As I shared in a previous blog I have recently been doing some work on identifying my core business values as being connection,cooperation and balance you can read that blog here.
Last time I talked about the reasons behind connection being my first value but this time I want to share with you more about cooperation and why that is so important to me.
For me cooperation is a word that reflects both how I want to work with my clients and also the culture I want to help them foster in their practices.
In the blog on connection I talked about the first conversation I have with potential new clients, so that I can get a feel for whether we are going to be able build the connection, you can read that blog here.
I went on to say that the connection would mean that we would work together in their practice which is ultimately another word for cooperation.
My best clients are where they view me as a part of their extended team, a non-exec director or partner in their practice.
Then my role becomes one of supporting them in their journey, which is what the S in SMART stands for (Support, Motivate, Achieve, Results and Team).
Together we can explore both challenges and opportunities,with me acting as an external sounding board and accountability partner.
My real passion is building cooperation in teams and helping the accountant to do that within their practice. One of the key ways I do this is by strengthening understanding of the differences between individuals in teams.
I do this by using DISC profiling.
Firstly, this allows me to assess the different skills within the team, so that we can ensure we are allocating the right responsibilities to the right people, which will increase team cooperation and productivity.
Secondly once I understand the balance of individual styles then I can adjust my training of the team in how to understand each other better.
When they understand each other better and have anappreciation for the different perspectives others might have then you have formed the basis of building connection within teams.
This connection and understanding is key for teams to work more effectively together which fosters cooperation. Also, where your employees understand what their own skills are and how they are both similar and different to the skills of others, and more importantly how they can work more harmoniously together then cooperation can be taken up another level.
True cooperation is about individuals within a team using this knowledge of skills to identify people to work on projects with that will complement them. Or as a business owner looking at the spread of skills alongside the workloads and distributing the tasks according to skills so that perhaps several people in the team contribute towards the job completion.
It is worth saying that this level of cooperation can also be facilitated by having a shared goal as a team. One which each team member can see how they contribute and have a share in the overall success.
I will share more on this in the future but for now askyourself...
How would you rate the levels of cooperation in your team?
Do you understand the skills of the people you employ in your practice and how to bring them together in the most effective way?
For help with increasing the cooperation in your team, get in touch and let’s explore how my coaching packages can support you.
