TADHack 2016 is approaching and as registrations are now open for teams of young tech entrepreneurs to innovate and build upon creative ideas with Telco APIs this read will answer your one top of the mind questions at the moment; how do I build my ideal winning team to compete?
From preschool to high school as kids and young adults we all have worked in teams and have done some form of teamwork. Teams are nothing strange to us, so what is new we got to learn about forming and working in teams? A team is where two or more individuals work together to achieve a common purpose.  If you want to ensure that you achieve the purpose effectively it is no secret that you need to have right people with the right set of skills in your team who would work collaboratively towards the goal. That’s exactly why you need to be considerate about building effective teams and follow these handy tips to see the results for yourself.
Set the goals
Your first step is to define and clarify the goals the team would pursue to achieve. Only if you know the destination you can carve the path to it.
Get the right people
Once you get your goals clarified you need to select people who have the right skills and capabilities required to reach those goals. Getting people from diverse backgrounds will bring diverse experience and creativity to your team.
Get to know the team, build trust and cooperation
Teamwork is fundamentally built upon unity and trust. Dedicate sometime to get to know each other in your team, to know their strengths and weaknesses so you can build stronger relationships within the team tied with trust and cooperation to collaboratively achieve results.
Clarify each person’s role in achieving the goals
Each and every team member should know what specifically they are responsible for and what is expected out from them when achieving the team’s purpose. Belbin defined nine roles that individuals play when working as a team. For a team to be successful it needs to have a person playing each of the 9 Belbin Team Roles. The 9 team roles according to belbin.com are;
- Resource Investigator: They use their inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to the team.
- Teamworker: Help the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team
- Co-ordinator: Needed to focus on the team’s objectives, draw out team members and delegate work appropriately
- Plant: Tend to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways
- Monitor Evaluator: Provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required and weighs up the team’s options in a dispassionate way
- Specialist: Brings in-depth knowledge of a key area to the team
- Shaper: Provide the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum
- Implementer: Needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible
- Completer Finisher: Most effectively used at the end of tasks to polish and scrutinize the work for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control
Foster communication
Communication is an utmost important element when it comes to teamwork. For teammates to actively engage, share information and updates and work on the team’s mission there should be a smooth and open flow of communication. There should be no hidden agendas when working as a team.
Resolve conflicts promptly
Minor conflicts majorly due to mismatch between ideas are natural and inevitable when working as teams. In order to minimize conflicts everyone should respect each other’s ideas and make decisions as a team and resolve conflicts promptly without taking them personal.
Work hard till victory
Your team is on a mission and there will be no turn back until you complete it. Work hard towards success; let the team spirit dominate the mission and plan to celebrate victory as a team!
Form your vibrant team and reserve the dates for TADHACK 2016 the global hackathon for Telco Application Development happening for the 3rd consecutive year on 14th and 15th of October 2016!
