Making People Feel a Part of the Team

“ No bird soars too high, if he soars on his own wings. ”

— William Blake 

We've all been there at some point.  We have either worked in a team in school, in the workplace or in our personal life (from doing sports or volunteering).  I did my HR Management Degree from BCIT.  The British Columbia Institute of Technology.  Everyone who attended BCIT knows what BCIT actually stands for.  "Being Crammed Into Teams".  It was always stressful in school to be in a team or working in groups.  It was ironic because my first class was Organizational Behavior.  Our teacher had put us in odd numbered groups.  Our group had 7 people.  It was the perfect OB experiment.  3 of us worked hard and wanted a good grade on our project.  While the 4 seemed okay being "social loafers" and riding our coat tails while we did the work.  They rarely showed up for group meetings and when they did they never accomplished their part of the workload.  We have all seen this before, and probably even experienced it first hand.

Being in teams is tough.  There are many different personalities and different work methods.  The key is finding what works and how you can all work together.  It can be frustrating but it can be so rewarding.  Its true we can't do it on our own.  Helen Keller said “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”.  We just have to find a way to work together.

One thing I've noticed in working in teams is that someone always seems to take control.  Rarely have I ever worked in a team where everyone was viewed equal.  Let's face it, its the fact of life.  Some of us like to lead while others like to follow.  However, some people don't handle leadership roles well.  These are not your awesome leaders.  These people mostly bark orders and demand things and cannot easily adapt.  They cannot delegate and are often over working themselves.  Most of the time they are isolating themselves from the team and eventually people grow tired of the abuse and quit the team.  Respect goes a long way.

Most people want to feel like they fit in.  As a Manager, it was always ingrained in our heads that "everyone is replaceable".  Sure everyone is..... But I’ve found that a big part of feeling valued occurs when individuals are aware that they add something to the team that no one else can. The more you recognize people's specific contributions to the team, the more irreplaceable they’ll feel. RECOGNITION.

Communicate Communicate Communicate.  Lack of communication is the biggest downfall of any relationship.  If you are working in a team there is nothing worst than not sharing information with each other. People want to feel a part of it so sharing information is important!  This includes making decisions that affect the group.  No sense in making the decision on your own and then later on announce to the group "by the way I just decided......." That's just frustrating and annoying in itself.   Isn't it a team?  There is no I in team the last time I checked.  LOL

That brings us to our next point.  There is no I in team but there is a M and an E.  Yes Me.
"It takes a village to raise a child"....... so let's acknowledge that and remember that.  Making someone feel like they are important and part of the team means being conscious of how you speak about the group.  Using words like "me, mine, I", can be more damaging than you know.  Its important to speak of the group as a whole.  Words like "we, ours, us" make people have warm fuzzies.


NO BACKSEAT DRIVING
Don't be a backseat driver.  Let go of the reins and trust that others know what they are doing.  We all hate always having someone following up and making sure that you are doing everything right.  I know its hard to do, but they say the best leaders allow others to do!  People like autonomy and like to own their work.  Nobody likes to have someone constantly watching over their shoulder.

Let's work together!!!  Remember together we can achieve the world!