This checklist will help you to set up, organise, motivate and support successful teams within your business.
- Establish the purpose of the team, and the range of knowledge and skills required; consider the value of a mix of styles and approaches.
- Limit the size of the team - more than a dozen may be unmanageable; if necessary, create smaller sub-teams instead, with narrower objectives.
- Assemble the team. Discuss the team’s purpose and use this to agree individual team members’ roles and the contribution each will make.
- Clarify how the team will operate: for example, how you will tackle projects, run meetings and make decisions.
- Encourage a culture of honest and open communication, in which team members express their views freely and listen to what others say.
- Agree how problems will be tackled; encourage team members to try to resolve disagreements between themselves before involving you.
- Organise the team’s activities: agree measurable, realistic objectives and deadlines, and ensure the team has the necessary resources.
- Regularly review progress and performance in short team meetings; update objectives and identify any changing resource requirements.
- Motivate the team: be enthusiastic, praise and publicise achievements, encourage everyone to contribute and lead by example.
- Foster team spirit: recognise everyone’s value to the team, avoid favouritism, and encourage collaboration.
- Offer training, support and an open door for individuals with problems.
- Take responsibility: be prepared to tackle problems and to make unpopular decisions.
- Avoid becoming isolated; encourage collaboration, communication and socialising with members of other teams.
- Recognise when the team has served its purpose. Plan a formal ending to maintain motivation, then disband the team when its work is done.
