Team Building Tips

Change is not new in the business world. Businesses used to be able to make a change, then pause to adjust to the change before the next change came along. Not any longer. Today’s technology and "break neck" pace require us to change faster than we have in the past.

For business, it’s a great opportunity. Companies that learn to master change can walk through every open door that’s presented. A business that reacts quickly to change is creative, adaptable and uses all of its resources effectively. What can your business do to better embrace change and continuous improvement?

The first step requires some self-inspection. Take a minute to answer the brief questionnaire below. Select A or B for each question.

1. How is your organization viewed by its people?
A. As a conglomeration of several independent, separate parts.
B. As a total system which is interdependent.

2. What is the organization’s structure?
A. Centralized, bureaucratic, and rigid. "We do it all by the book!"
B. Flat and flexible with overlapping boundaries.

3. How are decisions made?
A. Decisions must be approved by one or more higher levels.
B. Mostly democratic or by consensus. The person closest to the customer makes the decision.

4. How are communications handled?
A. All communications (written and verbal) come from the top.
B. Communications are bottom-up, top-down or sideways.

5. To what degree is information about the business shared?
A. Each employee has the necessary information to perform his/her job.
B. Sales targets, strategic plans and company vision are shared which enables all employees to determine how their actions impact the whole.

6. What are the relationships like?
A. Everyone’s afraid to speak up or take action for fear of reprisal. People do a lot of complaining in private.
B. No one is afraid to speak up because concerns are taken seriously. People take action to present solutions, not problems.

7. How does the organization respond to an innovative idea?
A. No one around here comes up with innovative ideas, they would get punished.
B. Innovative ideas are actively pursued and viewed as a business opportunity.

Now add up the all your A’s and all your B’s. How did you do? If you have more A’s than Bs, there’s room for improvement.

Where do you start? All of the areas identified in the questions above are intertwined and very important. Start where you can get the most buy-in from upper levels of management. Link the change to bottom-line results. Demonstrate desired behaviors and coach management to "do the walkin’, not the talkin’."

Changing your business approach in the areas identified above encourages creativity, responsibility and teamwork. These are all critical to managing the change process instead of it managing you.

Denise O'Berry offers more tips and tactics at http://www.justforsmallbusiness.com