The 3C’s to Create a Dream Team

The word TEAM is often referred to as the acronym for “Together Everyone Achieve More”. The definition of a team is a collective group of people working together to achieve a common goal. An exceptional team is created when individual members are working together in synergy such that the end result is more than the sum of individual efforts. There are 3 essential elements for a group to be cohesive and working seamlessly together as summarized by 3 Cs’.

1. Clear vision of the future

This is essential for the continuity of a successful team as all the members will then be committed to work towards a common future.  With a clear vision of the future, the leaders can inspire and also motivate the members of the team to be highly confident, committed and adopt a positive outlook. Good and effective leadership with a clear vision of the future is a very essential component for a good collaboration.

2. Constant communication

Communication is essential in any interpersonal contact and more importantly of a team. As a group gets larger, constant communication should be emphasized to both the leaders and the members of that particular team. Expressing of ideas, articulation of feelings, expressing the goals and plans, and sharing motivations that one has is a good way to cement a team. Establishing the roles one has to play is also important as every member needs to understand what exactly his or her role in the team is and his or her responsibilities. The leader can outline this on the onset of the team formation, in a clear manner defining purpose of every member.

3. Constructive criticism

No matter how strong and compact a team functions together, there will always be conflicts and arguments arising. Team members should be encouraged to give constructive criticism and very often it is the members who care for the team that will voice out their thoughts and feelings. This is essential to ensure that problems and unhappiness are voiced out in a timely manner so that a sound resolution can take place. A team that consists of yes-man or members who do not take the courage to voice their unhappiness will be in danger of disintegrating one day when small issues balloon to a big problems. The right way to give constructive criticism is that it must always be given in the light of the larger good of the team and it must be backed by suggestions on how to make improvements. Team leaders should get to the core of the argument instead of avoiding the issue. To avoid offending other members or misunderstandings, clear channels to provide feedback should be established and such channels communicated to members so that everyone understand the preferred way to give feedback within the team.