I work with a very solution driven team.  We are always on the lookout for ideas that will make life easier.  We aim to improve processes that speed up the most mundane tasks.  We implement initiatives that keep money where it needs to be.  Our emphasis is on giving everyone purposeful work that complements their skill set and keeps them motivated.  I often get told how lucky I am to have attracted such a dynamic team and I wholeheartedly agree!  Here are some tips that we use to build the team spirit in our office:

It starts with communicating our vision, mission and values.  By ensuring that our team understands our vision they also understand the part that they play in helping us get there.  They know their role is significant in the success of our journey.   We’ll never get to where we’re going if someone does not understand our direction; with each new hire we start by simply explaining the bigger picture so that they can see how their new position is congruent with our vision.

Another important quality in our team is that we are cohesive.  We speak in the same ‘work’ language even though each person has a completely different position.  We communicate often, celebrate successes, support failures, enjoy the feats and move forward together.  This cohesiveness keeps us attentive to our work for ourselves AND each other, and as our vision evolves so does our team!

Next, we are goal oriented.  Through my business plan we focus on the five main components of any business: financials, marketing, growth, HR and operations.  At the beginning of each year we’ll have a review of the previous year’s goals and outcomes and use the results to help guide us in the upcoming year.   We come up with wish lists (which are lofty) and tasks (which are numerous for mere mortals) that set us on our way.  At the same time this exercise gives our team a thorough understanding of the end goal so that we are all working in unison to accomplish it.  Everybody walks away from this exercise knowing where we’re going, what we need to do to get there, how we’ll make it happen, who’s responsible for what and why we are doing this…which again, leads us back to that vision!

Lastly I would say trust is a big component in our organization.  Our office culture is built on trust and all of the qualities that go along with it: honesty, transparency, accountability, and dependability as well as traits like vulnerability and empathy.  These qualities allow us to depend on each other and ensure that we can each be relied upon to get things accomplished.  These characteristics also build respect and loyalty, as well as a supportive and safe work environment. The trust we have adds to the spirit of the team in our office and the end result is a productive and jovial place to work.

These are the ways we keep the team spirit alive in our office.  This doesn’t mean we don’t have our share of tough times.  Rough patches are as inevitable as they are unpredictable in business.  What it does mean is that our team has the connection, the creativity and the caring to get us through anything.