Keys to Effective Team Building and Teamwork

With 20 years of executive experience, Elchanan Grabarsky has worked as the chief operating officer for companies like the RCA Computer Corporation and the Engineering Development Corporation. During that time, Elchanan Grabarsky has developed a range of management skills that includes organizational planning and team building.

Whether it is for a long- or short-term project, team building is one of the first and most essential keys to success. More than filling the team with people whose titles match the requirements, good team building requires finding people whose experience and skills complement each other and the project. Before choosing the first person for the team, consider the scope and reason for the project. Identifying this will not only guide the project as it moves forward but also emphasize which people or departments should be involved.

To ensure the team is working together and not leaving any members behind, monitor the team’s work and delegate tasks as needed. Good things to monitor include communication, individual performance, and the progress of the project as a whole. That way, the team becomes a collaborative unit rather than a group of people working in isolation. Finally, team building and teamwork are most effective when everyone follows through: if the team reaches a goal, make sure its members promptly receive whatever praise or reward has been promised.