Creating Intelligent Teams

In today’s workplace, it is more important than ever to have a cohesive team which work well together. There are different ways of managing teams, and every team will differ according to what different types of personality you have. You will have to adapt your management style according to the different people available, and also depending on the kind of workplace you are in.
However, there are some very basic things that every manager can do in order to create an intelligent team. An intelligent team is not a group of people who are all very smart, but a team who work well together in order to achieve a common goal. To create an intelligent team, you will need to learn how each member of the team work, but to get you started, here are a few tips.
Listen to everyone
It’s important, especially when managing a big team, to make sure that everyone gets their opinion heard. Not only should each opinion be heard, but everyone should recognise that another’s way of thinking isn’t wrong – it’s just different. Everyone’s opinion is valid and important and offers a completely different perspective for the person managing the team. Allowing people to come to you with their ideas will allow you to see different ways of approaching a challenge. Not only this, but the team members will feel more valued and appreciate the work they do for you.
Conflict is not a bad thing
Conflict in the workspace is simply just people expressing differing opinions. It’s the way you manage conflict that is the important thing. Make sure that you are creating a place where people challenge ideas, not personality. It’s fine for two people to have differing opinions but when the jabs get personal that’s when it becomes a problem. Encourage your team to celebrate individuality and respect others’ opinions.
Share knowledge and power
In a lot of teams, people tend to stick to what their job description is and never reach out beyond this. However, having a team where everyone knows how to do everyone else’s job not means that your team works more dynamically together and there are more people to step in when someone is off sick etc. It also means each member of the team has something new to add to their CV and will feel more valued as part of the team, meaning they are more likely to put in extra work.
Communication
Communication is the most important aspect of creating any good team of workers. Without effective communication, people won’t be aware of the changes happening, about what it currently going on in the workplace, and it can even leave people feeling slightly isolated. Communicating effectively will leave people more understanding of different things that are happening, and will create an atmosphere of trust. This means happier workers and happier workers are more intelligent workers.