Effective Teams Have Leaders Who Do These 3 Things 3 tips to building a cohesive team.
This story appears in the September 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Kari Granger, an executive and leadership coach in Evergreen, Colo., learned a few things about team building during her 12 years at the Air Force Academy and in the Air Force, followed by stints in corporate America. Here are three of them:
Know what matters.
To inspire a group, you need to know what makes its individuals tick. Some want to make a difference. Some just want to provide for their families. "When you make decisions and take actions," Granger says, "have what is fundamentally important to each member in mind."
Related: 5 Keys to Inspiring Leadership, No Matter Your Style
Shape their purpose.
Your team needs a goal—but that doesn't mean each member will understand their role in reaching it. It's your job to show them. "They need to see that they are personally important to achieving this future," Granger says.
Related: 10 Successful Entrepreneurs on How to Be Awesome
Instill accountability.
Teach all employees to take responsibility for the entire company's results. "Speak from the whole," she says. "Hold people accountable for individual tasks, but also have conversations about how they're ensuring that the whole is taken care of."
