Work is usually social, at least some of the time.
Work usually involves other people, at least occasionally.
And work usually involves working on teams, at some point, if not all the time.
Yet most teams, from my history of working with teams in and from more than 125 countries over the past 21 years, focus on THE DESTINATION (imagine a deep, booming radio announcer voice).
In other words, they focus on getting things done, checking things off the list, achieving the objectives.
In the meantime, they forget about the PROCESS; building the team or working on how the team works together. Yes, the process takes time but in the end, it saves time because a healthy team is more productive, innovative, efficient, resilient, manages change better, and is more engaged.
Everyone is pulling in the same direction. The tasks get done, the list of items gets checked and the objectives are achieved, all the while everyone’s voice is heard and people are working well together.
What’s the other option?
A team that doesn’t work together well. An unhealthy team is one that’s run aground and loses its mooring. It’s a team that wastes time on conflict, works in silos, is unproductive, inefficient, leaves talent on the table with wasted opportunities, is unengaged, inflexible and less creative.
You can see where this is going.
Team building is critical if you want to achieve and keep a health team.
BUT take your pick. Team building can and should happen in a bunch of ways. If you’re defaulting to an annual company golf game, may I ask you, for the love of healthy teams, please reconsider.
Anchor your team building with one-off events like a retreat, a social, a group activity that everybody can participate in and enjoy (everybody being the key).
Then extend your team building with simple, day to day things like mini socials, conversations over the water cooler, celebrations (milestones, birthdays, special events), engaging conversations to kick-off meetings, etc.
Convinced of the importance of team building? Okay great. But where to now?
Check out this great primer on teambuilding by Faisal Malas, ClickUp Project Manager, that includes:
- How to get started
- 25 effective team building activities (that don’t suck and include group groans which are those activities that cause you to stifle a groan and pray for it to be over as soon as possible because it’s awkward, embarrassing or just plain silly)
As Faisal says in his article, got your game face on? Let’s play. Go on and learn, laugh and lead.
Learn
- Check out Faisal’s article, Team Building Activities: 25 Exercises to Create an Unstoppable Team.
Laugh
- Team building helps team members be on the same page, with the same vision, all pulling together productively in the same direction. Unlike this little person.
Lead
- Take my team building survey and then share it with a colleague on your team, discuss and take action.
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