Team Building Article - Team Building: 5 Ways to Tell if You're Ready for It

Guy Farmer

Unconventional Training

Team Building and Effective Communication

Unconventional Training

Many leaders and organizations say they want to build a great team building program but let their efforts fall by the wayside after a couple of attempts. This usually happens because people don’t realize that team building isn’t just providing a couple of motivational activities, it’s about changing thought patterns and behaviors.

If you’re a leader who wants to create a successful team building program think about the following questions.

1. Are you ready to set aside time each week to do team building activities and do it for at least six months without interruption? Team building doesn’t take hold in an organization unless leadership supports it wholeheartedly and is willing to implement it over time. Leaders should also be integral participants in the process.

2. Are you willing to bring in a neutral facilitator to help you out and give you an honest perspective on what goes on in your organization? It’s easier for an outside professional to facilitate team building activities because it erases any appearance of favoritism and there is not the same level of history with the participants.

3. Are you ready to look at the behaviors that don’t work in your organization and replace them with others that do? If you are willing to take a close look at what you do and talk candidly about the warts then you’re ready to conduct deeper team building that will help you promote positive behaviors and bring people together.

4. Are you willing to level the playing field and let everyone have access to decision-making and information? Team building is about letting everyone have power and allowing each person to shine. Leadership should be firmly committed to letting employees make decisions and have a significant amount of autonomy.

5. Are you ready to include leadership and all levels of employees in all the team building activities as part of a top-down approach? Oftentimes, leadership will point out a department that is in chaos and send the group to team building. Problems like these are systemic and organizations benefit from including everyone in team building so that an overall culture of team building is established.

Your answers to these questions will show you how ready you are to start a team building program in earnest. For team building to be effective it requires buy-in from leadership and a commitment to making it work by doing it over time. There’s nothing wrong with not being ready, you get to decide when you commit to bringing your people together and how you do it. It takes some courage and commitment but the reward are many. Are you ready to make it happen?

Team Building and Effective Communication Articles to Help Create Happier Workplaces

Why continue doing the same old things when some basic shifts will get you much better results. I enjoy writing professional development articles that help people live happier lives at work.

Team Building: 5 Ways to Tell if You're Ready for It