How to Improve Your Team Building Program
I’ve been contacted by a significant number of companies and organizations over the years that are unhappy with the lack of results they’ve experienced from traditional team building. They ask me if there is some way to improve their team building efforts or whether there is a better option available to help bring their people together.
Ordinary, shallow, ineffective team building activities are a big part of what led me to create a different kind of approach. I’ve found that most team building providers and facilitators mean well but really only offer activities that help people spend some unremarkable time together. Let’s look at what’s missing from most team building and why doesn’t it work.
Superficiality
Most team building consists of some game or activity that people do together but that has absolutely no effect on the underlying thoughts and behaviors that prevent them from interacting positively or collaborating effectively. It may be fun to participate in an escape room or ropes course, but it does nothing to change thoughts and behaviors.
One-Dimensional Facilitation
A lot of team building facilitators have good intentions but aren’t up to the task of helping people change what they think and do. You’ll get a lot better results if you work with someone who understands human behavior and is able to help people move toward more positive alternatives.
Too Much Emphasis on Competition
Way too many people think that team building means taking part in some overly competitive activity like an obstacle course or scavenger hunt. They truly believe that people desperately trying to win will bring them closer together. The reality is that it just favors people who are more competitive or physically fit and reinforces the mistaken notion that teams are all about being victorious.
Lack of Deeper Relationship Building
Most people leave team building events with the same relationship skills they came in with. They hang out with the same people and interact the same way they always have because they haven’t been taught anything different. There is no increased empathy or improvement in how they relate to others because they weren’t provided any opportunities to connect on a deeper level.
No Tools for Behavioral Change
A big thing I’ve noticed that completely sabotages team building is not providing participants useful tools to change their behaviors. With no education comes no results; people basically do the same thing they always have. Ordinary team building walks people through an activity but provides no guidance on how to change negative or counterproductive workplace behaviors.
Absence of Long-Term Results
The final shortcoming of standard team building I’ll highlight is that it produces, at best, only short-term results. People may feel energized for a day or two but nothing changes, they go back to doing exactly what they did before the event. This happens because the majority of team building programs are not designed to generate long-term, meaningful results; they are just quick, one-time happenings of no consequence.
So, what can you do to improve your team building program starting today? Simply do the opposite of the things noted above, the following three vital concepts will help you get started.
Go Deeper
Most team building fails because it has no depth or substance. A fun activity is just that: something fun people do that has no lasting effects. It’s like eating an ice cream and expecting it to fix your depression. I always recommend that people go below the surface and facilitate activities that help people connect meaningfully and empathize with one another. When you identify why people think and behave they way they do, you have an amazing opportunity to shift their thoughts and behaviors in a positive direction.
Make the Time
For team building to be successful, it’s necessary to set aside uninterrupted time each week to practice it. You won’t get results if you only do an occasional activity with no follow-up or support. I always recommend that companies and organizations schedule regular activities that are an integral part of the work week—everyone is required to attend, no exceptions, which demonstrates seriousness and makes it clear that team building is highly valued.
Commit to the Long Term
Short-term team building doesn’t work, that’s why it’s important to make it a long-term effort. Practice over time leads to success; you’ll get far better results when you implement a program that is ongoing and becomes part of the company culture and work routine. The goal is to teach yourself and everyone at your workplace how to build and participate in strong, cohesive teams.
It’s not difficult to improve team building, it just takes the will to shift from the old, unproductive model to a new one that teaches people real-world skills to work together harmoniously.
It’s up to you whether team building succeeds in your company or organization. You have the power to implement a thriving, ongoing program or pay it lip service with a one-time event. Only one of these options will get you excellent outcomes, you decide which one you choose. Cheers, Guy.