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Guest post by: David Paul Carter Become an Author

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Most owners want to achieve more leverage for their business through well trained, motivated, and productive employees. When their employees operate as a winning team, the result is increased output, revenue and profits. The team concept is vital to making your business a success.

And, in today's volatile environment, team is the one sustainable competitive advantage you have! It's not ever changing and fleeting technology, it's not time sensitive trade secrets, and it's not the newest product. Team is the key to sustained growth and competitiveness.

Teams have superstars and players in the trenches, yet all play a vital part in the organization. I recently read an article by Dr. John Maxwell on teamwork. He used the example of the New England Patriots who went to the Super Bowl in 2002. They did something that no other team has done before: Before the game, when the team introduces its starters individually, New England came out as a team.

"No introductions. No names. No stars. Just 53 teammates coming onto the field as a single unit," wrote Sean Gormley, a columnist with Georgetown University's newspaper, The Hoya. "The significance of that entrance said more about this Patriots team than any analyst ever could, the ultimate sign of team before individual in an era of me-first-go-where-the-money-is professional sports." The Patriots upset the heavily favored Rams and showed by working together they could accomplish more than teamwork.

Does your business operate like a winning team? Is your team bringing in the results that you expect? Or, do your employees look out for their own self interest?

Here are the six keys to creating a winning team in your business:

1. Strong Leadership. Leadership comes from you the owner and is passed down through your management team and on to your front-line workers. Do your team members know and understand your vision and passion for the business? Is your leadership hierarchy clearly defined? What are the traits of a strong leader? Ask your team and see what they say. Are you exemplifying these traits?

2. Common goal. Why do you operate your business? What is your mission? As an owner you must have a clear idea of why you are in business. Make sure each team member is on board with your goals for the business and their department or units. Communicate that goal and mission to each and every team member and continue to reinforce it.

3. Rules of the game. The rules for your business are defined as how you want your business to be run - standards for staff interaction, communication, customer service, distribution and delivery, etc. It is your culture. Sometimes culture is written and followed, sometimes it is understood. Your team operates under certain assumptions about the business. They need to know and understand your rules of the game.

4. Have an Action plan. Where is your business going? Do you have clearly defined goals and specified actions, time-frames, and expected results to meet those goals? As the saying goes, "failing to plan is planning to fail!" Your action plan is the lynch pin to a winning team. When your team wins, your business wins.

5. Support risk taking. The best business owners rely on their staff to make good decisions. If the owner only wants his or her ideas to prevail, then they are being short-sighted. Seeking input and fostering an environment for other team members to make decisions is important for development of the team and the business. The better the team, the better the opportunity for massive results. Which opportunities have you missed because of poor decisions and failure to take risk?

6. 100% inclusion of all team members. Each member is important and all should have input to maximize their job performance. The business wins together but the business can also lose together if everyone is not involved. Is your team 100% involved? Do you have daily huddles and a regular meeting rhythm? Remember that Team stands for Together Everyone Achieves More.

Implement these six keys to create a winning team in your organization, and you will have the one sustainable competitive advantage in business today!

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