Team Atmosphere: 9 Ways to Create a Successful Environment

A work environment thrives when you create a culture centered around teamwork. That’s because people often feel a stronger connection to their work when it’s all pointing toward a common goal. This sense of being part of something larger than yourself, coupled with support from team members, can increase employee productivity and boost morale.

But how can you create a team atmosphere that works for everyone? Below, you’ll find an explanation of team atmosphere and learn nine ways to build it at your organization.

• What is team atmosphere?
• 9 ways to create team atmosphere

What is team atmosphere?

A team atmosphere is a setting that encourages teamwork – people working in tandem on a project. When an organization has a great team atmosphere, working together is woven into the fabric of its company culture.

To establish this sort of work environment, you should get all your team members on the same page. It’s also important that all members of the team feel fulfilled and valued. This sense of support can increase motivation and lay the foundation for true camaraderie.

9 ways to create team atmosphere

• Set up team-building activities
• Make expectations clear
• Hold meetings regularly
• Communicate frequently and honestly
• Balance out each other’s weaknesses
• Make teamwork a part of the company culture
• Avoid micromanaging
• Celebrate wins
• Get and give feedback

1Set up team-building activities

When you bring your team together for fun bonding activities, you give everyone a relaxing space where they can break the ice. You’ll help people get to know each other in a more informal setting where they can let their guard down and meaningfully connect. 

You can make space for team building in the office during a lunch break. You can also take it outside the workplace with an activity outside working hours. For example, an escape room is a great way to problem-solve together in a friendly, low-stakes setting. There are lots of fun team-bonding ideas you can draw inspiration from, or you can choose your own adventure. 

2Make expectations clear

When you make your expectations clear, your team members will know exactly how to behave and work on your team. Of course, in any working environment, things will evolve over time. As they do, you can communicate those changes. 

It’s also key to speak directly with individual team members about your expectations. This way, your team will understand their overall do’s and don’ts – and which expectations do and don’t apply to their role. For example, your expectations for a software engineer are probably different from what you expect from a content writer. These two might be on the same team with the same code of conduct, but they have different day-to-day responsibilities. 

3Hold meetings regularly

Since effective communication is so fundamental to a great team, it’s a good idea to meet frequently with everyone. You can gather your team weekly, and you should also host weekly or biweekly one-on-one meetings solo with each team member. During these meetings, you can take a temperature check on everyone’s workloads, offer problem-solving support, and celebrate their wins. They’re a fantastic way to build support, community, and team atmosphere.

4Communicate frequently and honestly

Building a team atmosphere means encouraging all kinds of communication. This gets into the choice between synchronous vs. asynchronous communication. The former is a real-time exchange of information. The latter is any sort of information with a gap between when someone hits “send” and when you reply.

A great team atmosphere thrives with scheduled meetings, spontaneous water cooler conversations, direct messages, and more. These interactions are the backbone of creating a positive team environment. 

For example, when you say hi to a colleague in the break room and ask about their weekend, you’re sowing the seeds of connection. And when you instant-message someone working remotely to share your key findings on a project, you’re keeping them in the loop from far away. 

5Balance out each other’s weaknesses

A great team includes people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. This way, you can see things from different perspectives and come up with new solutions. And if you’ve already put together a diverse team, you can get to know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. That’s the foundation of a dynamic that plays to everyone’s strengths. 

6Make teamwork a part of the company culture

If you want your team atmosphere to spread throughout your entire organization, then make teamwork a key part of your company culture. Doing this simply means encouraging collaboration and celebrating the moments when your team members work together for a job well done. And if you make teamwork a part of your culture from the beginning, your team will collaborate well from the start. 

7Avoid micromanaging

A successful team has its manager’s trust and knows it. When you avoid micromanaging, you let your team know you trust them to do their jobs. This faith in your team goes a long way toward everyone feeling valued, not to mention confident in their group decision-making. And if you set clear expectations from the jump, you can have peace of mind that your team members are following them. And that gives you no reason to micromanage anyone.

8Celebrate wins

When you applaud a job well done, you motivate your team to keep up the good work. Plus, the celebration alone can bring people together. Think of it like when your favorite sports team wins a game – everyone is basking in the glow of victory. 

For great long-term teamwork, try recognizing team wins in small and big ways. This can start with a shout-out at the weekly meeting. You can build that into an evening out to celebrate. If whatever you do is fun or rewarding enough, it can motivate your team to keep working together. 

9Get and give feedback

When you give and (graciously) receive peer feedback, your team can constantly grow and evolve. If you balance celebration with constructive feedback, you can create an open environment that flourishes. You’re more likely to build a space bursting with innovative solutions and exciting discoveries since people feel safe enough to speak their minds. 

Phil Jacobson, VP of Product & Operations at #paid, has additional insight on how getting and giving feedback can build team atmosphere,

“Focus on building a feedback-first culture, where it’s normal and encouraged to regularly share constructive and positive feedback,” he says. “With this foundation, your team will feel comfortable voicing problems proactively.”

Build a team atmosphere 

A team atmosphere celebrates everyone’s strengths and supports people coming together to succeed. There are so many reasons to build a workplace that encourages teamwork – increased productivity and job satisfaction are just the start. It’s not an overnight process, though, and certain tools can help you speed it up. 

As you build a team atmosphere, you can use Fellow’s feedback tools to give and get feedback on what’s working and what needs some fixing. You can also use Fellow to get feedback on how you’re holding your team meetings and tweak them for better teamwork. When you bring on new tools to help your team be its best, you can reach all kinds of new highs.