Six steps to improve your success team building

Each year companies invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in team building. Where some say transformation hardly changed and another report poor results. Not surprising then that many people react with cynicism when it announces its leader at the time the faithful for the team and build loyalty.

What exactly is Team Building?

Team Building Training

Team building is the term used to describe such diverse activities, but can be almost anything from the long-term process of structured teamDevelopment to beat the boss with paintballs or even a longer lunch break at the pub. No wonder that the results vary.

Team building effective, however, involves a conscious and planned intervention that the team has improved the performance by strengthening the relationships and systems. With this in mind, and addressing each of the points listed below, executives can avoid the traps to increase the success of their team-building initiatives.

1 Define the performance requirements teams

Ain-depth gap analysis enables the design and selection of the most effective team building strategy is important to identify clearly where the team now and where it should be. The identification and prioritization of problems, systems and competencies to be developed. Involve the team in this evaluation, how to build awareness and personal responsibility.

If you do not have the resources to do so, or if it is a particularly challenging team then consider the use of an independentConsultant.

2 Determine the purpose

To find the results of needs assessment and priority objectives of the team-building. For example, team-building will focus on:

The improvement and strengthening of group dynamics, climate and culture, or
Construction or improvement of team structures, systems and processes, or
You identify with the team-building, the team's success?

Although these areas are connected (often a positive factorInfluence of another), it is unwise and unrealistic to incorporate too much into a single program. Focus on a few, are good, and place the new or improved methods with the team before moving to the next

3 Distinguishing between recognition and performance improvement

Fun team-building events, which are designed to reward the team must let the team know they are valued and appreciated their efforts. It 'important to invest time in building relationships through social interactionThis, too, the time to team-building of this nature. But no amount of social interaction or team, "trust falls" to produce sustainable improvements where there are problems with team management, design and dynamics. Just because we worked well as a team, once suspended 50 feet in the air we can not guarantee Monday, when the system crashed, phone lines and calls jam peak. Teams return to the same environment with little understanding, agreement, or the ability to make the necessary improvementsto their system.

4 Increases Insight to improve performance

If you are working with a consultant to ensure that design programs to learn what action to take part, produces individual and collective understanding. This does not mean that you need to rope off a cliff or a kayak. Further significant activity occurs with less adventurous and expensive, supporting effective debriefing. Debriefing is the key to deep learning in teams in order to make sure your team-building time is devoted to thorough debriefingActivities and exercises.

5 Follow Up and Follow Through

Even well-designed and structured team building events cynicism of fuel, if the team fails to follow through. Deepening growing unmet expectations, small changes, cynicism and resistance, reduced morale and performance. The team building "buzz" has faded and has come back (bad) business as usual.

To avoid this ensure that the learning team-building produced a record of the team. This disc, and especially the teamAction Plan are the tools that the team needs to implement new skills, good ideas and agreements. They are much more powerful team-building stories and anecdotes. They help to keep the team on track, so the enthusiasm lasts much longer.

6 Team building is not the Silver Bullet

Recognizing that the team-building events are just a small part of the process of team development. But investing so much time in advance with the analysis and planning, as you can. If poorly designed, developed andTeam building can make a big hole in the budget to provide little more than a fleeting blip in morality.

Six steps to improve your success team building