When an organization builds a team environment, it can lead to organizational success as departmental goals are aligned with overall corporate goals, but there must be a level of trust among employees and managers in order to do so, says Lisa Orndorff, manager of employee relations and engagement for the Society of Human Resource Management. Trust builds a foundation that helps team members understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. As the team comes together and plays upon those strengths, members can use their talents in a way that works toward a common goal.
"You're not going anywhere without trust," Orndorff says. "You have to trust your people to do what they say they're going to do, and employees have to believe in their managers."
For a solid foundation of trust, Orndorff recommends that the team size is limited. A team environment from a corporate culture standpoint does not need to include every employee under one unit. Rather, the teams should be broken into smaller pieces, such as a department or specific group. This allows a team to better focus on their smaller strategic goals that are ultimately tied to corporate goals.
Recommended For You
"Effective teams shouldn't be any more than 20 people," Orndorff says. "When they get bigger than that, you really lose some of the cohesiveness or camaraderie."
Recognition plays an especially important role in creating a team environment, Orndorff says. Just as recognition encourages engagement on an individual level, it also promotes engagement on a team level, and those significant team accomplishments should be celebrated throughout the organization.
For instance, if the accounting group has been putting in many extra hours during tax season, the manager could recognize this hard work by sending a companywide email acknowledging their accomplishments or taking the team to a celebratory lunch.
"With any team, you're working for a common goal for your department or division, and as a smaller group, you also want to know that what you're doing is feeding into your company's bigger, strategic goals," Orndorff says.
Senior leadership should also participate in recognition efforts, which can be done through multiple channels, Orndorff says. If there is a regular company newsletter, one of the senior leaders can write a thank-you note to specific teams for their accomplishments. The company's annual report or various company meetings can also highlight major milestones.
While the dynamics are unique to each team, trust and recognition can all create a collaborative environment that leads to organizational success.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
