Strengthen A Team By Cultivating Happiness

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love

Business leaders would be wise to heed the words of Elizabeth Gilbert. When it comes to building and strengthening a team, happiness matters and it’s something that we should all put some effort into developing. Very often, happiness leads to positive attitudes and openness; both of these qualities help to foster and even bolster the bond shared between team members. Arnaud Collery, the Co-Founder and CEO of Stand Up For Passion, shared a recent blog post listing eight ways on how to cultivate group happiness.

1.Bond Like a Family: Family members don’t always get along with one another, but regardless of the circumstances they still have a connection to one another. A familial bond is one that is often based on trust and respect. This is the type of behavior team members should emulate and show towards one another in the office.

2.Build and Maintain Trust in One Another: “We trust this person because they’ve got your back.” Trust is essential for team building because each member of the team has to be able to rely on one another throughout the process of completing projects. One of the best ways to develop that trust is to build a safe space where people can be open and sometimes even vulnerable with one another.

3. Listen: Everybody wants to feel as though they are being heard. When team members pay attention and listen to one another on a consistent basis, the overall happiness of the team is elevated.

4. Allow Everyone to Tap Into Their Creativity: Ideally, every person in the group will want to contribute ideas. Leaders can help to facilitate this by making it a daily habit of asking different team members for their ideas. “Make creativity a game. Make it joyful.”

5. Autonomy: Once you understand the strengths of your team members, it’s best to leave them be to work on their projects. “It’s magical to see your team empowered.”

6. Figure Out Your Values: For a team to work effectively, they have to identify and be clear on their goals. “What’s your common vision? Try to keep it real and simple.”

7. Construct a Fun Office Environment: “Make it FUN! It’s 2016, it doesn’t need to be stiff and boring at work.”

8. Devote Time and Effort to Cultivating Happiness: A happy environment will have a positive influence on every member of the office. People who feel happy tend to be more engaged and show a greater desire to make contributions. Happiness is not something an effective leader should dismiss and is in fact something that deserves an investment of time and attention.