Making Team Power Your Secret Communication Weapon

Of all the topics we’ve covered under effective communication, this chapter on team communication is one of my favourites.

I strongly believe in the power of team communication to enhance problem-solving, drive innovation, build camaraderie and team spirit, and create the joy of shared success.

Going back a long time, I remember an executive development program I participated in—along with my Polygram colleagues from around the world—at the London Business School. My principal takeaway (and to be honest, there weren’t many I can remember!) was a single lecture on the benefits of teamwork, where the lecturer gave us a mantra that has stuck with me ever since:

“Nobody is perfect, but a team can be.”

I’ve used that slogan often. I’m a firm believer that if you can create a truly positive and safe team environment, it can often compensate for the shortcomings of a strategy developed in isolation, as well as significantly improve execution.

A Success Story Built on Effective Teamwork

A meaningful slogan or purpose statement is a good starting point, as we discussed in the last post. I’ve spoken before about the slogan, “It’s the pride inside that sets us apart,” which we used to help unite three acquired food companies under our newly created brand, Bromor Foods.

The slogan by itself was not very meaningful. But our people understood it to mean that as the weaker local food companies, we would execute our mission with quiet mission—steadily giving the big, powerful multinationals a run for their money.

This meant removing two of the existing CEOs, replacing agents with our own team, assembling a unified sales and merchandising force, investing in modern product packaging, new product development, brand advertising, and executing a well-thought-out trade marketing plan. We also successfully integrated two small, acquired companies along the way. All of this over a five-year period.

With lots of teamwork and quiet pride, we slowly but surely caught up with—and in many cases overtook—the market leaders in the segments where we competed with the multinationals.

Effective teamwork is not a panacea for everything, but it works remarkably well when the business fundamentals are right, and you have the right people on the bus.

In my experience, teamwork is mostly underappreciated and underused. In some companies, a team exercise is sometimes rolled out at the year-end annual conference. Typically, there’s little preparation: no clear purpose, no guidelines for the discussion, no designated facilitator, and no actionable next steps. Not surprisingly, no meaningful change occurs and “teamwork” gets a tick and is put away in a box for another year.

Teams Don’t Magically Work Without These Preconditions

Values and Business Philosophy

Early on, as we set up teams to manage execution, we ran an exercise to define the values we wanted to be held accountable to.

Our Philosophy

At Bromor, we believe the individual skills and talents of our people are the reasons for our success. We seek out exceptional people who perform, who share our common goal, and who are only satisfied with the best.

We recognize the abilities of our people and help to develop them. We encourage initiative and innovation. We respect judgment and individuality.

Most of all, we encourage teamwork—because in the long run, the whole will be more than the sum of its parts.

We attribute our success directly to this philosophy. It has all the right ingredients for our future growth. It extends into our attitude toward our suppliers, customers, and consumers. It results in a pride that is shared by every member of our company.

“It’s this pride inside that sets us apart.”

Prior Training in Team Communication Skills

Teams don’t automatically show up to meetings knowing how to communicate effectively, even if individuals have good communication skills. Without training, teams typically fall into common traps: leaders dominating discussions, less confident voices being drowned out, and ideas being presented without real collaboration or listening.

Soon after Bromor was established, we rolled out a comprehensive training program on how to model effective team communication. After training, we created a checklist printed on laminated cards and used these at the end of each meeting to self-assess how well we demonstrated the skills we had been taught.

Utilize Team Brainstorming to Tap into Creativity and Find Better Solutions

There are two primary ways to approach problems. Left-brain thinking is analytical and data-driven and ideal for solving manufacturing or financial challenges. Right-brain thinking is more creative and intuitive—ideal for areas like product innovation and sales and marketing strategy.

To unlock right-brain creativity, brainstorming is key. Like running a good meeting, effective brainstorming requires its own rules and best practices per the following:

Who

• Include the right people—ideally a diverse group across functions, experiences, and thinking styles.

• Ideally a mix of seasoned professionals and fresh thinkers, analytical types and creative minds.

What

• Clearly define the problem or opportunity you’re working on. Examples include:

  • Determining the best way to grow new membership

  • Overcoming a new competitive threat

  • Taking advantage of AI tools or trends

How

• Make it safe: Without psychological safety, where people feel safe to speak up, diversity can backfire. Leaders must ensure all voices are valued.

• Generate as many ideas as possible—without judgment.

• Include every idea, even those that seem silly at first.

• Build on ideas and use the “Yes, and…” approach to build on others’ suggestions.

• Consider breaking into subgroups to work on ideas and present back.

Evaluate

• Have everyone vote anonymously for their top 3 ideas.

• Review the top ideas together. If clarity isn’t achieved, repeat the process until it is.

Execution Strategy

• Once key ideas are selected, move into execution planning—Who? What? Where? When? How?

• Depending on complexity, you might need a second brainstorming round to finalize your strategy.

Summary and Conclusions

Effective communication within a team isn’t just about exchanging information—it’s about leveraging collective intelligence to make better decisions, reduce bias, and foster innovation. When used correctly, team dynamics turn communication into a strategic advantage. Teams help vet ideas more thoroughly, push thinking deeper, and ultimately deliver stronger outcomes.

Team communication, when done well, is a strategic weapon. With intentional team composition, structured communication tools, and an environment of trust and openness, you unlock smarter decisions, greater creativity and more resilient strategies.

Your team’s communication effectiveness and their ability to develop and execute a winning strategy is dependent on these 3× conditions and skills:

1. First agree on your higher purpose, answering the question “why are we here” and then determine the values you want to respect and want each other to be held accountable for.

2. Undertake team communication skills training, right at the start of any new change program.

3. Use effective brainstorming tools.

“Your team individually might not be perfect, but collectively they can be”!