Success Achieved Through Team Building

Team building programmes around the world are growing phenomena.  It is a common practice for most organisations today to hold team building events at either department level or company level at least once a year.

One of the main reasons is that most managers today believe team building events are able to bond organisation members together between subordinates as well as between managers and subordinates.  However, what is lacking is the understanding of the concept of team building.  As a result, team building events today often end up becoming merely a trip to the park, a one night stay at a posh resort or an afternoon of games.  The outcome has left much to be desired unless the concept of team building is well understood which is essential to maximise the benefits for the time spent.

Team building events therefore should go beyond the idea of a "trip to the park".  They have to allow for learning about how each member of the team thinks and works in relation to the workplace.  On the contrary however, most team building practitioners today are commonly using so-called team-building events to simply encourage people to work together, not learn about how each team member actually thinks and behaves. 

A trip to the park will not 'just work'.  It may promote interaction, everyone may have a good laugh, but it is not structured.  The best they could probably remember is that they had a good time. Bear in mind the purpose of interaction is to create understanding, and understanding that will help each other to know where they come from and why do they act in a certain manner.  Useful information could be gained e.g. the persons family background, how was s/he brought up, what are his pastimes, who are his friends.  All this may just surface from the interaction, but generally needs more structured prompting for such corporate events.   

Provide behavioural opportunities for revealing underlying thinking and behaviour patterns. Team building events are meant to take people away from the office and put them in an unfamiliar place.  It is where people are most likely dressed informally and therefore, behave differently.  At these occasions, positions in office are often forgotten and the true self thus appears.  Team building experiences should help to show our true human nature.    Knowing each other’s true attitude and behaviour will often change our perceptions of fellow workers.  Additionally, events like conference events should also be organized side by side so that there is more interaction.

Team building events will therefore be more successful when there is a structured programme which will allow specific objectives to be met.  Activities that allow opportunity to reveal the way we think, make decisions and react will create better and further understanding of work mates.  Finally, team building events that allow each other’s attitudes and behaviour to surface creates better relationships in the office.  However, managers are reminded that team building does not just happen in one day or two days, it has to happen in the workplace every day and it takes time.