When you want to create a winning team that comes through no matter what the world of work throws at them you need to build it from the ground up; plain and simple. To give you plenty of food for thought let’s take a look at how team building works, as well as why it works.
A Team is a Unit
Much like the human body a team is a unit that is more than the sum of its parts. An arm and a leg are no use by themselves, and nor is one standout performer. What you need is a team dynamic where everyone feels comfortable and acts in an approachable manner.
This will allow you to remove those little bits of friction that hold things up and create the small delays which then add up to missed deadlines and opportunities.
Is it Just a Buzzword?
Team Building has been given something of a bad name due to the numerous gimmicky events that many of us will have gone to in the past, but stop and think here for a minute.
If you watch a couple of bad movies does that mean that the whole premise of watching a movie is flawed? No right minded person would come to that conclusion, and the same can be said about the notion of team building.
The secret is to get the balance right between doing something fun, and producing a productive output that actually makes a difference when you all head back to the office. It can be difficult, but when you find it you’ll know!
Breaking Down Barriers
Having everyone say: ‘hello’ to one another as they move around the office is a great thing because it means that when a person needs help or input from someone they don’t work alongside on a daily basis there’ll be no social barriers. Whilst this may sound like a small improvement it will actually have a series of large knock-on effects. If a signature is needed to raise a purchase order, or an invitation to attend a meeting needs to be delivered in person to someone much more senior things can often get put off. This then leads to a trickle down effect and before you know it you have an entire team waiting around. The question is how do you achieve this ‘hello, good morning’ type of culture without forcing it on people?
The Power of Shared Experiences
Team building exercises work best when they create a shared sense of identity and a set of experiences which people can look back on fondly. Something fun that gets people moving around is a great way to get everyone up and out of their comfort zones so that the most senior person doesn’t fall into the habit of being the de facto manager.
The way you go about this is very much a business-specific decision as the dynamics of every business are different. But if you can find a way that gets people socialising and working together on an unfamiliar activity then your team will knit itself together in no time at all!