To be an effective leader in this turbulent and ever-evolving environment, you need to know how to build productive, efficient and positive teams. I recently led a panel presentation on “Building Effective Teams” at the MarCom Summit 2024 in Arlington, VA.
I’ve devoted the past 20 years of my career to team building. This is always a challenging task, but these days it’s particularly tricky. Economic uncertainty and political anxiety around the presidential election, among other things, have made the environment more difficult than ever.
New hybrid and remote work policies have brought tremendous flexibility, which is what employees really want, but they also have sparked additional challenges to our goals of creating deeper connections, mentoring colleagues, and fostering teamwork. I’ve also seen stark differences among the generations in the workplace in terms of expectations and how we work. On top of it all, the country is also facing a national mental health crisis.
To get a broader view of these issues, I wanted to conduct an external reality check. So I created a survey, posted it on my LinkedIn page and sent it to a group of my colleagues to gather their insights.
- When asked to identify the top two issues facing teams, I was surprised to learn that burnout was a top issue, named by nearly half of the respondents, followed by friction among generational work styles and expectations.
- Next, I asked respondents to name two things that they appreciate most about their team. Respect and trust was the top answer, followed by clear expectations and common goals.
- Beyond salary, they said the biggest demand from employees is often flexibility, particularly in terms of remote work or flexible hours.
- As employees themselves, they prioritize a positive work-life balance, career growth opportunities, mental health support, and inclusive, supportive workplace cultures. Benefits like health coverage, wellness programs, and professional development are also highly valued.
- Finally, to be an effective leader in changing times, respondents prioritized being flexible, good at understanding people, and communicating clearly. Leaders need to be open to learning, make decisions quickly, but be willing to adapt and build trust and teamwork to handle challenges.
At TRG, we are building and strengthening our team in five areas: culture, training and mentoring, hiring, retention, and engagement. I spend a significant portion of my time working to build a culture of trust, respect and support; one that honors individuals and builds on each other’s strengths.
Lately, my primary focus is to try to give all my team members more individual attention. In recent performance reviews, our team members said that they would like more one-on-one time with me. Now, every month, I meet with every team member individually for 30 minutes, and the agenda is open. It could be about a skill that they’re working on, it could be to discuss a social issue, or it could be something that they would like to learn in their career path.
And that leads directly into the next priority: training and mentoring. We have made in-person work mandatory for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which we use to offer an opportunity to either do team building, professional development or something in our community. We are also changing the way we interview job candidates to have deeper discussions about their personal goals and values.
Building and leading teams requires a lot of self-examination and a willingness to really assess your own leadership style and be open to change. The dynamic is continuing to evolve, which may feel unsettling for team members who prefer consistency over constant change.
My fellow MarCom Summit panelist Maureen Beddis summed it up nicely when she said, “building effective teams isn’t rocket science, but it is just as hard.”
