Wednesday 5 October 2016

Margaret Kronfeld - Building a Cohesive Work Team

Margaret Kronfeld is the company director of BK Enterprises, and has worked in a number of other leadership positions in New Zealand throughout her career. A big part of this job is managing employees and putting together a team that works together productively. As leaders in many different industries can attest to, it is very difficult to build and manage a team that works together smoothly. If you’re struggling to manage your employees, here are some tips that can help you develop the perfect work team.

First, you’ll need to choose your team members. Even if you need a team of members with the same skills, try to look for professionals with different personalities and thinking styles. For example, having some logical thinkers and some creative thinkers on the team will balance things out and provide a variety of perspectives in the workplace. Once you’ve chosen the ideal team, you’ll be able to be really productive.

The first step is to get your workers comfortable with each other, which is difficult if they’ve only just met or have very different backgrounds. Although it requires some extra time commitment outside of work, team building exercises are a great way to do this. They don’t have to be elaborate or feel too forced – something as simple as going to a meal or event together can really help your team bond naturally. Try to have several events like this to keep making the relationships stronger.

It’s also important to build a work atmosphere where the team feels comfortable socializing and communicating, because this can actually lead to better progress in work activities as well. Encourage team members to rely on each other for resources and collaborate to solve problems instead of just handling their own responsibilities. It’s also important for team members to feel comfortable with each other socially, so having a comfortable break room where they can eat lunch together can be a great investment.

Since we work in a digital age, it’s also very helpful for team members to have many easy ways to communicate electronically. This is especially important for teams where many members travel, work from home, or keep different schedules. Apps like Slack, Evernote, or Skype can give members an easy way to brainstorm whenever they have a great idea, as well as share documents, schedules, and other important information. This creates an easy flow of communication and collaboration that can help the team feel stronger in person as well.

Although building a cohesive team isn’t easy, it can really increase the productivity of your company, as well as the positive atmosphere in the workplace. Throughout her career in business management, Margaret Kronfeld has become very experienced with building great teams.