Request a definition of team building from the Internet and you will get countless responses, many contradictory. TeamWise (1) suggest that team building could be;

-Developing working relationships.
-Improving the performance of the team.
-Outdoor activities that challenge the individuals within the team.
-Improving motivation, communication, support and trust within a team.

and then they further provide you with their preferred definition;

"Improving team performance by developing teamworking skills by using any appropriate method"

Confused yet? When was the last time that you arrived at work and thought I am going to build the team today? Probably never! And maybe that is the point, creating a high performing team is an evolving process and basically common sense. It is an awareness that people who work with you need to be the best with the right skills and be equally recognised and rewarded. Richard Hammond, author of Smart Retail (2) tells us that there are no hard and fast rules for team building. How you do it, is very much dependent upon your character. In his book he has enhanced on the principles of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and provides a common sense guide to team building. Here we provide some of those principles and explanations;

1. Communication

Common sense, but so few of us get this right. Sharing information with your employees is invaluable to obtaining buy in and goodwill. In addition it is amazing the ideas that will flow your way. Obviously commerically sensitive or confidential information is not up for grabs, but informing your staff about how they are doing, what improvements you are considering or indeed new services that you want to provide can all help to create a reall win-win scenario in your pharmacy. Sometimes we are too precious about our business information.

2. Choosing the Right People to work with

Again common sense. To do this though you should have an effective recruitment procedure in place. Hiring someone because they know someone you know is not a good recruitment approach. And generally, if you come up against problems, they will be much harder to resolve! It is always easier to work with people you like but you still need employees that are confident enough to challenge the status quo.

3. Credit where credit is due

We all like to hear thank you and a job well done. Recognition for good work is the crux of continued performance. But equally, when things are not going too well, you need to step in and resolve the issues before it spirals out of control.

4. Knowing when to quit

It takes a courageous person to know when to quit a project or a task rather than flogging it to death. If something is not working, really think whether it is worth continuing with. Gather feedback from your staff, they may have a more balanced view.

5. Delegation

Delegating responsibly, that is delegating to employees who have the correct level of skill and will (motivation) is crucial to continued team performance. You cannot do it all yourself. Delegation is an art. You want to delegate jobs and tasks that employees will also enjoy. In addition, you cannot simply dump all the uninteresting jobs. So make delegation meaningful for you and your business.

6. Letting people make choices

When you are the boss you need to let your employees have some mileage in making decisions. No-one likes to have their boss looking over their shoulders all day. Of course, we know that emergency situations and sales of medicines require additional training and if someone is not making a correct decision, you will need to step in. However, employees like to have some room for manoeuvre, it allows staff to build their self-confidence and ultimately builds respect for you.

7. Listening

How many courses have you attended when people tell you that active listening is critical to managing any team of employees? And how many times have you really really practised it? Here are some tips; do not finish people's sentences, do not pre-judge, let people finish what they are saying, clarify anything you did not understand. Pretty simple.

8. Making everybody responsible for each other and their own actions

Silos are not good in any work environment. Protecting your own back breeds contempt. People need to know if mistakes are made, then the whole team will sort it out. A blame culture is a definite road to poor performance.

9. Celebrate Success

A thank you goes a long way, but so does the odd social night out to celebrate success. This does not have to be elaborate as long as you do it. Informal occasions can often give rise to new ideas or information you did not already know about the team.

10. Being able to admit your own mistakes

Again it is a courageous person who admits their mistakes and asks for help to move on. It is a scoundrel who shrugs off the mistake or allocates the blame to others. The latter deserves no respect and employees just become weary of you in the future.

11. Respect and trust

In business there is nothing more important that respect and trust. Once this is lost, it is very hard to regain.

12. Strong values

You lead by example. A strong leader equals a strong team, not much else to add to this one.

13. Putting the customer at the centre

Common sense, but if you do not have customers, you do not have a business, even a pharmacy. We have no right to a patient's or customer's business just because we are a pharmacy.

14. Square pegs do not fit into round holes

Placing an employee in a role that does not fit their skill set is a sure recipe for disaster. This does not mean that you should not challenge or stretch your team, but you have to be realistic about the results.

15. Do not let people visibly get away with blue murder

If a favourite member of staff or an employee is seen to get away with making mistakes, taking a back seat or just being lazy it will come back to haunt you. Good leaders do not let this happen, they understand the impact on other staff. If you find it difficult to deal with conflict or a strong employee, you need to get some training or re-think why you are in business!

16. Boat rockers no matter how intelligent or creative they are, are bad for teams

Sometimes you come across a member of staff who wants to change everything, has grand ideas and no patience. They are creative, usually highly intelligent but generally have no time for other people's ideas and contribution. These people can be a major challenge but also an asset. If you have this member of staff, think about projects you can get them to work on, but remember define the boundaries.

17. Don't bad mouth people

Do we need to say that this is just simple common sense. Gossip, bad-mouthing and negative comments are pure venom and have no place in a productive team.

References;

1. Teamwise. www.team-wise.co.uk

2. Smart Retail; Richard Hammond. Pearson Prentice Hall.