Small teams can achieve big results. With the right talent and focus, the size of the team is less of an issue. Often small teams feel a stronger sense of accountability for results. With larger teams, it’s easy to place blame on others.
When building your own small business team, look for people who are flexible and open to change, those who enjoy moving quickly and will assume ownership. They’re the ones who aren’t just saying," I want to be a good team member." They say "I want this project to succeed."
Assessments can help you identify a person’s strengths, behaviors and motivation before the person steps into the new role. To learn more about assessments visit:
https://workmatters.com/assessments/
How you bring the team together on the front end will determine how successful the team can be in accomplishing its goals.
* Get to know team members before they come together as a team.
If they’re already on the team, get to know them even better. Understand how they operate at their best and what they care most about. What hidden strengths, knowledge, network or resources can they leverage?
* State the specific outcomes the team is expected to achieve.
It’s interesting to see how often team members get caught up in their own activities without connecting those tasks to the ultimate business goals.
* Open communication.
Small teams in particular need to be communicating frequently. Individual roles may change more often or people may be asked to take on multiple roles. As a leader of a small team, facilitating dialogue is more important than directing activities.
As with any team, the quality of the thinking can drive results. Help your team think better to achieve more. Tap the energy, creativity and resourcefulness of your team members and see them assume greater responsibility to get the job done.
PS — If you’re in the field of project or program management, read this month’s issue of PM Network. PM Network is published monthly by the Project Management Institute. I’m quoted in an article called, "Bigger Isn’t Always Better" by Susan Ladika. The article addresses a variety of interesting issues related to small team success.