How’s your team?

We have close to 1,300 teammates at PalletOne. While we work hard at doing things in consistent ways, the truth is that we have a bunch of smaller teams that work together to create the whole.

We have different geographies. We have departments within plants, and smaller units working together to form those departments. Everyone has expectations. Everyone serves someone else.  It’s a complex mix.

The degree that we work well together will be a result of leadership. It doesn’t happen by mistake. Leaders see the big picture which makes our success and make efforts to assure the people they impact provide a great performance.

The best teams have some characteristics that are common.

1. They continually work to get better. They set intentional goals to improve their execution. Does your team have a goal it’s working to achieve?

2. When goals are achieved and milestones passed, teams celebrate.  When’s the last time your team celebrated a win?

3. Teams express appreciation and gratitude for the work and efforts of their teammates. When’s the last time you expressed thanks to someone at work?

It takes a while for a team to gel. It starts with a leader, whether they have a title or not, to say ‘let’s plan to get better’ and then fostering an environment of support and encouragement as you pursue it together.