What is team building and why is it important?
Here are a few reasons why
team building is
important in the workplace: 1. Facilitates better communication – Activities that create discussion enable open communication among employees, and between employees and management. This can improve office relationships and in turn, the quality of work done
Team building brings people together by encouraging collaboration and teamwork. Fun activities that help people see each other in a different light allow them to connect in a different setting. People on your team are asked to think about the implications of these activities at their workplace.
One of the most powerful reasons for team building is to get results. Through a series of planned team building events that are fun and motivational, teams build skills like communication, planning, problem-solving and conflict resolution. These team building activity ideas help to facilitate long term team building through fostering genuine connections, deeper discussions and processing.
t’s important to understand who your team is and where you are in the stages of team development before you focus on the purpose of team building. There’s a classic outline of the basic stages of team development that I really like.
- Forming – The initial stage is when your team forms. A work team is brought together to achieve a goal. Two important aspects of forming are getting to know the co-workers on your team and getting familiar with your team’s purpose as you discuss and plan mission, goals and workflow.
- Storming – As you can guess, the storming stage can be turbulent as team members assess each other’s personalities, strengths and weaknesses. During the storming period, it may be a good idea to engage in a team building program. It’s vital to come out of this stage successfully; with a good appreciation of your team members.
- Norming – How will your team function on an ongoing basis? Do you acknowledge there may be competition and differences within your team. Can everyone accept colleague’s strengths and weaknesses? It’s vital to find a path forward in which you all work in a complementary fashion.
- Performing – Every team’s goal is to perform as a high functioning team with energy and purpose. This comes when there’s mutual respect among team members with boundaries that respect each other’s roles. It’s important that everyone trusts in each other’s competence and expertise.
- Let’s talk about trust – This is so important. Trust is not only calming, it’s a time saver. Trust is foundational. When a team has a foundation of trust there’s less second guessing, less duplication of tasks, a high level of confidence and more sharing. Wow…that’s a lot of stuff associated with one word. But think of how much easier it is to let other people do what they’re supposed to be doing when you trust them as being highly competent. Think of how much more secure you feel in your own role when you trust others not to encroach on your turf.
- Let’s talk communication – Your work team exists in the real world. So even if there’s a foundation of trust, things can and will go awry at some point. A team that has protocol for communicating will be able to solve problems before those problems become fixed within your team culture. There should be positive procedures in place for teammates to voice concern or annoyance. Positive communication will go a long way toward resolving little issues before they grow. And protocol for communication provides a blueprint for navigating more complex issues that may be project driven, rather than just the result of a personality clash.
- The power of collaboration – Collaboration is much easier in an environment where there’s trust and good communication. When team members understand each other’s roles and responsibilities and respect them, it’s fun to collaborate. This makes everyone better. High performing teams collaborate well; easily sharing ideas, brainstorms, successes and failures. Part of the power of collaboration is that it feeds on itself. The more you successfully collaborate, the more you’ll want to.
- The power of motivation – Motivation is so powerful and sometimes so elusive. Quite often, the purpose of team building programs are primarily to increase motivation. But that’s not so easily accomplished. In order for a team to stay motivated, members have to believe in their mission. You won’t stay motivated if you don’t believe in the work you’re doing. Engagement plays a huge part in this. When you create a culture of engagement, people feel vested in their company and their work. So engagement and motivation go hand in hand. Team building can improve both.