team

Tips for managers: Build up a diverse team

Author: Future Manager Research Center Diversity is often considered an important factor in modern work teams. Research shows that it has the potential to yield greater work productivity and competitive advantages. There is no doubt that employers are more likely to hire the right talent when they build a diverse talent pool. Managers understand that some effective measures are necessary for creating a successful, diverse workforce. People often look at the meaning of diversity from a narrow perspective. Most people consider gender, race or religion, but they may ignore other aspects such as age, disability, language, personality and sexual orientation, etc. These innate qualities lead to diversities, but also our ways of thinking obtained through experience also bring diversities, and they are both important. For example, people with cross-cultural mindset (ability to understand and work with people from different cultural backgrounds) can be important employees in building an inclusive work environment. Many people who believe in equality think they treat everyone equally. For example, use anonymous recruitment to increase team diversity. Anonymous recruitment focuses on management skills and skills rather than the person’s gender or appearance. However, the same approach is not effective when managing teams. Diversity is not about differences among groups, but rather about differences among individuals. For example, if you decide to take your team out for lunch, don’t choose a place that doesn’t meet the dietary needs of vegetarian or Muslim employees. Older employees may need more new technical guidance, and employees moving from different countries may need additional support until they adapt to the new culture, so tailored approaches are often better than unified approaches. Different people have different needs. Establishing a universal reward and promotion system may help set standards that can be followed. However, managers should also focus on what team members want. Some people want more money, while others value autonomy, some people want promotion, and others want rewards and recognition. By understanding the different needs and goals of team members, managers can adjust their management methods to motivate and attract different types of employees. When team members get to know each other better, their prejudices are likely to subside. When possible, often combining team members with colleagues from different cultural, educational and backgrounds is an effective method. If you want to hire a new employee, set up a recruiting team with diversity, a diverse recruiting team can help you hire more people from a minority group. It is useful for the entire team to collaborate with other teams, whether it is corporate events or large work projects. In multinational companies, this can help teams build cross-cultural work capabilities.

Read More

The traits of an effective team

 Author: Future Manager Research Center A team is able to achieve a performance that an individual on its own cannot accomplish. However for a team to be effective, each individual must also recognize their personal responsibilities to the team. Being part of a team means being open to other people’s ideas and perspectives in a positive discussion; for this reason team players have an open mind and actively listen the others. Each member of the team should feel committed to the common goal, otherwise if they do not care for the project this will greatly affect the general performance. Committment to a project imply that there is an active partipation among all team members. As communication is key for an active participation, assertiveness is a must. Being assertive means being able to express an opinion effectively while respecting the rights and beliefs of others. Open, honest and respectful communication should be the base of the team culture. This means consider what they person talking is trying to saying and more importantly, why they believe that: team members ask questions for clarity and spend their thought time listening deeply rather than forming rebuttals while their co-worker is speaking.  Flexibility to external or internal factors and getting over flops with a positive attitude are necessary to not be stuck in the past in the gears of progress and mistakes should be considered as a starting point to improve the situation and not as a personal failure: the best solutions will arise not from pointing fingers but from working all together. Indeed, in an effective team all the members support and help their peers: sharing the difficulties with the group mitigates the risks of failure. Being reliable and responsible it mean also understanding personal limits and shortages and share them with the rest of the team. Asking for help it also create a more “human” dimension to the team and it is easier to have a sense of belonging and experience a deep commitment to the group’s decisions and actions. Even if the team is made of more people, it is always important to remember each member contributions: share credit and emphasizing the work of others, providing recognition and celebrating the others’ successes is a great way to build a strong team.  

Read More