5 Steps To Increase Team Cohesion And Boost Growth

A cohesive team or workforce can work together smoothly and effectively, which helps them achieve their goals faster. It is essential not only for the manager’s development but also for the team as a whole. When it comes to the development of a manager, the team must be cohesive and work together as a unit. In this article, we’ll look at why team cohesion is so important and provide tips on how to develop it in your team.

What is team cohesion?

Team cohesion is the psychological factor that ties employees together and makes them work together harmoniously towards a common goal. This term is often used to describe the feeling of camaraderie and respect that exists among team members. It can be defined as the degree to which team members feel connected to one another and share common values, attitudes, and goals. It is basically the psychological glue that binds team members together and helps them work together as a cohesive unit.

Good team cohesion facilitates the smooth functioning of the team, enhances teamwork, communication, and trust, and leads to better performance. But, how does team cohesion lead to the development of the manager of that team? Let’s find that out in our next section.

Why Is Team Cohesion Important For The Development Of A Manager?

A manager is only as successful as the team they lead. Team cohesion is key to the development of the team leader or manager. Team members can better support and work collaboratively to achieve a shared goal when they are cohesive. A strong team allows managers to share resources and work together as a unit to achieve common goals. It can increase productivity, lower stress levels, and ensure better decision-making. In addition, building solid teams provides managers with the skills they need to manage larger groups of people effectively. These skills include problem-solving, communication, and conflict resolution.

Furthermore, a cohesive team allows for exchanging ideas, building trust, and developing relationships. It leads to the team being able to handle challenges and adversity better. It also fosters increased creativity and innovation, generating better results for the team. These better results will ultimately showcase the effectiveness of the manager and will ensure their career development. But what signs can help managers identify that their team isn’t cohesive? Let’s go through them in our next section.

What are the signs that team cohesion is deteriorating at work?

Team cohesion is essential for a successful workplace. If it begins to deteriorate, it can lead to low morale, low trust, and communication problems. Here are some signs that team cohesion might be waning:

• Low team morale – If you notice that team morale is low at work, it’s likely a sign that team cohesion is deteriorating. Employees may start to feel disgruntled and uninspired and may begin to look for greener pastures.
• Low trust – Low trust indicates that team cohesion is deteriorating and can negatively impact productivity. Team members may start to distrust each other and feel they cannot freely share their thoughts or feelings. The team members will then be less likely to collaborate and share crucial information, which again is a clear sign of low team cohesion.
• Communication issues – When your team members regularly have problems communicating with each other, it may be a sign of low team cohesiveness and disharmony. Team members may feel that they don’t have a voice or that their ideas are not being taken seriously.
• Inability to work together – When team members cannot work together effectively, it is often indicative of a low level of team cohesion. Team members may start to clash and find it difficult to solve problems and achieve the team goal collaboratively.

If you notice any of these signs, addressing them as soon as possible is essential. But how do managers ensure team cohesion? Let’s figure that out in our next section.

How can managers ensure team cohesion in the workplace?

1. Define the team’s purpose and goals

Managers must establish clear team goals and objectives to create cohesion and motivation among team members. When managers set goals and purpose clearly, everyone knows what they are working towards and can share ideas and feedback freely without fear of retribution. Furthermore, setting clear goals and objectives allows for better decision-making, as leaders will identify trends more efficiently and make informed decisions. When everyone on a team is aligned with the same vision, the workplace becomes more cohesive.

2. Encourage communication and collaboration

When people work together as a cohesive unit, they can deliver better results and take on more immense challenges with greater confidence. To achieve team cohesion, managers should encourage communication and collaboration among their team members. They can do it by facilitating regular meetings, briefings, and communication tools such as email and Slack. By fostering an environment of open communication, transparency, and trust, managers can help their team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and feedback. It won’t allow any misunderstandings or miscommunication to foster. That will ultimately lead to greater cohesiveness within the team.

3. Recognize and appreciate team players

Even though there is low cohesiveness in the team, managers will still be able to find some team players. These team members try to bring everyone together. They only work or make decisions that ensure the collective betterment of the team instead of just running behind individual goals.

Managers need to recognize and appreciate these team players to ensure team cohesion. It can be done by public praise, rewards, giving them leadership opportunities, or openly addressing whatever input they provide. This appreciation will motivate other team members to become team players as well. At the end of the day, who doesn’t want recognition and appreciation? This motivation of being a team player among individual team members will ultimately lead to team cohesion.

4. Foster interpersonal dependency

To foster team cohesion in the workplace, managers must create an environment of interpersonal dependency. It means that team members should feel a sense of obligation, mutual respect, and dependence on one another and be willing to put in additional effort to achieve common goals. In a sense, this creates a camaraderie among team members, which leads to improved productivity and efficiency. Additionally, when team members are dependent on one another, they are more likely to conform to company policies and ideals. All that together will foster long-lasting cohesiveness within the team. This interpersonal dependency will also make constructive conflict resolution possible.

5. Allow collective autonomy

Giving autonomy to employees is essential for better performance and ownership among them. However, the best way to do that is by allowing collective autonomy. It refers to giving autonomy to the entire team instead of individual team members. To elaborate, if the team collectively agrees to something, disagrees with something, or suggests something, they should be allowed to make decisions over it collectively without interference from the manager or other superiors. It will bring the team together where they’ll share ideas, communicate, collaborate, and build trust with each other. All that will lead to an effective team that will be performing tasks cohesively and in the most effective way.

Conclusion

A manager’s ability to build team cohesion is essential to their and their team’s development. A cohesive team is better equipped to handle stress and conflicts while working towards a common goal, leading to higher productivity. If you are looking for an edge in the competitive job market, ensuring team cohesion is necessary. As you must have read, our blog has outlined why team cohesion is essential for managers, the signs of low team cohesion, and how to ensure it effectively as a manager. Follow these tips and start building the cohesive team you’ve always dreamt of.

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