You want to improve the performance of your team—both collectively and as individuals—but are not certain you have the budget or inclination to opt for a formal leadership development program. Perhaps you’ve had less-than-ideal results in the past from such efforts, and there may even be resistance among your team to another “fad of the year” program.

Maybe it’s time to choose the cheapest and most effective option of all: help each other.

The highest performing teams I have worked with offer each other support, which also implies that team members are willing to ask for help. An “I help you, you help me” culture pays big dividends.

There are countless ways to interpret what “help” means:

People who have encountered similar circumstances before (i.e. solving an engineering problem or expanding revenues in Europe) are happy to share their experiences

A two-heads-are-better-than-one mindset prevails, and members accept the value of talking out a particular problem or opportunity

Once a problem is identified, team members collectively search out the person or people best able to help solve it

Diversity of thought is viewed as a positive, even if it takes a bit longer to process everyone’s perspectives

Asking for help is perceived as a tool to leverage the talent of all team members, rather than as a weakness of the person who asks

While there certainly are benefits from formal leadership programs, sometimes the development your team members need is as simple as asking for—and receiving—support from each other.