Does Your Team Ethos Build The Right Team Synergy?

In today’s business world, cooperation begets success, not competition, and in that landscape, team synergy is a key factor to any team’s success. Individuals in the team are playing increasingly important roles in decision-making processes, perhaps even more than the team leaders. Gone are the days of a single boss wielding authority. Take, for example, recruitment processes where candidates are evaluated not just by the boss but also by potential teammates.

Hence it goes without saying that the collective culture, principles, values, of a team - its ethos - can send it on a positive trajectory towards success, or it can stagnate and even derail the whole team. The trajectory a team takes hinges greatly on its shared ethos: the shared values and principles its members embrace.

Does your team have a good shared ethos that would foster the right kind of team synergy? Take an audit with the questions below:

1. Is There Open Communication Within The Team?
   Is every team member is encouraged to voice their thoughts while others actively listen and respect their perspectives? Do members feel empowered to express not just concerns but also ideas and beliefs without fear of judgment?

2. Do Members Seek To Understand & Clarify?
   Are your team members actively seeking to understand each other by asking questions, especially in matters that are of a more open-ended nature? In handling projects together, do they check that they have not made wrong assumptions about each others’ work processes, approaches and intentions? Encouraging clarification and communication will foster a deeper understanding among team members.

3. Are Members Able To Communicate Needs?
   Along the lines of communication, does each individual feel comfortable asking for support within reasonable means to enhance their personal performance, without fear of judgment? Conversely, do members make themselves readily available to lend expertise and experience to each other?

4. Is There A Service-Oriented Mindset or Self-Oriented Mindset?
   Does every member commit to supporting and respecting their teammates, prioritizing the collective success over individual interests? Do they share resources, knowledge and opportunities?

5. How Does The Team Respond When Things Go Wrong?
   Does each team member share equal accountability and ownership for the team’s outcomes? Do they present a unified front to external stakeholders? When things go wrong, do they finger-point, or do they present a unified front to external stakeholders? Do they hold each other accountable to high levels of responsibility and dependability and support each other so that similar mistakes do not happen again?

If you could answer “yes” to most of the above questions, then you have a solid team on your hands - the right people with the right synergy. By embodying these principles, teams can cultivate an environment of collaboration, trust, and mutual respect, leading to greater productivity and success in achieving shared goals. That’s the dream team.