Effective communication and progress tracking are key factors in achieving long-term team and organisational goals. Training your team to efficiently complete tasks and work cohesively towards achieving goals is a crucial factor in improving results.

Here are some strategies and best practices to help you cultivate and lead a high-performing team:

• Establish Communication Guidelines: Communication is key in any team environment. When adhered to, guidelines facilitate efficient collaboration and keep everyone on the same page. A Salesforce survey reveals that 86% of employees and executives cite ineffective communication protocols as the main reason for workplace failures. Training your team to communicate effectively in a manner that best suits their workflow will drive better collaboration and engagement. 
• Encourage Collaboration: Encouraging teamwork leads to increased creativity, innovation, and productivity. Ensuring that open communication is encouraged and supported in discussions permits team members to share their ideas and support each other. Online collaboration can also be effective through platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and JIRA, which help to centralise and streamline communication flows. According to a study by Deloitte, companies that foster such a culture of communication are five times more likely to perform better than their peers.
• Set Clear Goals and Objectives: Clear goals and objectives provide a roadmap for the team to work towards. By setting a common goal, teams can focus their efforts, track progress, and ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same objectives. 
• Provide Regular Feedback: As a leader, regular feedback enables team members to better grasp their strengths and weaknesses and provides them with an opportunity to improve performance. According to a study by Harvard Business Review, employees who receive regular feedback are 3.5 times more likely to be engaged at work.
• Celebrate Successes: No matter how small, celebrating success helps build team morale and motivation. Additionally, it reinforces the idea that the team is working together to achieve common goals. Research by Gallup has shown that companies with engaged employees outperform those without by 202%.

AIM offers courses in Building High Performance Teams and Leading With Emotional Intelligence which assist in developing and actioning strategies that support team members, drive engagement, and enable growth of individuals and organisations.