Top of Mind: 8 Tips to Create Great Team Chemistry

Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?We embrace differences. Part of this comes from a weekly training lunch where everyone takes turns teaching one of their skills. This encourages the team to lean on each other and develop respect for different personalities and different jobs at the same company.

—Megan Bedera, vice president of Amplify Relations


Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?Team chemistry is created first by interviewing and hiring the right people with the right personalities. We use a number of assessments to determine a good fit with our organization to ensure we have complementary skills sets and similar values. We are slower to hire and quicker to move people into different departments than in years’ past. Having your leaders trained to understand how to mix and utilize different skills and attributes that people bring to the table is important.

—Jason Blenker, founder of Blenker Companies, Inc.

Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?Having team chemistry is critical to the success of any company. Whenever we have a new team member join at AquaMobile, I make sure that there are lots of opportunities for them to get to know their manager and team members in low pressure situations, such as casual lunches or fun out-of-office team events so that when it comes time to working as a group, there is a good level of comfort already there. The best chemistry develops organically, so I always look for opportunities to foster that.

—Diana Goodwin, founder & president of AquaMobile Swim School

Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?Team chemistry starts with the tone you set within the company culture. One of the reasons why we’re called a “studio” is because we act like one. We work together, often collaborating with people across disciplines as varied as interactive design, game developers, filmmakers, environmental design, traditional creative and strategy. When someone has an idea, everyone contributes in their own way. As such, everyone feels a sense of pride and ownership in the work.

—John McNeil, owner of John McNeil Studio

Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?Team chemistry is created with an understanding that a group is working together as a whole, and that each person’s role is an important one. By making each member of the team feel valued and their contributions appreciated, the team feels good about working together and therefore wants to perform well.

—Ora Nadrich, life and mindfulness meditation coach


Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?Keeping everyone aligned on the mission undeniably creates team chemistry. We all approach tasks and projects differently but we all have the same end goal in sight. It is extremely valuable to honor and appreciate each person for their individual contributions to the greater success of the team.

—Patricia Ottaviano, author and founder of Sister Soldier


Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?Team chemistry can’t be created by one person but rather must come from every member of the team. It’s not something that can be forced. As CEO, I pay close attention to how I can potentially set the tone and vision, but I don’t want to micromanage or dictate how the team works with each other. Instead I focus on building an environment where teamwork is celebrated and nurtured, thereby creating an opportunity for the chemistry to spark.

—Jerry Jao, CEO of Retention Science

Top of Mind: How Do You Create Group Chemistry?You hire people with a positive attitude and energy who will step up to help other team members. I will always hire a grad out of college with no experience if he or she has the right attitude. Then you train the person. There’s nothing worse for a team than a bad apple.

—Lily Talakoub, CEO of McLean Dermatology and Skincare Center


Related: John C. Maxwell: 6 Strategies to Empower Your Team Members


This article appears in the March 2016 issue of SUCCESS magazine.



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