How to make SME teams successful?

This article was written by Dr. Suzanne Ross Principal Lecturer SME Short Courses: at Nottingham Business School. 

Why is teamwork and collaboration important to SME growth? 

Growth, whether that is through increased sales, serving larger more complex clients or through new products and services, usually leads to an increase in the number of employees. The faster the SME (small to medium-sized enterprise) grows, the more quickly new people need to be brought in and hit the ground running.  

An increase in employees brings challenges around communication, co-ordination, and co-operation. If SME leaders do not pay attention to building teams, teamwork and collaboration, issues can take root. A lack of communication can mean balls get dropped, interpersonal dynamics can create frustration and inefficiencies, and innovation is ultimately stifled. These potential pitfalls result in underperformance of the individual, the team and the business.  

What are the characteristics of high-performance teams? 

Think of a boat race. When everyone in the canoe is clear on the destination, they paddle in the same direction in unison. Each understands they have a role to play and, through their  expertise and focus in the boat, the team goes further, faster and is more innovative.  

Important for high-performing teams are trust, a shared common goal, role clarity, effective communication, knowing and using the individual and collective strengths of the team, and having ways of managing conflict.  

Teams do not exist in a vacuum. Culture has a part to play in supporting teamwork and collaboration."  

So how can leaders best approach building high-performance teams? 

Creating a shared sense of purpose 

A shared sense of purpose is the glue that binds a team together. Communicating the vision and strategy of a business in a clear and compelling way, will help your team to be more engaged.  

We are much more likely to achieve goals we have set for ourselves or had a part in setting, than goals that have been set for us. Work with your team to translate the strategy into a set of goals that they can buy into and own.  

But it is not just about having shared goals. Encouraging people to work together to solve problems or find answers to client challenges fosters teamwork and innovation. 

Fostering a culture of teamwork and collaboration 

It is useful to think about both the enablers and barriers to effective teamwork. We can view this in terms of someone’s ‘willingness’ or ‘ability’ to work as part of a team.  

A ‘knowledge is power’ attitude, high independence, or under performance that is not addressed, may all impact someone’s willingness to work as part of a team. If high performers see under performance is tolerated in a team, they are less inclined to want to be part of it. To develop high-performing teams, leaders need to address under performance promptly. 

Organisational barriers can impact people’s ability to work as a team. This includes a culture that rewards individual performance over teamwork and collaboration, or an organisational structure that isolates people or departments from each other. A lack of role clarity in an organisation, or simply not knowing the skills new people are bringing into the organisation, means some strengths get overused whilst others get under used.  

To help create a culture of teamwork, provide opportunities for people to connect, get to know each other, and share knowledge. This creates trust. Building on these foundations, next look at the opportunities to solve problems and innovate together.  

Review how to  reward teamwork and collaboration as well as individual performance. Consider what might be some of the barriers that impact effective teamwork in your organisation. As this process is all about teamwork, sense-check with others what employees see as the enablers and barriers. 

Managing conflict in teams 

Healthy conflict leads to better problem solving, decision making and innovation as it surfaces different perspectives. It builds trust as we can disagree without it becoming personal. It also builds accountability. People are more likely to be accountable for decisions that are made when they have had the opportunity to work through any disagreement.  

Psychological safety is crucial in high-performance teams. This is about how ‘safe’ employees feel speaking up, offering different perspectives, admitting mistakes. If an employee thinks that by speaking up, they will be made to feel silly, ashamed or guilty – they will keep quiet. This means creativity is stifled, a blame culture can appear, problems do not get identified early and the team does not learn from their mistakes.  

To manage conflict effectively encourage people to share their perspectives. Hear everyone out before opening discussions, perhaps encouraging junior members of the team to speak first."

Focus on content and process not personality. It can be useful to understand each other’s conflict styles – some people get louder, others quieter, some people withdraw and others soothe.  

Taking this forward 

For SMEs effective teamwork and collaboration is crucial for growth. Conversely, ineffective teams not only impact how well a business can serve customers,  but also stifle innovation and create a culture of disengagement.  

Hiring practices that consider how someone collaborates, supports and cooperatives with others, help to make sure you bring the right people in. Often in recruitment the focus is on technical skills, but the problems that manifest down the line are around interpersonal dynamics.  

Clear communication of strategy, joint goal setting, and fostering a culture of teamwork and trust, are all critical to building high-performance teams.  

In the Help to Grow: Management Course as well as learning about strategy, goal setting, culture and bringing teams with you, business leaders get to experience effective teamwork and collaboration.  

Through the 12-week course, you will come together with your cohort to share ideas and solve problems and innovate together. Through the regular small group peer-to-peer sessions you will build trust, challenge and support each other, taking that learning back into your organisations to build your teams. 

Find out more about the Help to Grow: Management Course here.