Why Is It Important To Strengthen Team Bonds?

Strong team bonds, or team cohesion, can be defined as the degree to which the members of any sort of team are connected and committed to achieving a common goal. Team cohesion in the workplace – whether employees are in the office or work remotely – is essential for business success. The many elements that contribute to strong team bonds include effective communication, cooperation and collaboration, performance and productivity. Team cohesion is underpinned by team trust, which has a direct link to high levels of morale, creativity and innovation, the ability to make decisions, the growth of leadership skills and high levels of morale and employee retention. 

Here are 7 outcomes of building a cohesive team – featuring the many benefits that a well-bonded team can bring to a business.  

A cohesive team:  

1. Builds Trust 

Successful companies are built and thrive on trust. Feeling trusted helps employees to develop a keen sense of belonging at work. It supports their sense of self-worth when they are recognised as being able to do their jobs effectively.  

• When colleagues trust one other: they have a sense of confidence when dealing with each other and when exploring new things.  
• When employees trust their leaders: and reciprocally the leaders trust the team, together they can accomplish remarkable things and reach extraordinary outcomes. 

2. Enhances communication 

Effective communication is a hallmark of cohesive teams. Clear, honest, two-way communication is crucial for solving problems and making informed decisions.  

• Open communication: fosters inclusivity, empowering team members to seek support and deliver unique contributions.  
• Effective communication: nurtures a harmonious and productive work environment. 

                Here are the 7 Cs of effective communication: 

• • Complete communication helps in solving a problem or eliciting an appropriate response and leads to better decision-making as recipients get all the necessary information. 
  • Concise communication is easily digestible as it to the point while still being comprehensive in providing essential information.  Considerate communication takes recipients into consideration in terms of their standing in the company, personal backgrounds and viewpoints, mind-set, language differences, level of education etc. 
  • Clear communication makes understanding the information or message easier and enhances the meaning by using appropriate words and language.  
  • Concrete communication implies a message or information is effective by being precise rather than vague. It contains information that can be supported by practical examples, evidence or through specific facts and figures. 
  • Courteous communication indicates considering the viewpoint and feelings of the message recipient.  
  • Correct communication implies that the information or message provided is precise, correct, well-worded and well-timed. It adds to the recipient rather than taking away from them. 

3. Cooperation and collaboration 

Cohesion within a team builds a sense of partnership. When team members cooperate with one another and work together harmoniously, they can better share their skills and ideas to solve problems creatively and effectively. They are also in a better position to achieve joint goals, promoting team and company success. Working collaboratively gives employees a greater sense of purpose in the organisation. It leads to creativity and innovation, because by sharing ideas and expertise team members can bring in fresh perspectives. This collaborative effort fosters a culture of out-of-the-box thinking.  

4. Performance and productivity 

Team cohesion leads to better team performance. There is a variety of research that shows that team bonding significantly enhances the performance of teams. And when individuals feel like they are part of a team it can enhance personal performance as well. Furthermore, these individuals and teams are likely to achieve their goals faster and more efficiently, improving productivity.  

5. Creativity and innovation 

While leaders are expected to be creative thinkers, fostering and harnessing the creative abilities of a whole team can produce an even greater selection of creative work-related ideas and solutions to problems. Teams are more likely to be creative when team members are mutually supportive, and when they have a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. Collaborative brainstorming in such a team without judgement or constraints cultivates creativity and sparks innovation by encouraging idea generation without fear of ridicule or negative repercussions.  

6. The ability to make decisions 

Cohesive teams thrive at pursuing a common mission, which is based on a shared vision that spurs them on to harness their collective expertise. To reach their goals they are practiced at establishing clear roles, allocating responsibilities, creating a framework from which to make decisions and resolve conflicts. Only team members who trust one another are going to feel comfortable engaging in open and honest debate to clarify issues and make decisions of importance to the team.  

7. Empowering individual team members 

Delegating leadership responsibilities helps build a culture of trust that is at the heart of team cohesion. As the guiding force for teams, managers need to empower and stretch their employees to help them develop and grow. Teams are more likely to work cohesively when members feel that they have some ownership of the activities and projects being proposed and so delegating some authority to appropriate team members helps to increase cohesion.  

In a nutshell 

The most successful teams are typically those in which members are able to work together effectively and efficiently. By nurturing trust and actively maintaining cohesion among team members, companies can unlock greater potential within their employees to achieve remarkable results. A cohesive team can engage in more productive meetings with less conflict, which leads to better decision-making. When each team member understands and is aligned with their teammates the way is paved er for everyone to collaborate on tasks, working together toward a common goal. This results in less wasted time as well as fewer mistakes being made due to a lack of communication. The upshot is happier employees working in a more successful business.  

Over to you for sharing your comments and experiences.