Six Factors That Influence Teams

Leadership: Six Factors That Influence Teams

By Colleen Kettenhofen

“Teams of all kind rely on these six factors to perform successfully. Read on for tips on how to improve your team dynamic.”

1. Communication: Communication is key. Without it there is no team. It assists with project awareness, roles, responsibilities and goals. Communication is an integral part of leadership. How else can a leader share job knowledge, skills and ideas other than through effective communication? Even in cross training, each person still needs to effectively communicate how to do something properly.

According to the American Society for Training and Development, the most important factor in career success is job knowledge, communication is second! Have the ability to communicate that knowledge. A leader must articulate and execute purpose and vision. One of the main reason’s teams fail is because the people on the team don’t like each other. Then you have people more focused on “personalities” and “differences” as opposed to getting the job done.

2. Company Climate: A good company climate promotes learning, a sense of pride and recognition for the team, and creates more positive people. A good company climate gives employees a renewed sense of energy, purpose and confidence. Also, an open-door policy between management and peers is essential. 

When I ask my seminar participants worldwide what constitutes a “bad company climate,” here are five factors I hear repeatedly: “too much red tape,” “management’s resistance to new ideas,” “too much segregation between management and teams,” “constant change in roles and responsibilities that are not clearly communicated,” and “constant turnover at the top with rules that are always changing.” Enough said.

3. Personality Styles: A mix of different personality styles keeps a team fun and interesting. Team members get different perspectives and see new ways of doing things. It aids creativity. With a mix of personality styles, genders, cultures and even generations, cliques are less likely. One downfall is that sometimes different people can equal difficult people. Two people can be so different; it’s hard for them to see the other’s point of view. Train your people in conflict resolution and how to communicate more effectively.

4. Team Size: With smaller teams you experience more involvement. As long as a team isn’t too small, such as three people which can affect attendance. On the other hand, with too large a group (typically 10 or more) drawbacks can include too many opinions. This can make it more difficult to keep control of the group in meetings. If you have a very large team, consider breaking everyone into groups for brainstorming in meetings.

5. Team structure: Diversity can lead to experiencing different cultures and backgrounds. This enhances creativity and is an “education” you can’t get from the books. It allows for a healthier, more dynamic exchange of ideas.

However, as stated earlier, conflicts can arise from differences in how people were brought up to communicate and handle conflict. Invest in diversity training and how to effectively lead multi-cultural teams. 

6. Purpose: Without a purpose, there can’t be goals. A team leader must clearly define the goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities of each team member… and where that ties in with the bigger picture/organizational strategies. This sounds obvious, and it is, but it’s a skill I hear is frequently not practiced. Also, what support will the team need? How will they achieve their goals? Do they know how they’ll be evaluated? Explain the big picture. Have a detailed action plan and have it in writing. When people hear and see something, comprehension and retention are greatly enhanced.

Colleen Kettenhofen

(800)323-0683 (971)212-2412

Email: colleen@colleenspeaks.com

Website: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com

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This article was originally published in Flossin Magazine. This article is edited by Edna Waters. This article is optimized for web by Steven Christian (Artist | Author | Podcaster).