A Team Building Program to Build Teamwork in the Workplace
I’ve worked with many companies and organizations on building teamwork in the workplace and I’ve noticed over the years that people have not had very much exposure to the basics of creating successful, productive teams. They may know about superficial team building activities or trying to force people to work together but they overlook huge opportunities to build teamwork on a deeper level.
The main obstacle to creating well-functioning teams is that we aren’t taught how to build teamwork and have few examples of it in our workplaces to draw from. If you think about it, the only example people usually have of teams working together are sports teams, which are based on a top-down, authoritarian model that doesn’t encourage free thinking, questioning, exploration, or creative problem solving.
The good news is that you can shift your old behaviors and encourage real teamwork in your workplace starting now. Here are some things to keep in mind as you develop your approach:
- Treat everyone equally.
- Give everyone a voice.
- Avoid playing favorites.
- Welcome all ideas.
- Help people connect on a deeper level.
- Emphasize the things people have in common.
- Give people the opportunity to think for themselves.
- Stay away from imposing teamwork from above.
- Listen more.
- Develop policies and programs that encourage teamwork.
- Set aside the time to practice teamwork.
- Reward teamwork.
Most companies and organizations don’t do the things I’ve listed above, which limits their ability to get positive results. They would succeed much more if they practiced behaviors that help people work together well. They also miss out on the many benefits of teamwork in the workplace, including:
- Getting more done with less effort.
- People getting along better.
- Saving time.
- Creating a higher-functioning workplace.
- Greater productivity.
- More collaboration.
- More trust.
- Less conflict and hurt feelings.
- People feeling valued and included.
- Working toward common goals.
- More camaraderie.
- Being proactive instead of reactive.
Imagine what your workplace would look like if people did the things listed above. You’d be thriving in a happy, harmonious, collaborative environment where people work well together and get more things done. You’d also avoid the pain that comes from a lack of teamwork.
The trick to teamwork is simply having a system in place that teaches people how to work together. It starts from the top down and focuses on the long term, not just short-term, superficial results.
There’s no mystery to building productive, cohesive teams, it just takes ongoing commitment and the right tools. You can start building teamwork in your workplace any time you choose. You get to decide when you begin. Cheers, Guy.