following advice to encourage, empower and validate your team: 

Remove barriers

Respect and trust will be established, and a powerful team spirit will emerge through creating transparency in the workplace, and a sense of joint ownership of tasks and appreciation for one another’s skill sets. 

Encourage collaboration

By encouraging your employees to collaborate on projects, you allow them to start relying on the group as a whole to meet shared objectives and accomplish common goals. They will also learn to support one another as they realise they can only succeed as a team. 

This is how you build team spirit! 

Discuss the challenges

Take time to sit down and discuss challenging tasks. 

If your staff are unaware that you consider something challenging too, they may mistakenly think they are missing something or are somehow inadequate – this will negatively impact their confidence. 

Rather, give them the sense that overcoming this challenge would be a true accomplishment, as this will drive a motivated effort. Also, let them know you think they are capable, which is why you chose them for the task. 

Lastly, brainstorm with your staff and let them know you will remain available for guidance and support throughout the process. 

Listen and act on valid ideas

By listening to and acting on valid ideas, you will promote respect within the team and give individuals a sense of ownership, confidence and motivation, which will make them more approachable and more valuable to the other team members. 

This confidence should result in people injecting their ideas, strengths and efforts into the equation more often, driving innovation, creativity and productivity. 

Provide, gather and use constructive feedback

With regular insight through constructive feedback, you can help employees value and cultivate their strengths while improving areas that need work. 

This will drive competence and promote appreciation and respect between team members as they slowly value one another’s work. 

Also, do not gather feedback aimlessly. Consider, use and incorporate it to inform the relevant team members and the team of how valuable their feedback is, as well as how you intend to act on it – then act on it as promised! 

Celebrate successes

If your team’s accomplishments go unnoticed, how must they motivate themselves for the next effort? 

Think about this, and ensure you give your team a chance to smile, sit back and be proud of what they have achieved before you hit them with the next task. 

Establish a reward system, but do not reward unnecessarily

Incentives are a winning strategy for tasks that require creativity, innovation, or considerable effort to succeed. 

They are also great for reaching targets or encouraging new innovative ideas. 

Make the rewards valuable and worthwhile where appropriate – do not waste your time with rewards that have little value to staff. However, remember that your staff get paid, so you cannot be expected to reward them for getting the bare minimum done. 

What rewards do you think would be beneficial in an Early Childhood setting? 

Watch

Watch the video How to create an empowered team by Kreg Enderson to learn more about how to create an empowered team. Duration: 4:31

Team cohesion, productivity and creativity through ownership of tasks can be achieved by providing healthy encouragement, empowerment and validation to your team members. 

As a manager and team leader, you will find that staff who feel encouraged, empowered and validated find it easier to collaborate, innovate, create and develop. 

Managers and team leaders must have the ability to identify problems and concerns. Problem-solving, however, should be a team effort, and you must learn how to facilitate your team in taking ownership of the problem-solving process. 

In order to properly address any workplace concerns, conflicts or workflow problems that may arise, you must first be able to identify them. 

A good place to start is knowing the three main categories of concern with respect to the workflow: 

• Deviation Problems – These occur when the team falls short of expected outcomes or targets. 
• Improvement Problems – These occur when the team has no significant issues but needs to improve on something. 
• Open-Ended Problems – These occur when challenges require creative thinking to solve. 

More often than not, workflow problems are solvable through one of the following means: 

• Assigning more resources 
• Allocating more time 
• Increasing the budget 
• Increasing the scope 
• Mentoring and coaching team members 
• Communicating better 
• Providing stronger leadership 

To efficiently and effectively identify and address workplace concerns, you should apply the five-step RADAR approach: 

• Request: request the what and why of the issue
• Ask: Ask for further details to identify specifics
• Develop: develop ideas to solve the issue
• Agree: agree on the actions to be implemented to solve the issue
• Review: review the main points of the actions and follow-up to ensure issue is solved.

Should the concerns identified involve a conflict of interests, minds or personalities within your team, you may need to engage in some on-the-spot negotiation. 

Watch

Watch the video Negotiation Techniques by Eduxir to learn more about the essential skill of negotiation. Duration: 4:55

Team problem-solving

You can facilitate team ownership of the problem-solving process by: 

• Brainstorming options with the team for addressing concerns 
• Creating a matrix of issues and concerns and distributing it for comment 
• Engaging in discussions with individuals regarding their concerns 
• Distributing drafts of solutions, with a range of options for the resolution of concerns, for comment 
• Holding training and development sessions to enhance appropriate skill sets, allowing team members to solve problems independently. 

The purpose of problem analysis and subsequent process development is to find the main cause of a problem or a concern before it escalates to a level that poses a detriment to the team or the organisation. 

Note: The process of identifying issues, concerns and problems detected by team members can also be used as a form of mediation or as a method for gathering feedback. 

We will revisit the topic of team problem-solving in the next topic.