Fostering Team Spirit: Five Best Practices for Local Leadership (Part II)

To view other parts of this article series, please click on the links below.

• The Most Successful Teams (Part I)
• Five Best Practices for Local Leadership (Part II)

At New Home Star, our number one priority is creating excellent careers for our people. This is an excellent priority to maintain, but it is certainly much easier said than done. What is it that allows us to make a career excellent? How do we engage our national sales teams in a way that allows for them to be fulfilled and energized? Nurturing team spirit is part art and part science, and it is imperative to develop early and often. To be excellent means that we go above and beyond, especially when it comes to the careers of our sales professionals. If we are to provide careers that are more than just “good” or “above-average” for our people, a variety of different factors must be achieved. However, among those that we can directly control, a team spirit that is consistent and never wavering is of the utmost importance. There are five primary ways that we can develop such a strong team spirit to ensure an excellent experience for our people.

Contests

When you think of bringing a team together around a common goal, contests are often the first thing that comes to mind. There are several key points to consider when using contests as a way to nurture a positive team spirit:

• Know Your Audience: Not every member will be motivated by the same things, so it’s important to take a balanced approach with your contest. Provide a variety of different incentives and goals so that each individual on your team can have something to strive for within the contest.
• Plan Your Timing: Hold your contests during strategic times of the year to maximize sales pace and/or profit. Hosting contests every quarter is generally a good rule of thumb.
• Contest Kick-Off: Hosting a contest kick-off event can do wonders for your team’s participation in any contest. This needs to be over-the-top exciting to energize and motivate your team to perform!

Sales Meetings

Your sales meeting is the start of your week, which means it is the perfect opportunity to start the week off on the right foot. This is where managers have the unique opportunity to build excitement and energy and set the mood for the upcoming week. Some things to keep in mind as you plan your sales meeting are:

• Music: Starting off your sales meeting with music can be a simple way to provide some early motivation. If you decide to utilize music as a small motivation tactic, you will need to set the stage with the proper type of song. The music should be energizing and upbeat, and you should play it for a little while before the actual meeting kicks off.
• Motivation: Before diving into the training for the week, providing your team with a short motivational moment can serve to bring the team together and invigorate the group. Motivational speaking is not everyone’s strong suit, and that’s okay; this motivation can be as simple as reminding everyone of your shared goals and their “why.”
• Awards and Recognition: Individual and group awards, such as the top community of the month or sales team member of the week, build an atmosphere of teamwork and a desire to do more. When both the team and specific individuals know that they will be appreciated for their efforts, they are much more likely to want to continue to boost their collective success. Every company and team in every industry is composed of individual members that form a team, and most of these individuals work very hard. Going that extra mile to recognize others is a major key to having a highly motivated team.

Field Visits

Weekly visits to your sales team are useful for staying up to date on each community and its competition. It is also essential for providing support to your team members. When your team members feel supported and can take ownership of their success, they are more likely to help their teammates and nurture a sense of team spirit, which will, in turn, provide them with a platform for a consistently excellent career.

Weekend Visits

Surprising your sales team with an occasional visit on the weekends is yet another way to show your team that you are there to support them. Bringing by a coffee or showing up for an appointment is a great way to show your support and care for your team, and your care is essential for a positive career experience. Please keep in mind all CDC recommendations for in-person visits at this time.

Team Bonding

Nurturing team spirit would not be complete without team bonding activities. At New Home Star, each division has a designated Social Chair representative for their team that coordinates unique team bonding activities each quarter in an effort to boost morale and encourage the team to bond on a more personal level. While our organization has put a pause on any in-person team bonding events, there are countless ways to still get some bonding in through a virtual setting– video happy hours, charades, and other fun games are on the rise in our company right now.

These five methods of nurturing team spirit are a good starting point as you learn about and grow your team. Keep assessing the personalities on your team and look for out-of-the-box ways to boost morale and build camaraderie to further our priority of providing excellent careers for our people! Once you have momentum and experience, maintaining it becomes that much easier.