The vast majority of team building programs mean well but don’t deliver results. Sure, you might spend a fun day participating in a scavenger hunt or obstacle course of some kind—and you’ll be assured it will improve communication and collaboration—but, when you get back to work, everyone will go back to doing exactly what they did before.

That’s why I created my Advanced Team Building Program, to give forward-thinking companies and organizations an option that truly helps them bring their people together on a deeper level.

Most team building fails because it doesn’t address the underlying issues that keep people from working well together, things like:

• Clashing personalities.
• Egos.
• Lack of self awareness.
• Psychological and emotional problems.
• The need for power and control.
• Absence of support from leadership.
• Pressure to get things done.
• An emphasis on competition instead of collaboration.
• Poor communication.
• Lack of a sense of purpose or clear goals.
• No time.
• A company culture that doesn’t value team building.
• Not being taught how to collaborate.

I’ve seen these types of behaviors and issues in countless workplaces and, most of the time, everyone just endures the pain and pretends it’s normal. Occasionally, when things are already completely out of control, someone decides that doing a ropes course together will magically fix everything. For some strange reason, countless people think that participating in an off-site activity together will help them resolve chronic problems, which serves to demonstrate how reactive and superficial our approach to team building tends to be.

The truth of the matter is that team building is only effective when it provides the following:

• Concrete skills that help people collaborate.
• A clear reason for bringing people together.
• Distinct goals.
• Open communication with a focus on listening.
• Welcoming new and different people and ideas.
• Giving everyone a voice.
• Brainstorming freely.
• Connecting on a deeper level.
• Emphasizing kindness and empathy.
• Eliminating hierarchy and power differentials.
• Reducing conflict.
• Committing to ongoing activities.

Imagine what your workplace would be like if you and your staff had access to these elements. You’d build a happy, harmonious, highly productive and profitable enterprise without all the headaches caused by people being at odds and making each other’s lives difficult.

I had a client contact me and tell me that her organization was running much better since implementing my program because it changed how they did things. She said that, by teaching people how to collaborate, they were able to eliminate the noise that got in the way of their teams being successful and build teams that could get things done without all the problems they formerly suffered through. She shared that she couldn’t believe the difference it made in her workplace but was thrilled with the outcome.

There’s no puzzle to solve when it comes to team building, you either do the things necessary to bring your people together or you don’t. I’m always gratified when I hear from a client who tells me they went the extra mile and spent the time required to teach everyone in their company or organization valuable team building skills.

The goal in team building is to help everyone work together effectively and cohesively in order to increase productivity and profits. All you have to do to make it happen is implement an ongoing program that brings people together and creates a culture of team building in your workplace. Cheers, Guy.

Access a Better Approach to Team Building