12 More Ways to Maintain Highly Functional Teams – Part 2

In our previous blog post on Team Maintenance – Part 1, we began our discussion of how to maintain healthy teams. In this post, we explore further strategies for strengthening your teams’ dynamics to keep your organization running smoothly and efficiently, and to keep you and the other volunteers giving up your time for your volunteer organization. Remember, teams need tending just like gardens! Organizations that fail to manage and require healthy behaviors risk losing good people and thus, the delivery of good services rather quickly. On the other hand, keeping the team motivated and healthy by practicing these steps can lead to successes and enjoyment for everyone involved. The work, while important, becomes secondary to the team at hand. A happy and functional team tends to perform good work. We argue that following the motto “People first, work second” brings more successes and winning seasons.

We encourage you to modify these guidelines as they will be most relevant to your organization. Again, post them in a visible location, perhaps the “Stall Street Journal,” as we saw in one particular organization. Thus, they can serve as a reminder to your team to stay on a positive path in a dynamic team environment. This will help you build and maintain momentum for the tasks you set out to accomplish. Note, too, that these items are action items, not philosophies. They require doing, not just thinking. Talk of execution as you read them aloud to your group or team.

These guidelines are relevant whether you are a leader within your organization or a team member just beginning your time in volunteer labor. As you know, teams are made up of individuals with many different backgrounds, points of view, experiences, and goals. We want to emphasize the necessity of taking advantage of this diversity while still keeping everyone moving in the same direction. You will see that the guidelines above emphasize things that each individual can do for him/herself as well as ways that each team member can support others within the organization.

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You need to maintain a balance between what each person brings to the table and how your people work together. The guidelines emphasize management of one’s self or another through positive reinforcement, open communication, and honesty. If you follow these tenets, you will be setting an example for others to follow.

Again, it does not matter where you are in the hierarchy of your organization—these same guidelines apply. In fact, they can even help you develop your leadership skills and help you move into positions with greater responsibility. We will speak more on leadership in future posts. In the meantime, if you are interested in more ways to build and maintain a great team, you may want to read our previous post, “5 Ways to Achieve Team Success” or download our free eBook, Volunteering.

Karl’s volunteer management experience spans three decades. He recently retired as a chief strategy officer, after having implemented the strategic plan of a 1500+ employee service sector organization.  He is now a principal with Sunshine Valley Communications, www.sunshinevalley.org. He has taught courses in management, business and economics, operations research, and project management. He holds degrees in engineering and economics and is near completion of a second book on the management of highly competitive environments. Recently he has provided strategic planning, project management and technical assistance to numerous volunteer organizations and communities and has written extensively on the subject. Karl resides in the Missouri Ozarks and can be reached at kburgher@SunshineValley.org.

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