Camaraderie is a sense of trust and cooperation between people. Every great team is dependent on camaraderie for success - including sports teams and work teams. 

You can help to inspire camaraderie in a team through a variety of methods. Below are just 7 great ways to build camaraderie.

Set team goals and rewards

Having your team all work towards a similar goal with a joint reward can encourage people to work together. In a sales team, this could involve encouraging your team to collectively hit a sales target in exchange for everyone getting a bonus. This goal could be set alongside individual targets. 

Give everyone a voice

Nurturing everyone’s input can also help to build a stronger team. Too many teams involve one or two people making all the suggestions and calling all the shots. Try to encourage everyone to contribute feedback, partake in brainstorming sessions and hold votes on important decisions. This helps to make everyone feel valuable. 

Plan social activities together

Spending time together in a social setting can encourage everyone to loosen up. This could be a Xmas party, a summer BBQ or just a round of drinks at a local bar. Such social activities can force people to interact differently with one another and form bonds with another they may not have realised they shared. 

Dress the same with a uniform/kit

Encouraging your team to all adopt a uniform or kit could also help improve camaraderie. By all dressing the same, you can encourage a sense of equality. There are sites online such as this rugby kit builder site that can help you design a custom kit. When introducing a uniform or kit, make sure to work with your team to decide upon its look - this will ensure that you choose clothing that your team actually want to wear. 

Encourage openness and accountability

The enemy of camaraderie is blame culture. This is when people blame each other for mistakes instead of taking responsibility - which may even lead to people hiding mistakes. Such a culture can thrive if there is a tendency to focus energy on reprimanding people for mistakes instead of helping them learn from them. By  being tolerant of people’s mistakes and focusing on solutions, you can encourage people to take accountability for errors. 

Set clear roles

When everyone has a clear role in the team, everyone is more likely to feel like a valuable member. Such roles should be based on people’s individual strengths and passions. Try to work out exactly what role you can provide to everyone in your team to satisfy them. You could even ask members of your team what role they think would suit them best.

Praise every team member

Praising everyone in your team individually can also make every member feel valued. While there may be members of the team who clearly achieve more than the rest, you shouldn’t give them all of the praise - recognising the contributions of other members can prevent them from getting resentful and maintain camaraderie. All in all, you could see a boost in productivity