FPMG Identifies How to Build Team Synergy
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) December 22, 2013 -- A recent article in the Houston Chronicle focuses on the importance of teamwork and notes how having certain elements of it should be in place for companies to benefit from group organization. FPMG, a performance management firm, seconds that, and goes a step further by identifying how to create teamwork, or team synergy.
“It’s well documented throughout the sports world how important teamwork is to success,” says Denise Federer, Ph.D., FPMG founder. “Look no further than the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox; the synergy displayed by this team transcended any talent deficiencies and left them holding the big trophy.”
FPMG believes business leaders can learn quite a bit from the sports world, starting from the importance of creating synergy, the interaction of multiple elements to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of individuals’ efforts. Even leaders who are superlative problem-solvers (the best at their organizations) are likely to be outperformed by a collaborating team.
Federer notes that a Harvard Business Review Management Update points to two key implications for leaders with respect to creating synergy when it comes to problem solving:
• You must collaborate with your team to find solutions or you’ll lose the advantage of diversity of knowledge and perspective that results from group interactions.
• If you don’t involve your team, you inadvertently encourage passivity from your team members.
Thinking about teamwork in a more general sense, FPMG says how teams are built and how members are encouraged to grow are two other things that will either lead to synergy…or not. The right people must be chosen, and their strengths utilized to the fullest extent, and an environment must be created that fosters their development.
Federer points to the following five “people” factors, which she finds differentiates great teams:
• Trust—team members must know they can count on each other to get the job correctly done, and if challenges crop up, they’ll have each other’s backs
• Respect—team members must have self-respect, as well as mutual respect for other team members’ abilities
• Communication—team members must have both the skills and format to communicate openly and honestly with each other
• Passion—each team member must be driven to accomplish the team’s mutual goals
• Commitment—all team members must have the same values, values that dictate doing what it takes to complete projects at the highest level of execution
With respect to organizational structure, FPMG notes that researchers and practitioners have identified six factors that lead to a great team workplace:
• A clear set of objectives
• Metrics that allow team members to access their performance
• Ongoing training
• Decision-making authority to reach goals
• Team-based rewards and evaluations
• An open culture that encourages communication and differing perspectives
“A good question to ask yourself is how you want your team to be reflected in the eyes of others,” Federer says. “It seems probable that you want emulate the Red Sox’s example of game-changing synergy rather than dealing with issues that can ruin your ‘season.’”
FPMG is a Florida performance management consultancy dedicated to guiding successful people to be their best. Based in Tampa, we help you uncover the non-financial issues that impact the bottom line. FPMG offers consulting for family business problems, financial advisors legacy advising, leadership development, and more.
Denise Federer, Ph.D., FPMG, http://federerperformance.com, +1 (813) 876-7191, [email protected]
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