Whether you’re a long-established global enterprise or an emerging start-up, small teams are the secret to long term success. Empowering small independent teams, helps workers handle tasks autonomously and encourages the best an employee has to offer. While small companies have long known the benefits of size-controlled teams, larger companies are starting to catch on. When used effectively, small teams are one of your most important resources for getting things done on time. But how exactly to do you utilize teams effectively?
Here are our top 5 ways to unleash the power of small independent teams:
#1: Create Customer Awareness
In order to be interested and engaged in their efforts, small independent teams need to understand how their work directly impacts the customer experience. Knowing that their role makes a real difference can provides teams with a sense of purpose and pride. Understanding your role in a larger process also helps teams connect to the overall company mission. Companies can help their workers in this effort by educating employees about a project’s long term goals and development. By painting a clear picture of a project’s outcome, beyond their own piece in the puzzle, teams are better able to see how their effort contributes to company success. You can even use renowned enterprise software like MangoApps to track the overall progress of a project, helping employees throughout the development process track its progress.
#2: Encourage Honest Transparency
Employers are often hesitant to disclose complete and detailed company information to their teams. This stems from the fear that the employees can not be trusted with sensitive information. While this may seem pragmatic at a glance, it is not an effective way to empower small independent teams. Team members devote countless hours to the work they do and are expected to provide their leaders with all kinds of information. When that courtesy is not returned, leaders often appear suspicious, dishonest, or condescending. No one likes to hear about layoffs 5 minutes before they happen. Being transparent with your teams creates a mutual sense of honesty and dramatically improves employee trust, engagement, and dedication.
#3: Promote Effective Independence
While freedom can seem scary, it’s a natural next step. Small independent teams need their leader’s trust to make important decisions and work independently. After all, how can you have small independent teams when you take away all of their independence? Successful leaders allow teams to make important decisions, trusting that they have the knowledge they need to make the right decision. Providing freedom for your teams doesn’t mean there aren’t any guidelines, or that you never check with team activity. Rather, it means taking a step back, trusting that you’ve hired good employees, and putting together a team that works well together. Increasing team freedom is a welcome change for everyone, providing managers with extra time and giving teams the chance to express their independence and exceed expectations.
#4: Offer A Better Work-Life Balance
Team members can only bring out their best performance when their own personal needs have been met. And while managing a successful home and private life ultimately comes down to the employee, this effort can be greatly enhanced by an effective work-life balance. Providing a flexible work-life balance is an organic part of enabling team independence. When teams have the freedom to determine how and when they work together, they feel more empowered and committed to their tasks, while still being able to take care of personal commitments. The needs of every team are different, but with a few basic company guidelines and a dependable team, they’ll be able to work out the best balance themselves. With modern-day team communication tools, adjusting your schedule to meet individual team needs is easier than ever.
#5: Foster Constant Collaboration
No matter how small your team might be, they need access to innovative collaboration tools. This is especially important if teams are geographically separated or work away from the office often. Collaboration technology, like MangoApps, allows team members communicate and work together anywhere with an internet signal. Collaboration tools are also a huge help when teams need to work together to accomplish a specific goal. Successful tools allow for video calls, file sharing, discussion platforms, and more. Collaboration tools help employees with every aspect of becoming a successful team, including understanding the importance of a project, increasing team independence, and creating a better work/life balance. They’re also a great way for teams to access company-wide or department-wide resources. Increasing team collaboration can help create a much more productive work environment for employees.
Organizations can’t survive without dedicate, creative, and insightful employees. Small team, when well created and given the power to work independently, are how to make that happen. These teams can innovate and explore new ideas while successfully completing projects on time.
Contact us to learn more about empowering small independent teams, or how MangoApps helps teams achieve their best every day.
