An Effective Team Is Like a Cocktail

Mixing up the perfect team

A team is made up of individuals who all bring something unique to the table. But they need to be expertly blended together to create a cocktail of success.

A business is only as successful as the people behind it. If your employees are not performing well, neither will your business – so when it comes to building a team, it’s important to get it right.

You may think that having a group of people who all share similar viewpoints and personalities is the best way to build an effective team, but this is not usually the case. In fact most businesses benefit from having teams which include a variety of personalities, viewpoints and workstyles as they find it helps to spark innovation and fresh thinking.

But it’s not just a case of throwing a group of disparate people together and hoping it works. In fact, building a successful team is a lot like mixing the perfect cocktail. Each person (or ingredient), brings something unique to the table. As the boss (or mixologist), it’s up to you to work out how these ‘ingredients’ work together and how to get the best out of them. After all, cocktails and teams work best when their different elements are both compatible and complementary.

Choose the ingredients

The first step for making any cocktail is choosing the ingredients. When applied to the workplace, this takes in a number of different factors including personality type, skills and working style.

Choosing different yet compatible personality types is the key to success of any team. Too many leaders and people will spend their time jostling for position, not enough leaders and you’ll find it difficult to get any decisions made. The perfect team will include a variety of personalities, including extroverts, introverts, methodical planners and strategic thinkers.

Meanwhile, having a complementary mix of skills within your team means that the workload can be equally divided, and valuable skills and knowledge can be shared amongst the different team members, making your team stronger as a whole.

Working style is also an important consideration. Generally speaking, you want a good mix of focused, detail-oriented people and those who can take a bigger, more strategic view of the project.

Blend together

Of course, deciding on the ingredients is just the first step in making a successful cocktail. To achieve the results you want, it’s important that these ingredients are expertly blended to create a harmonious whole. In terms of the workplace, this means encouraging your team to get to know each other and promoting a supportive and collaborative working environment.

Collaborative team building activities can be a really effective way of bringing people together and promoting team bonding. Taking place away from the traditional workplace environment, they encourage people to think creatively and work together towards a common goal (all while having fun of course), and this mind-set can pay dividends back at the office.

When it comes to team building, there is a huge choice of activities out there, so you should be able to find something that suits your team and your business objectives. For indoor team building in London, you might want to consider options such as Crystal Maze-style challenges and treasure hunts. You could even stick with the theme and treat your team to a cocktail making masterclass.

Communication is also key when it comes to bringing your team together and singing from the same hymn sheet. Cater to the diversity of your team by allowing and encouraging different types of communication – for example, some people might enjoy a lively brainstorming session, while others might prefer to put their ideas forward in an email. It’s important that everyone feels able to contribute. On a similar note, it’s important to make clear to each member why they are part of the team and what they are expected to contribute or achieve. Setting clear goals is paramount for success.

Enjoy the results

So, you’ve found the perfect ingredients, and shaken and mixed them into a perfectly blended cocktail – so what next? Well, now it’s time to reap the rewards. Teams that are made up of a mix of different personality types and skill sets have been shown to boost creativity and increase productivity, as well as helping to improve interpersonal relationships and increase personal and job satisfaction.

Of course, blending the perfect team isn’t easy. But by valuing diversity and encouraging cooperation, you could soon be sipping on the sweet taste of success.