Building a Collaborative (and Well-Oiled) Team

We’ve all worked with and on teams that just don’t click, and the results reflect it.  But sometimes, we find ourselves on a team that just works – that works well together, gets things done, and exceeds their goals.  In any company getting a team to work together well requires good leadership.   And this is more pronounced in real estate where teams can be made up of peers as well as employees.   Here are a few ideas I’ve learned from my experience as a senior manager as well as from the real estate agent teams I work with:

• Everyone knows their role: You want collaboration, but that doesn’t mean everyone does exactly the same thing (if you do have two people doing the same thing, I call this the “Pete and Re-Pete” problem).   Clarity on what each individual is responsible for will have the highest impact.
• Leadership:  Someone will be the leader – this is usually the most experienced individual, the one that produces the most, or the one who is building the team.  Someone will need to help drive the team, keep everyone focused, and guide the team through the ups and downs of daily work.
• Remove egos: You can’t afford to have teammates who consider themselves better than others.  Don’t let anybody’s ego get in their way of doing their job, encouraging their teammates, and staying focused on the end-result.
• Be transparent and open: As the team leader, let others know what you’re thinking.  Let them know where the team stands, where they stand, and what else you need from them.  Let them see how you make decisions, and let them suggest (at the right time & place) ways to do things differently.  They’ll appreciate your openness, and I guarantee you’ll hear ideas that will make things better.
• There are no bad ideas: A cliché, I know, but it’s important to get effective collaboration from your team.  Make sure everyone on the team has a safe environment to share ideas.
• Use team collaboration software: Make communications and sharing easier, faster and more efficient by using online tools that share ideas, project status, edits and more.  Of course I’m biased, but I encourage you to look at Team Leader as an option for this.  Find something that will work for your team.
• Give your team the time & place to have fun too: It can’t be all business, all the time.  Give your team a chance to get to know each other outside of the day to day activities.  In my role I travel from time to time and find that I build great relationships with my team when we have time to do things outside the norm (casual lunch, seeing the local sights, or just sharing a cab and getting to know them as a person).

I look forward to any comments or feedback on what you do with your teams to make them more productive and highly functioning.