Team Building Depends on You

Effective team building is about bringing people together, helping employees collaborate and encouraging positive workplace behaviors such as empathy. We tend to focus our team building efforts on groups rather than indivicuals but I've noticed over time that many organizations could build stronger teams more easily if each person took individual responsibility. Team building is much more producive if we look at the I. Here are five examples that illustrate how you (or the I) can influence team building in your organization.

You Believe Team Building Doesn't Really Work

If you don't believe in team building then no amount of persuasion will convince you that it can help you build a more positive workplace. The effort ends there. You’ll likely not participate fully in any activity or program because you don't buy in to it.

You Believe that People in Rugged Individualism

This perspective views people as stand-alone creatures who are solely responsible for their own success. There is little need for a group mentality beyond everyone needs to succeed on his or her own. We often see this in the "top salesman” or “company star” who is highly valued because they produce well individually. This approach creates a work environment where people aren't viewed as part of a cohesive whole. Excellent teams are about people being individually and collectively responsible for success.

You Don't Believe Team Building Produces any Benefits

Maybe you’ve never experienced working in an organization where people fully supported each other to achieve their goals. If your knowledge of teams is people scheming against each other and perpetually competing for power and prestige then it seems natural that workplaces should be like that. Team building is part of a big picture approach that encourages you and your employees to build a work environment where people actively problem-solve together and support each other.

Other People Need Team Building, Not Me

Team building is fine for your staff because they don't know what you go through and they need to figure it out on their own. This philosophy leads to you not being part of the team and your employees will pick up on it quickly. Guess what that will do to your team spirit. If only other people need to work with teams then that excludes you from being part of any of them.

You Really Want to Avoid Conflict

It’s hard to deal with the issue that arise when when people are required to work together. Many people have no idea how to resolve conflict and do everything possible to pretend it doesn't exist or suppress it instead of acquiring skills to reduce friction. It’s the process of collaborating as a team that leads to people being able to resolve conflict more effectively.

To create a highly-functional, happy workplace it really helps to encourage your employees to work well together. What you actually do in your organization depends on you because you determine how your workplace runs. You decide whether bringing people together is valuable. You get to choose whether team building is a priority or an afterthought when you’re already in a crisis. The key to effective team building is to learn and practice the skills that will help you and your employees work well together. What will you do to promote team building in your workplace?