Cohesive teams are groups of people who are willing to work together towards a common goal. They combine their talents, so they’re more skilled, competent, and effective than they would be alone. They trust each other, they’re committed to supporting the group effort, and they resolve conflicts quickly. And the members of cohesive teams tend to feel good about their jobs and their work.

So what can managers do to help build productive and effective cohesive teams? Here are a few suggestions:

  • Provide team members with clear goals – Make sure that you have clear goals for the team and for each member of the team, and make sure that team members are aware of these goals. The goals should be easy to understand and free of jargon. There should be no question about what team members are expected to do in order to meet (or exceed) these goals.
  • Provide team members with training opportunities – Provide your team members with the opportunity to get training in order to sharpen their existing skills or develop new ones. Make sure they know that asking for training doesn’t mean that they’re deficient in some way. Rather, it’s something that’s encouraged, because skillful, educated employees are more likely to be able to contribute to the team effort.
  • Communicate – Encourage your team members to communicate with you and each other (and provide them with the means to do so). When teams communicate freely and openly, it strengthens the connections between team members. It also allows for problems to be solved more quickly and easily.  
  • Build trust – In order to work together effectively, team members need to trust each other. To build trust, managers and team members need to be honest, kind, and respectful, and need to communicate openly and frequently. As a manager, make sure that you’re available if a team member needs to talk. The more accessible you are, the more likely your employees will be to speak to you freely and trust you with their ideas.
  • Work together to resolve conflicts – Even the most effective and cohesive team will occasionally experience conflict. When it happens, get team members to work together to come up with a solution. Don’t let the problem fester. Address it quickly, and make sure that all team members are satisfied with the proposed solution.
  • Celebrate team successes – When your team experiences some sort of success or achieves an important goal, make sure to celebrate it. Congratulate the entire team, rather than singling out one or two people. Acknowledge the fact that the entire team contributed to the success.

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Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, March 2). 10 steps to improve team cohesiveness in the workplace. Indeed. Retrieved from: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/team-cohesiveness