Table of Contents
Unlocking your team’s potential is crucial for driving business performance. We’ve gathered 18 invaluable insights from CEOs, founders, and other business leaders on how to do just that. From uniting your team through collaboration to implementing SMART goals and flexibility, discover the expert advice that will help you harness the true power of your team.
- Unite the Team Through Collaboration
- Foster Communication and Accountability
- Empowering Managers and Leaders to Dream Big
- Create an Ideal Work Environment
- Build Personal Connections and Loyalty
- Tap into Team Motivation
- Invest in Leadership Training
- Cultivate Trust, Transparency, and Autonomy
- Embrace Shorter Workdays and Technology
- Prioritize Deep Work for Performance
- Empower Employees with Ownership
- Grow a Supportive Work Culture
- Provide Adequate Resources and Follow a Plan
- Invest in Tools, Resources, and Training
- Motivate with Recognition and Rewards
- Emphasize Teamwork
- Define Measurable Goals
- Implement SMART Goals and Flexibility
Unite the Team Through Collaboration
To harness the power of a team to drive business performance, it is important to focus on what unites them and not on what divides them. For example, mapping out the strengths and weaknesses of the team members can help foster collaboration as each will now discover how their individual skill set intertwines with their teammates’ capabilities for greater output.
By encouraging people to build on existing skill sets while still investing in training and development, teams can explore new ways of tackling challenges together. Additionally, effective communication between management and employees can establish trust, which increases the morale and motivation of colleagues looking to succeed together.
Tasia Duske, CEO, Museum Hack
Foster Communication and Accountability
A communicative culture improves accountability and makes it easier for teams to work together. Too often, vague job descriptions go hand-in-hand with a lack of accountability. It’s important to break down tasks and roles and make sure your team’s responsibilities align with their abilities. That way, individuals and units can take full ownership of their duties and more clearly understand who they can ask for help.
One way to foster an inclusive culture is by providing regular feedback and having frequent team meetings. In addition to helping you identify overlapping responsibilities, communication within your team helps to ensure open lines of communication.
Matthew Ramirez, CEO, Paraphrasing Tool
Empowering Managers and Leaders to Dream Big
While so much has been discussed about focusing on strengths and potentials, I feel we should work on the crucial aspect to coach and mentor our managers & aspiring leaders to dream within the boundaries of the organization values.
Encouraging our managers to dream big is the first step towards igniting their passion and unlocking their full potential. By nurturing this habit, we pave the way for extraordinary achievements. But it doesn’t stop there. We must provide guidance, support, and structure to transform these dreams into tangible goals. It is also essential to lead by example, by demonstrating our own audacious dreams and how we realize them. This creates a culture of innovation and growth, propelling the entire business to new heights.
Vipul Shah, COO, Ace Infoway
Create an Ideal Work Environment
When the work environment is ideal for employees, it has a very positive effect on business performance. This is because when employees feel comfortable both in the workplace itself and with their coworkers, they’ll be more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay with the company long term.
Higher engagement leads to more consistent employee performance because they show up every day and put in the work needed to succeed. Long-term retention drives performance because there’s no need for teams to find their rhythm with a new coworker, which causes a temporary drop in productivity.
Jenna Nye, CEO, On the Strip
Build Personal Connections and Loyalty
To harness the true power of your team and drive business performance, it’s crucial to understand and connect with each team member on a personal level.
By building strong relationships, you can uncover their hidden strengths and unique abilities. Furthermore, fostering a connection with your team not only enhances your leadership skills but also cultivates a sense of loyalty and commitment from your employees.
When both you and your team are invested in each other’s success, you create a collaborative environment that brings out the best in everyone, ultimately driving business performance to new heights.
Diane Howard, Founder, Esthetic Finesse
Tap into Team Motivators
The best way to harness the power of the team is by tapping into what motivates them. Motivation is a skilled driver of performance, and when you understand what drives each individual team member and the team as a whole, you can use it to your advantage.
A great tip to target your employees’ motivation is by targeting intrinsic motivation by providing autonomy, mastery, and purpose, which are key elements to a productive team. By giving your employees the tools and freedom to work towards their own goals, you will empower them to create better work and foster a sense of ownership and pride.
Denise Hemke, Chief Product Officer, Checkr
Invest in Leadership Training
Investing in leadership training for your entire team will ensure that each team member is properly supported to perform their best.
Provide regular opportunities for team members to improve their skills in areas such as strategic thinking, communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and other important facets of successful team performance.
Span Chen, Growth Director, Notta
Combine Trust, Transparency, and Autonomy
The true power of a team lies in the collective energy and knowledge that each member brings to the group. To successfully harness this power and drive business performance, leaders need to create a culture of trust and transparency among all members.
For example, allowing for open dialogue between colleagues who have personal differences can help cultivate an environment where everyone’s ideas are respected and valued. This leads to more cooperation in pursuing growth opportunities and resolving challenges, which is integral for positively impacting business results.
Additionally, empowering teams with autonomy over their work has been shown to foster creativity and innovation while drastically improving efficiency. A common insight would be regular team outings that offer a sense of unity rather than just lunch meetings or group activities—these should also be customizable depending on the preferences of the team.
Michael Alexis, CEO, teambuilding.com
Embrace Shorter Workdays and Technology
I think most industries are headed toward shorter workdays. As the talent pool gets more competitive, offering less of a time commitment is a bargaining chip employers can use to entice quality workers who value flexibility.
Additionally, robust automation tools and project management software are continually emerging that save companies time and money. With modern technology helping out, fewer man-hours are needed—so why not pass those benefits on to your employees?
Stephanie Venn-Watson, Co-founder, fatty15
Prioritize Deep Work for Performance
If you have a strong team, give them the freedom to complete meaningful work that transforms your company.
Deep work should live on each of the team’s calendars so that nobody can disturb them. Make it a company-wide habit and watch how it changes your company both in culture and performance.
Jason Vaught, Director of Content, SmashBrand
Empower Employees with Ownership
Empowering employees with the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work can help build trust and create a culture of accountability. When team members feel they are trusted and enabled to do their job without micromanagement or fear of failure, it boosts motivation and performance.
Encourage collaboration between team members by providing resources and opportunities for meaningful dialogue. Create an environment where ideas are shared openly, feedback is welcomed, and trust is established. This will help to build a sense of appreciation and ownership within the team, aiding in goal achievement.
Ryan Hetrick, CEO, Epiphany Wellness
Grow a Supportive Work Culture
To tap into your team’s true power and boost business performance, focus on creating a work culture that thrives on open communication, collaboration, and trust. Encourage your team members to share their thoughts and ideas freely, valuing their diverse perspectives. Make employee growth and well-being a priority by providing support and development opportunities.
Not prioritizing employee growth only sets you up for failure. Remember to acknowledge and celebrate achievements as it drives motivation. Last, embrace innovation and adaptability, allowing room for creative problem-solving.
Eran Mizrahi, CEO and Founder, Ingredient Brothers
Provide Adequate Resources and Follow a Plan
Create a culture of trust and empowerment. When employees feel trusted and empowered, they are more likely to be engaged and productive. This means giving them the freedom to make decisions, take risks, and be creative. It also means providing them with the resources and support they need to succeed.
Here are some specific things you can do to create a culture of trust and empowerment:
- Let employees know what is expected of them and what they need to do to achieve their goals.
- Let employees know how they are doing and what they can do to improve.
- Give employees the opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities.
- Let employees know that you value their ideas and that you are open to new ways of doing things.
Brenton Thomas, CEO, Twibi
Rely on Tools, Resources, and Training
To harness the true power of your team and drive business performance, you need to make sure that you’re providing the right tools and resources to your team. You can’t expect them to perform well if you haven’t provided them with the tools and resources needed to do their job. If you want to drive performance, you need to make sure that you’re investing in your team and equipping them with everything they need to do their job.
Keep in mind that providing the right tools includes not just physical tools, but also software, training, and support. For instance, investing in a project management tool can help your team organize their tasks and communicate effectively. Providing access to specialized software can also improve productivity and efficiency.
Additionally, offering training and support can ensure that your team has the knowledge and skills to use these tools effectively.
Luciano Colos, Founder and CEO, AI Pitch Deck Generator
Motivate with Recognition and Rewards
When employees are recognized and/or rewarded for their work accomplishments, they’ll be much more motivated to continue to put in the effort and be willing to go above and beyond when necessary.
Recognition is also a great tool to keep teams motivated and performing optimally because when their accomplishments are recognized collectively, it reinforces the importance of teamwork and how much it pays off. Providing rewards for employees for a job well done is an easy way to show your appreciation and adds a little extra emphasis over general recognition.
Mark Pierce, CEO, Cloud Peak Law Group
Emphasize Teamwork
A culture of collaboration is necessary to create a unified team that works together for the greater good. When individual tasks are completed, recognizing each member’s hard work is important, but it should never take away from the focus on the overall results.
Emphasize the importance of working as a team to achieve success and remind your team members that everyone brings different strengths, skills, and ideas to the table. If they’re able to focus on what they’re good at and leave the rest to their teammates, it creates a sense of trust and understanding that leads to better collaboration.
Darren Shafae, Founder, ResumeBlaze
Define Measurable Goals
Working in the creative industry of game art creation or even multi-genre game development can sometimes be challenging to ensure that our entire ship, our team, is moving in one known direction.
In such cases, we define clear goals and communicate them to the team.
It is essential to be confident that each team member understands their role and responsibilities in achieving these objectives. Establish measurable targets that align with the company’s overall vision and regularly track progress. Especially for creative professions where not all specialists work with numbers and think in graphs, it is necessary to inform everyone about the final outcome and describe specific steps through which we can achieve them.
When our whole team moves in line, the results show a positive trend for the business.
Oleh Chervonyi, Business Development Manager, RetroStyle Games
Implement SMART Goals and Flexibility
One insight to harness the team’s true power and drive business performance is to provide team members with SMART goals and empower them to make decisions based on data-oriented analysis.
Giving the team autonomy and trusting our team members to make decisions help us to make them feel more invested in their work and motivated to perform at a higher level.
According to statistical data from the Society for Human Resource Management survey, providing flexible working arrangements is a powerful way to unleash the team’s true power and drive business performance.
We are constantly working to create a more welcoming and supportive work environment that prioritizes employee well-being by offering flexible working arrangements. It also helps us to lower turnover rates and improve employee engagement, both of which are critical for driving business performance.
Muzaffar Garakhanli, Head of Digital Marketing, Planly
Wrap Up
In the quest to drive business performance, never underestimate the power of a strong and cohesive team. Just as described by the experts, harnessing the collective talents, diverse perspectives, and collaborative efforts of your team, you can unlock untapped potential, foster innovation, and achieve remarkable results.
At Ace Infoway, we pride ourselves on fostering a culture of effortless teamwork, where our talented professionals work together to deliver cutting-edge software solutions. Reach out to us today and embark on an exciting journey of successful collaboration and exceptional software solutions.
