For the month of September I thought I would make it “Ten Tips Month.”   I will share with our readers ten tips to enhance team building ideas, customer service skills, leadership development and sales coaching skills.  Some of these tips may be new ideas to you and others may be reminders of the importance of the things you are already doing.

Building Powerful Teams

Often companies will take their team offsite for team building exercises.  There are many activities for building teams at the workplace and while these events are very effective, it doesn’t stop there.   To build a powerful team requires a congruent message from management back at the office too. I have listed ten ways to build stronger teams:

 1)  Clearly defined goals – employees need to have the company and manager’s performance expectations defined in a way that the employees know what is expected of them and have the support and resources to their job effectively.

2)  Know area of responsibility – strong teams are built with the support of many people and it is critical that each person knows their area of responsibility.  It also helps employee motivation when they understand how their contribution affects the success of the whole company.

3)  Regular feedback – effective managers know the importance of regular feedback versus waiting for the annual review.   Acknowledging for a job well done will communicate to the employee they are a valued member of the team.

4)  Have regular meetings – getting your team together periodically to update status is another effective way to keep the lines of communication open.  It is important the meetings are scheduled, relevant, have an agenda and stay on track for people to be motivated to attend.

5)  Set reasonable due dates/deadlines – make sure when you are setting timelines for projects that timelines are reasonable.   If the majority of your projects have reasonable timelines then when you need your employees to go above and beyond they are more likely to jump in and go the extra mile.

6)   Encourage activities that develop relationships – regularly conduct activities (possibly after hours) where employees can socialize and get to know one another.

7)  Reward and Recognize – have a program to reward and recognize performance and tenure.   Many companies have programs to publically recognize outstanding achievements and years of service.  Effective managers don’t wait for these events and will recognize accomplishments regularly.

8)  Empowerment and Encouragement – having employees who feel empowered in their positions and managers that encourage (mentor/coach) them will increase employee engagement.  Often employees don’t feel like they are heard.  While you may not be able to implement everyone’s suggestions, having employees who feel they are contributing will increase engagement.

9)  Ongoing training – ensuring your employees have the skills to do their job is critical.  Often when employees are promoted from within they don’t get the proper training to succeed.   Regularly scheduled training for all employees is another great way to communicate their importance to the organization.

10)  Be open to feedback – effective managers are not perfect and sometimes they may do things that negatively impact their team.  Be open to hearing from your team areas were you too can improve your performance and leadership.

By Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

One of the great things about running the Athena Alliance is the vast amount of knowledge and sharing.  For the summer months I thought I would like to share with you some of the great articles written by my Alliance Members.  Please enjoy the following article submitted by Wendy Woods:

Three Keys to Make 2011 a Great Work Year

Here are three tips guaranteed to increase your engagement and productivity.

Express Gratitude
Work is always filled with challenges so it’s easy to focus on what isn’t working or the endless frustrations.  Expressing gratitude is an easy and quick way to increase your engagement and productivity.  Whether it’s simply acknowledging your gratitude or expressing it to your coworkers, clients or suppliers, research shows that it has valuable benefits.

Specifically employees who express gratitude have greater personal satisfaction, adaptability, and energy. They also promote greater communication and cooperation within their organizations.

How can you express gratitude genuinely at work? (the key here is genuinely) Let your colleagues, boss or clients know when and how they have made your life easier. Also at the end of each day, acknowledge three things you are grateful for no matter how small.

Be Mindful
It’s hard to be focused on the present when there are so many pressures, deadlines, and distractions everyday.  A constant state of multitasking, 7/24 availability and busyness has become the norm.  The assumption is that this increases productivity resulting in greater professional and personal success.  According to the research, these attempts at greater efficiency have the opposite effect making it more difficult to learn, remember or be creative.

So what is mindfulness? The best definition is Jon Kabat Zinn’s “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”  It’s taking things back to basics.  Focusing on and working in the now instead of multiple things, thoughts or conversations at once.

How will mindfulness help you create a great year? The scientific research says it all.  Mindfulness improves areas of the brain responsible for decision making, emotional flexibility, and empathy as well as increasing attention, focus and emotional wellbeing.  It’s also been shown to improve health by lowering blood pressure, boosting the immune system and managing depression and anxiety.

How can you add mindfulness to an already jammed packed day? Start by taking 1 -2 minutes several times a day to focus on your breath.   Push everything else aside and simply breathe where your abdomen inflates when you inhale and deflates when you exhale. This will make you more mindful giving you greater concentration and appreciation of your work.

Laugh More
Laughing more at work, appropriately of course, is guaranteed to help make a great year. Why? First it is a fast stress buster.  According to William Fry of Stanford University, 20 seconds of hearty laughter is equivalent to 3 minutes of hard rowing. Second, laughter facilitates cooperation.  Researchers found that people are more helpful with those they share a laugh.  Finally, laughter increases creativity and innovation which are critical organizational skills.

How can you laugh more with your co-workers? Share cartoons, stories or even laugh at yourself (an easy and safe target).  As long as you are laughing together, never at anyone, then laughter is constructive and everyone benefits.