How do you build a winning team? By getting the best people to join you. A team is only as good as its members. You can get everything right, but it’s pointless if you don’t have the best talent working for you.
What you need is a pool of go-getters. That should be the first plan for all managers and leaders. Which raises the question, how do you get the best people to join you? By playing office politics? By intimidation or through pressure tactics?
There are two ways to get the right people to want to work with you. And both focus on changing the existing environment of your team.
1. Give your team members a voice
The first way to build a winning team is by giving them a voice. Your group must be known as one that encourages debate. People should be free to ask questions and provide input without fear. Build a culture that values opinions and accepts differences.
Candor is not a personality trait but a value. Constantly encourage people to say what’s on their minds. It could be about the direction of a given project or the resources involved.
2. Promote your people
The second way to build a great team is to create an environment that constantly promotes people. Your group should be the one that becomes a career booster. Rather than a place where people fade away, your department should be where people find their true potential and unlock career opportunities they had never dreamed of.
You should become their advocate every time they deliver for you. This means you might sometimes have to fight and make a strong case in front of decision-makers to get your people promoted to the top of the line.
Don’t be someone who hides their people under the rug and constantly looks to benefit themselves. No, you must showcase your team’s work and appreciate them publicly. You should see your job as building and promoting leaders.
In other words, you should strive to become the leader who will do everything to get the best deal for your players. You keep doing that, and you will become the talent magnet of your organization. People from other departments would flock to you to become part of a winning team.