It has been proven time and time again that people can accomplish so much more when they work together as a team then they can as individuals. However, the key factor that prevents many individuals from coming together and achieving great things is trust. This can be caused by a number of things. Employees could be distrustful of each other which make them hesitant to work together. Creativity and innovation could be stifled by an organizational culture of distrust that causes instances of micromanagement. A lack of management competence could also breed distrust among the team members.
If you want your organization to be on the cutting edge of creativity and innovation then you must correct the problems that cause your employees to look at each other with a suspicious eye. The place to start is with the companys leadership. More often than not employees behave according to the expectations set by the people in charge. If the management staff has developed an organization culture where people get ahead by stepping on the necks of their coworkers then you employees will be wary of working together for fear of getting stabbed in the back. To turn your company around you should invest in leadership training that teaches managers how to develop a corporate community that is conducive to team work.
Not knowing how to work together is another common reason employees may be reluctant to collaborate with each other. This is particularly true if you are attempting to bring people from different departments together in order to achieve a goal. An accountant may work well with other accountants in their department but may have difficulty responding to the needs of someone who works in the sales department. Team Building can often be facilitated through the judicial use of employee and executive coaches who can teach your workers the skills they need to work together as a team.
Studies show that when employees have more freedom in their jobs then creativity and innovation increase. Your employees may have great ideas that could save or make the company a lot of money. However, they may be afraid to broach or implement them because the organizational culture discourages free thought. One way to overcome this is to implement programs that allow employees to contribute more to the company. For example, you could allow one day for them to work on projects they are interested in. This makes employees feel more connected to the company, increases trust, and encourages team building.
The author of this article knows the importance of trust in Team Building. The information-worthy article explains well about Building an Effective Team.
