As H1 wraps ups and H2 begins, the pressure for achieving results by year end can mount. In conversation with leaders from across a variety of industries, it seems individual and team stress continue to be at a higher-than-normal level despite financial recovery post-Covid.
Continuing supply chain issues, virtual and/or hybrid team challenges and economic uncertainty all seem to be piling up on leaders’ plates — all of this on top of the standard pressure to meet organizational deliverables.
While leaders may be looking forward to taking a well-deserved break this summer, remember it is also a very good time to be investing in building team camaraderie. If you are looking to break down inter-departmental silos, promote cross selling and leader collaboration to achieve corporate objectives, a good starting place is team building.
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One of the best experiences I had as an executive was in the final few years of my C-level career when I was part of a high-performing North American team of presidents. We all got along well and had fun together — in addition to motivating and helping each other to reach high levels of performance. This atmosphere was created by our zone CEO. He helped foster in us high-performance expectations (wanting to be the fastest growing and highest return zone worldwide!), created trust between leaders by trusting each of us equally, and empowered us to run our own business units. At the same time, he was good humored, allowed us all room to be ourselves and planned for social times together.
Here are some ideas to consider if you are looking to increase an improved sense of team camaraderie:
- Set high standards and incentivize the team with a team objective
- Hold regular team meetings and add a social component to each
- Encourage leaders to share leadership stories and to get to know and appreciate each other
- Empower each leader equally
- Recognize achievements equally
- Encourage leaders to attend each other’s business meetings and to share knowledge
An investment in creating team camaraderie strengthens feelings of belonging and results in higher-performing teams. Think about how you can make this happen!
