How can you build a successful team culture through communication?

Communication is how humans express themselves. - Verbal - Behavioral - Emotional - Text and Virtual Any type of method used to pass on a message or information is communication. it is important to align people (team) all all types of communication and understand which teammate understands with method of communication. Once a leader understands the teams language it is easy to set up the culture as well.

One thing I have found helpful, is before powering through one goal, one vision and communicating this to your team. You need to take a step back, Good leaders listen to their teams first. To have truly powerful team communication and alignment on culture and goals, you need to build an environment for your team to be heard, this creates the space for a leader to prove that they can be trusted, making it easier to then define and communicate vision with stronger buy in from the team.

Can I take this further? To sustain a thriving team culture through communication, the team must incorporate psychological safety. A diverse, inclusive, free from bias-and, and psychologically safe team will rule the day. Ensuring everyone feels psychologically safe allows for direct, open, honest discourse. Everyone on the team can communicate by sharing ideas and calling out issues without the threat of isolation, termination, or retaliation. Psychologically safe teams are more innovative, have better communication, and are free from the trapping of groupthink.

A manager must be able to have a open dialogue with his team.If your teams is open with you they will be open to constructive communication and discuss what ideas you may have to implement.Remember its a team effort .

In my experience I have found that open and candid communication is most effective. By setting a positive and constructive communication line, your team will be more comfortable bringing issues and decisions to your attention. Also, you increase culture, morale, and engagement by empowering your team to make their own decisions on projects without seeking your prior approval on every single situation. An engaged and empowered team is a winning formula for success. Positive work environments start with great culture, the right people doing the right job, effective communication, and engaged teams. Spend time getting to know each player on your team on a personal level then the difficult conversations become less uncomfortable for all.

Empowering teams to make decisions within their areas of expertise is another excellent point. It not only reduces bottlenecks but also encourages a sense of ownership and responsibility among team members. When they have the freedom to take the lead on projects and initiatives, it can lead to innovative solutions and a more motivated workforce. Building a strong team culture through personal connections is also key. When leaders take the time to understand their team members on a personal level, it creates trust and makes difficult conversations more manageable. It shows that you care about their well-being, both professionally and personally.

Building a thriving team culture hinges on embracing diversity and inclusion. Diversity isn't just about recognizing differences but valuing each team member's myriad backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Inclusion, on the other hand, ensures everyone feels valued, fostering collaboration and creativity. Drawing from my experiences, being often the sole Black male in elite teams such as US Army Special Operations and as a White House Tactical Medical Officer, I've seen firsthand that diversity extends beyond race or creed. Indeed, diverse backgrounds often birthed our most innovative solutions. But true power lies in valuing these differences, not just their existence. Embrace all and witness the team's potential unfold.

It’s important that everyone on your team knows that you were on their side and that you’re willing to do everything you can to help bring them up to the next level. It is also important to pay attention to your team because some might not be as open to talk as others and you need to be able to identify the problem and then work on it with them.

To build a successful culture through communication, it’s crucial to foster dialogue, body language, and consider small factors that make all the difference. This expertise comes from both theoretical knowledge and practical experiences in the business realm with people.

I have found the best recognition is public recognition. Meaning, celebrate all wins with the entire team present and allow the individuals to share their story of achieving success along the way. In my experience, people enjoy a competitive environment when done with healthy intentions, and the entire team wins together and learns together. Offer "bonus" incentives for achieving certain metrics above the standard goals. Might be something as small as a gift card to their favorite spot or even an entire team activity together when a company goal is exceeded.

A great exercise to try, is a team set "ideal team culture" Ensuring that your team can complete this survey anonymously is the first step (and important). The goal of the survey is to 1. Identify role models in your team(people who can then be built into mentors and people who your team naturally believes in) . 2. Established which behaviours and triggers cause miscommunication and create friction. 3. Established which behaviours to reward publicly and encourage. Structure survey questions in a way that helps you establish the above creating a good foundation to build the following statements: 1.Our values/Our Qualities are X 2. In our team we avoid /We don't do X 3. On our team we show support by/How can we support our team mates X