The Importance of Team Culture

Team culture can be defined as a set of values, beliefs, behaviors or attitudes that is shared by a team. It is basically a guiding principle on how people work together to achieve a common goal, and how they treat each other as well.

What Do We Mean By Culture?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a few definitions of culture, including:

• “The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.”
• “The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.”
• “The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.”

Why Is Team Culture Important?

Team culture can be defined as a set of values, beliefs, behaviors or attitudes that is shared by a team. It is basically a guiding principle on how people work together to achieve a common goal, and how they treat each other as well.   Any team or organization needs a shared sense of vision, intention, purpose and culture in order to form the bonds and mutual accountability that lead to good team performance. When a team work closely together – in person or virtually – it is the core cultural values that they all agree to, which provide an anchor for effective collaboration over the long term.

A clearly defined and agreed team culture creates a feeling of connection, belonging, shared priorities, interests and attitude. In a virtual team, with fewer or no opportunities for connection and communication in person, this sense of belonging and mutual accountability is even more crucial.