Teamwork and collaboration are valuable traits, especially in a world of remote work and technology. Even with the rise of AI, people are still the heartbeat of any organization. Keeping your team motivated and feeling valued benefits any company. Making conscious efforts toward team building can improve communication, retention, trust, collaboration, productivity, and more.
Not every attempt at team building is successful. Treating workers like students at opening orientation can alienate workers and have the opposite effect you seek. For your team-building efforts to matter, you must treat your team members like working adults while accounting for these factors.
Defined purpose and goals
Every team works best with clear goals in mind, and team-building activities are no exception. If you’re disrupting routine, you’ll want to provide a good reason why. Consider your average meeting—those with a clear purpose are beneficial while a meandering one frustrates and demotivates the team.
Career coach Mark Gasche says to have a clear “how” and “why” during your initial pitch. Telling your team what you hope they gain from the activity can help melt the ice on even your most skeptical members. Make sure your “why” can actually be accomplished by the activity. If you’re having problems with specific people, and this isn’t addressing that cause, your efforts won’t be effective.
Open communication
Communication and teamwork go hand-in-hand. A team can’t work well if its members don’t feel valued and their voices aren’t heard. Ideally, your activity will soothe communication rather than hinder it further. But even in the planning phase, keep an open channel and look for feedback.
Professor Mary Shapiro says it’s worth directly asking your team members what types of activities they would enjoy and could be effective. Not only does this give you more insight into what type of exercise to plan, but you’ll get people excited about the idea if they have more of a stake in it. During both planning and the activity itself, promote open communication, listen to feedback, be open to criticism, and ask questions. If possible, host any activities during work hours. Otherwise, team members may feel like their personal time isn’t being considered and they may be even more averse to participating.
“As a leader, it is your job to encourage team members to be vocal about their thoughts, feelings and ideas, as well as take criticism in a productive manner.” –Dahlia Keen, Training Magazine
Inclusivity
The most common types of activities you’ll see are ones like on the first day of a class or some sort of physical challenge. These can be effective and fun, but they aren’t the only options. In fact, they can further alienate certain team members and create an even bigger wedge. As a leader, you must consider the different personality types and capabilities of your team and make sure everyone can be included.
Many activities favor extroverts, leaving your less vocal team members vulnerable. Consider ways to make sure they are included and encourage them to engage without throwing them on the spot. Consider that while a physical activity can be fun for the right crowd, not everyone can keep up and might feel like a burden or a lower priority if this isn’t considered. During your work, you’ll have different backgrounds and skills working toward the same goal. Be sure to view any team-building attempts the same way.
“Ensure that the activity is accessible and engaging for all team members, regardless of their physical abilities, backgrounds, or personality types.” –Makeblock
Empower team members
If you’re truly looking to set a foundation for your team to grow, you should be looking to empower them and build up their skills. Allowing team members to try new things, use their problem-solving skills, and make mistakes will help them grow, and doing it as part of a team is even more effective. By trying and failing together, they’ll be bonded by the activity and be able to take something positive from the experience.
For this reason, it is highly recommended to create a collaborative activity rather than a competitive one. Vantage Circle writes that the second it becomes competitive, they’ll be trying to beat their peers—not work with them. This is especially problematic if your team’s existing issues include people who don’t work well together. Gamification can make the activity more fun, but too much can create competition and achieve undesirable results.
Wrap up
By having clear goals, respecting your team, and being open to feedback, you can create team-building activities that work with your team to reap the benefits. Every team member will have different tastes, and some people are looking to do their job and head home. You’ll get the results you want by treating everyone like an adult and staying on target.
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