Team Building Tips
Managing, motivating and building a strong team can be difficult – but it’s critical if you want your team to not only survive, but thrive.
We look at a number of Team Building Tips you can implement throughout your day-to-day activities that will go a long way to building a group that is productive, supportive, collaborative, creative and empathetic of each other.
And who doesn’t want that.
Studies have shown over and over again that one of the most important components to success in the workplace is making people feel like they're part of a team. Part of something bigger than themselves, working together toward a common vision.
According to Adam Grant, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and this is not overly surprising; a significant factor in job satisfaction is whether you like the people you work with. Are you friends, or at least friendly? Are you connected beyond working at the same place? Research shows that groups of friends outperform groups of acquaintances (which drills down to levels of trust and support).
Through our Team Building Workshops, we work with organizations focusing on creating inclusive, supportive environments that result in stronger teams. We see the results when a team comes together and the difference it makes in each members professional lives, but for the overall organization.
Here are four Team Building Tips we feel will help you achieve your team goals.
Tip #1
Speak up
Ask your team how many times they’ve had the urge to say something in a meeting, but chose not to, letting the moment pass. If this is even a relatively common occurrence for any team member, this needs to be addressed.
This could mean they don’t feel their contribution will be valued, or it won’t be supported.
Before meetings encourage everyone to contribute. And set a template for all contributions to be greeted with “Yes, and” by the next person that speaks. It doesn’t mean you have to agree, or follow through on whatever is contributed, but it does mean you need to acknowledge and value every suggestion. Make this a part of your team meetings and you’ll quickly notice a shift to more open, productive meetings.
Tip #2 Head out
Every once in a while, take the team out of the office. That one act can boost morale, create connectivity, and inspire innovative conversations.
It doesn’t need to be anything elaborate. Head out to a nearby park, a few tables in your local café, walk the neighborhood, head out for Slurpees on a hot summer day, etc.
Tip #3 Break up
Look for opportunities to have smaller subsets of your team do tasks. Group a few members together (two, three or four) to handle these tasks.
It can be moving toward a set team goal, or it can be something you come up with that takes this smaller group away from their usual daily work. Maybe their task is to come up with a fun team building experience, or planning a client appreciation event, etc.
They’ll still be working - collaborating together, problem-solving, innovating. And this smaller group will immediately become connected in a more appreciable way.
(We also work with companies in the area of Presentation Skills Workshops and Team Building Workshops in the Dallas-area).
Tip #4 Have Fun
Sounds easy, but it should be a focus if you lead a team, or are part of a team. We see this all the time when we work with our clients. People love laughing together and that shared experience has a lasting impact on a group.
Seek opportunities to instill humor into the day. Humor provides perspective. It has the effect of relaxing a group, allowing them to be at ease with themselves and each other, which is conducive to creativity and collaboration, as well as makes it much easier to support each other.
You want to find a balance, but if you’re looking, opportunities for light humor are everywhere.
Good luck integrating these tips into workplace!
Contact us today to learn about what we do with companies in the areas of team Building.
(Alex at Alex@improvtoimprove.org or Kayce at Kayce@improvtoimprove.org)