Here are some tips for strategic leadership to ensure that your team is working as optimally as possible.

Set a shared vision

One of the most important elements of making the most of a team starts right at the beginning: ensuring you have a shared vision. As much as you’re hoping your colleagues are going to a great job for the love of the company, the fact of the matter is that we’re all motivated by something much bigger than that – purpose.

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Your team need to be motivated by a common ‘cause’, so be very clear about what your cause is and set about forming a team that shares that passion.

Ensure communication is easy

Communication is one of the most important aspects of strong team performance, so make sure that people feel they can speak honestly and openly about how things are going.

Conversations can take place in group settings, but it’s also a good idea to have an online forum too so that everyone can see the status of tasks, comments and notes, as well as a record of previous conversations. Encourage team members to ask questions of one another, but most importantly of all, to listen to one another.

Respect everyone’s individuality and creativity

No two people are the same, and that’s a great thing when it comes to getting the most of your team. Identify your team members’ strengths and weaknesses means each person can adopt a particular role or be responsible for a particular task according to what they do best, ensuring that the team functions optimally, and as one.

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Similarly, encourage team members to think creatively: this might mean you need to discourage people from criticising or laughing about ideas that aren’t quite right so that you’re working in an environment that’s receptive to new ways of doing things.

Define roles

The old saying “too many cooks in the kitchen” is true whatever industry you’re working in, and you’ll quickly spot conflicts and inefficiencies if you have too many people trying to do the same thing in your team. So, structure your team in such a way that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of each member, and if you’re the leader, be sure to lead.

Hold regular temperature checks

Checking in with your team to understand how they’re feeling about workload, morale and culture is necessary if you don’t want little problems to become big ones.

Address simmering resentments and frustrations as soon as you can, asking for honest feedback at regular intervals. You might find that this is best achieved through an anonymous survey, even if you believe that you have a culture of honest and open communication – no-one likes to speak up if they fear recrimination.

Stop micro-managing

You’ll get the most out of your team if you stop micro-managing every aspect of their work. If you’ve appointed the right people, trust that they’re able to do what’s required of them without you holding their hands.

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Be available to assist them, by all means, but don’t hover over their shoulders, second-guess everything they’re doing or make them feel that you don’t trust them to handle responsibilities that are part of their day to day roles.

Call in the experts

Finally, you can ensure you’re maximising your team’s potential by calling in an expert to help you to manage teams of people. From recruiting the right team members initially through to managing them efficiently, consultancy services from a provider such as this one could make a big difference to the effectiveness of your team.

The UK’s largest conference for tech leadership, TechLeaders Summit, returns on 14 September with 40+ top execs signed up to speak about the challenges and opportunities surrounding the most disruptive innovations facing the enterprise today. Secure your place at this prestigious summit by registering here