All workplaces have a particular culture that shapes how things get done, how people interact and engage with others and what is appropriate and acceptable behaviour. Team culture influences the management, organisation and application of work as it is defined by collective view of all employees. All work activity, interactions and relationships are impacted by this collective view. 

A positive team culture will produce expected employee and work outcomes and create a pleasant working environment. On the contrary, a poor culture will have a negative impact on both employee and business performance. Building a positive work culture is important in attracting and retaining skilled staff as well as creating a team that can collaborate harmoniously. 

See also: What is the Real Meaning of a Supportive and Purposeful Team?

But how should leaders create the culture of positive teamwork? Below are 15 simple tricks. 

• Discuss “success” – what does it mean? How would it feel? And what would it look like? Managers should encourage this discussion as it can reinforce positive energy among the team.
• Respect – build a culture where everyone is treated equally. 
• Continuous development – building a positive team culture takes time. Are you committed to keep developing it? 
• Work together – it is key that everyone works together when things become tough. 
• Clear expectations – identify clear expectations to the team. Ask them of their expectations of you as a leader. 
• Set goals – work with the team to identify individual and team goals that they want to pursue.
• Responsibility – everyone in the organisation must be aware of their role and be responsible for their actions. 
• Praise – make sure that leaders are praising employees appropriately. Coworkers can also praise each other. 
• Team building – develop activities outside of work so employees can get to know each other (virtual events are better choice in this pandemic) 
• Discuss values – find out from your team the values that they believe are of utmost importance. 
• Commitment – employees must be committed to the team and work. 
• Support – employees and leaders can support each other when things become hard.
• Lead by example – have a number of key role models who people can look up to. 
• Communicate – ask the right questions and make sure you communicate effectively with everyone on the team.
• Be patient – building a team culture takes time and it is important that you are patient with the process. 

Read also: Achieving Success through Collaborative Communication in Large Team: Q&A with Arturo Arrarte, Head of Growth at Slack, Asia Pacific