You’ve heard that ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’ It might surprise you to learn that it took me some time to learn this lesson.
Early in my consultant career, I took everything on myself. I happily built up my business and was confident taking care of my clients by myself. But then the projects got larger and the demands got higher. I loved the challenge but I was afraid to take the next steps to grow. I was uncomfortable relying on others; uneasy about building a team to share the responsibility.
I had reached a crossroads with my business, and it was time to move forward by getting help or fail. This is a story that I have lived and I am living right now.
Today I am proud to announce that I was asked to contribute a chapter for the second edition of the Success University for Women book. The first edition was a critically acclaimed bestseller and an inspiration for women everywhere. It is a huge honor to be part of such a prestigious publication and a privilege to contribute alongside such accomplished women leaders. I’m honored to see my name in the table of contents.
When considering a topic to write about, I knew that the experience of team building was a story I wanted to tell. I wanted to share my journey with other women. I wanted to candidly explain how I did the research, put the right pieces and people in place, created a growth strategy and executed it. This is a lesson that applies to the corporate world, as more and more women are taking on management and supervisory roles at the highest level of their companies.
It’s not rocket science or a difficult process to build a powerful team and a healthy work environment, one that embodies ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’ It’s thoughtful, consistent and heartfelt steps that create open communication, transparency and honesty between team members, creates a better work environment, and helps teams achieve things that once were unimaginable. These team building accomplishments are often due to the 5C’s of Team Success, which I detail in the book:
- Create Clarity. Take time to define the team vision, values and goals.
- Design a Communication Blueprint. Understanding communication styles and having a communication plan for your team will help each team member feel valued and keep the team on track.
- Promote Creativity. The team environment is what will make or break creativity and innovation.
- Build Connection and Collaboration. Remember that team conflict is natural and healthy if you’ve worked on building team trust, open communication and transparency.
- Evaluate Comprehension. Know what training, coaching and support your team members need to be able to be their best and do active team building from that knowledge.
I’ve been teaching the 5 C’s to teams working side by side in an office and teams spread out virtually around the globe. I’m happy to report that these steps have created happier team members, better team results, powerful team building strategies, and an overall more connected workplace realizing the saying ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’ I know that they can do the same for you.
And yes, the irony is not lost on me. I’ve spent the last 15 years working with hundreds of corporate teams, helping them connect, collaborate and communicate better. I’ve witnessed first-hand the behaviors that build trust and the behaviors that destroy it in the blink of an eye. I’ve worked with teams that have achieved extraordinary accomplishments and helped team building to get that dream team.
I am so proud to be a part of this publication and share this story. I believe it is a common dilemma for women in particular. For many of us, it was equal parts exciting and terrifying making the leap from individual team member to manager/supervisor/team leader and. My hope is that my story will inspire other women in a similar situation.
The Success University for Women book will be out next month. I’ll have more information on the release soon.
