At the How You Can Assemble, Develop, and Lead a High Performing Team seminar I facilitated, a business leader stated a passionate case for a company she recently left.

"You never realize how much it means when you wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work each day until that changes," Diane said. "The company I used to work for was fun. We enjoyed working on projects together. We laughed a lot and we still got the work done. It was really good to work on that team." Others at the seminar related experiences that made their work relationships meaningful as a basis for great teamwork, such as:

* Integrity - When someone said something, you could rely on that promise being kept

* Frequent and relevant communications - every team member was in the loop

* Competent team members - you could do better work when you didn't have to worry whether someone else was going to come through with their contribution

* Safe environment - establishing a business environment where personal attacks, digs, or humor that demeaned anyone was off limits

* Clear expectations - everyone knew what was expected from the team and what they could expect from each other

* Great leadership - a leader who listened, gave people appropriate challenges, and reminded everyone of the mission and implications

At smaller companies, the opportunity to get it right is just as good at larger companies, if not better. The impact you have as the leader of your organization is that much greater. Whether you have management staff or they are working solo and become part of other teams, re- evaluate the behaviors and attitudes that you bring to a team, and make appropriate decisions about what to improve.

When you do, you'll build a stronger team, as well as a stronger business.