Team building isn’t a single event; it must be an ongoing process. In today’s tight job market, employees are less willing than ever to stay in unhappy situations, making it vital for managers to pay attention to the work environment. Teambuilding is effective in changing group dynamics, increasing team interaction and to foster a more productive work climate. Strategies that have been used to turn working groups and meeting attendees into highly interactive teams are presented below.
Incorporating Team Building into the Weekly Staff Meeting:
A number of organizations are incorporating 10-15 minute teambuilding activities into staff meetings that are fun in nature. A hospital recently incorporated a team building activity into their staff meeting by asking each attendee to share 2 truths and 1 lie about themselves. The other attendees had to guess the lie. In less than 15 minutes time, lots of laughter resulted, new knowledge was gained of coworkers, and the meeting was launched on a positive note with high energy. At the next meeting the attendees shared a little known private fact about themselves. The point is, team building does not have to take a lot of time but should be ongoing to develop trust and relationships.
Conference Team Building:
Planners of a conference for Jacksonville financial professionals split attendees into three teams. Unknown to the members of the group, the team captains had been given certain personality styles to project. One team captain had been instructed to be an authoritarian leader relating an “it’s my way or the highway” attitude. The second team captain was instructed to give only minor directions, and the third team leader was instructed to give no directions at all, allowing team members to govern themselves. All three teams were assigned to design a brochure that would sell waterfront, vacation property. After completion of the brochures, a vote was held to determine the best designed submission. All this was followed by an explanation that the team captains had been assigned specific leadership styles. It was also pointed out that the winning product had come from the team that had been allowed to be creative with limited direction from the captain. One team confessed they had taken longer breaks to avoid team interaction, others had discussed leaving, and the other group had such a poor, unorganized brochure that it got no offers on their vacation property. A lesson was then provided in effective management skills.
Fun Friday:
Another organization attributed success of their highly functioning teams to the fact they set aside one day each month for play and to recharge their creative batteries. To date, the team has gone hiking, to a water park, to the pre-opening game of the JAGs and held a pot-luck/barbeque. Most of their activities are conducted during working hours to ensure attendance and to reduce the stress of trying to factor in family members’ schedules.
Bonding Meeting Strangers:
One organization quickly unified meeting attendees by incorporating laughter as a bonding technique. Each attendee was asked to introduce the person sitting beside them without speaking with them. Some of the stories people made up showed great imagination and the meeting was launched with high energy.
Company Newsletter:
A large high technology Jacksonville firm has implemented a mini “bio” section in their organizational newsletter featuring 10 employees in each issue. The bios list things that co-workers might not know. Employee feedback reflects their enjoyment of this feature and they nominate co-workers.
As the workforce changes, so must the methods of effective management. Some keys to leading highly productive teams include:
Know What Motivates Team Members:
Everyone is motivated by something different. It is the smart manager that learns what motivates each employee. For one team member, this might mean opportunities to acquire new skills. For another, it might mean a flexible work schedule. For another, it could mean a new title. Once you’ve helped the employee develop a plan to meet their personal goal, the next step is to create a sense of shared purpose of creating a “we” product.
Encourage Employee Suggestions:
This means fostering collaboration rather than competition. It also means approaching your employees with understanding instead of anger. This empowers employees to identify problems and focus more on problem solving than fear of the manager’s temper. When employees feel free to share negative news without fear of retribution the organization grows stronger.
In the words of Marsha Myers of Lee Hecht Harrison, a Jacksonville firm that provides coaching to managers, leaders and teams, “Managers that continuously deliver above and beyond expectations and goals are those who know how to build and take care of their teams.”
Freda Turner teaches at the University of Phoenix and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She may be reached at fturner@email.uophx.edu.
