5 Tips on How to Have a Successful Team
For Students
You know the saying… teamwork makes the dream work. There is no “I” in team. These are clichés for a reason because they are true. When working on a team every player is important. There are no small parts on a team and each role plays a part in leading your team to success.
Working on a team comes with struggles. There are many moving parts due to varying schedules, different communication styles, lack of organization, and more. Here are some tips to help your team get on track for success.
1. Create a routine and schedule for your team
At the start of a project, meet with your team in person and create a plan of attack for the year. Schedule a consistent meeting date and time, minimizing the likelihood of team members "penciling in" meetings but knowing it is a required meeting to me on this team. Figure out a date and time that works for everyone on the team. Creating a consistent meeting date and time will help your team remember your meetings.
In this meeting, create a consistent routine for when certain tasks need to be completed. Assess what tasks need to be done and the deadlines for these tasks.
Part of developing your career, is juggling a variety of involvements at work and in your community. When joining a new group, this comes with a lot of personal responsibility of managing your own calendar. It is important to not over commit to something you don’t have the time to give 100%.
2. Delegation:
Once you have your team’s routine and schedule in place, it’s time to delegate the tasks out to members on your team. What does this mean? It means each member on the team shares a certain level of responsibility. You may choose to delegate by assigning roles and holding each person responsible over a certain part of your project.
For example: If your school has a school store or Spirit Box, you may want to assign roles such as: marketing, product manager, treasurer, general manager, etc.
3. Organization:
Now your roles are assigned, how do you keep track of what needs to be done? A great tool your team can utilize is Trello. This is an app that allows you to create “to do” lists, assign roles, create checklists, and the best part is your entire team can be on the app and see changes that are made. This app can be accessed from your computer or your phone. This tool is great for teams that struggle to meet regularly.
If not Trello, pick a tool that everyone can view and interact with assigned tasks and timelines easily. Other ideas: Use Google Sheets or go analog and make a simple Kanban board using poster boards, tape, and post-its or pinned index cards..
4. Communication:
Communication with your teammates is probably the most important part of a successful team. If your team is not clearly and regularly communicating with each other, misunderstandings, errors, and frustrations can develop.
A great tool to keep the communication with your team organized and all in one place is utilizing a tool like Slack or Groupme. These are both apps that are messaging platforms for businesses and teams. Documents, images, and more can be shared on these platforms. Texting and email are also good but often an email can get buried in the other many emails we get. Tools like Slack allow for simple questions to be asked and answered asynchronously with the entire team rather than clogging up email.
5. Planning:
Whether this is a short-term team or a long- term team, create your team’s vision. What goals do you hope to achieve? How will you get there? At the start of your project sit down as a full team and create goals and a timeline you want to achieve. A great tool for creating goals is developing SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely). Check out our article and downloadable worksheets on creating SMART goals. Don’t wait mid-project to start identifying your goals. Create them early so you have a clear target from the start.
Can Spirit Box Help Your Team?
Working on a team can be hard but it also can be incredibly rewarding. We hope you feel more confident moving forward on your next team project! Do you want more resources from us? Hit us up on social media (@spiritboxnation) or subscribe to our email and receive bi-weekly resources geared for students.