Reasons for Team Building

1. Improving communication
2. Making the workplace more enjoyable
3. Motivating a team
4. Getting to know each other
5. Getting everyone " onto the same page", including goal setting
6. Teaching the team self-regulation strategies
7. Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths & weaknesses)
8. Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members
9. Improving team productivity
10. Practicing effective collaboration with team members

Team Building encourages the improvement of Interpersonal Skills such as: communication, negotiation, leadership, & motivation.

Factors of Successful Team Building

Team building usually reaps successful and efficient outcomes in every team, although there are times when it does not work out to be really effective because of underlying factors. For a successful team building, here are important considerations to make:

1. Selection of Team Members or Participants

The recruitment of team participants is a very crucial requirement for team building. The members must possess complementary skills for a mutual working atmosphere. The team leader must ensure that the members demonstrate good level of confidence and ability to provide trust to each other. Leadership qualities are also needed as well as a positive perspective for a team to work smoothly together.

2. Clear and Well-Defined Team Goals

Another imperative factor in team building is establishing clear goals for the team. In goal setting, members have to be “on the same page” which is possible with team building. A clear set of goals gives the team direction and determination to work for it.

3. Complementary Skills Set

Despite the individual traits and values of the team members, the level of skills and knowledge must be balanced and the competencies must be of similar match. The role assigned to each member must also correspond to the skills.

4. Reliable Team Leader

Team building is smoother with the efficient facilitation of a team leader. With the right leadership qualities, the leader oversees the entire team performance and instills positivity to motivate the whole team in all endeavors. Yet, the team leader does not monopolize decisions. Rather, the decision of the entire team is highly considered.

5. Team Training

Training ensures skill the development of every member. These attributes are essential contributions to the success of a given task for the achievement of goals.

A team is not to be confused with a group, although some people use these two terms interchangeably. One main distinction is that the strength of a team is dependent on the cooperation of each member while the strength or vigor of a group comes primarily from the authority and facilitation of a leader.

As to the formation, a group is relatively easier to create than a team. A group can simply be formed based on a commonality among the members such as gender, specialization, the level of expertise, age, and other factors. However, the efficiency of a group may or may not be harmonious depending on the compatibility or differences in decisions and goals, making it difficult for a group to reach a consensus.

On the contrary, a team can be quite difficult to structure because the members have to be selected for matching competencies in order to work as one for the achievement of team goals.

Team Building Growth

Apart from the shared commitment and collaboration of individuals in a team, the size of the team is also an important factor in cultivating good teamwork.

a. Individuals
Apparently, the scale is only for a single person who plays a major role in the task with a focus of enhancing the skills and competencies of the person working within the team.

b. Small Teams
The scale of a small team ranges from 2-12 members. Team performance is usually based on teamwork. Factors like personality traits, team dynamics, approaches, and interpersonal relationship affect the performance of a small team.

c. Team Islands
This entails team-to-team relations, so when teams in an organization do not interact well, the situation is called “team islands.” Poor relations among teams can definitely affect the performance of a team. It is important that teams within an organization must build gaps.

d. Large Teams
An organization is considered a large team consisting of 15 people or more. Goals and mission are intended for the entire organization. New members of a large team have to adjust to the culture of the existing team.

Common Types of Teams

 

1. Self-Managed Teams: Self-managed or self-directed teams are permanent type of teams with members who are working with set boundaries. In usual cases, a self-directed team does not have a leader, but some teams are directed by a designated team leader. Yet, even with a team leader, the team decides based on consensus and is held accountable for the outcome of team decisions and actions.

 

2. Problem-Solving Teams: Problem-solving teams are formed for a purpose and are deemed temporary. Organizational issues that cannot be resolved within the standard procedures are assigned to this type of team. Problem-solving teams are also cross-functional since the members usually come from varied work units or areas of the organization.

 

3. Project Teams: Project teams are temporary since these teams only exist for a specific period of time based on a given project or task assignment. These teams are also cross-functional, with the members coming from various work groups working together for one project or task.

 

4. Sports Teams: Apparently, a sports team is composed of members or players and a support group who play a certain type of sport together.

 

5. Virtual Teams: Virtual team members communicate with each other using technology in working collaboratively and mutually on a task. The members of a virtual team may come from different parts of the world and have varying cultures. When working together, the team does so virtually and rarely conducts meetings in person.

 

Defining Team Roles

A clear role designation allows for more teams that are functional. Roles can be defined in several ways, and these roles do not have to be restricted. Organizational teams usually assign roles either by work function or by meeting function. In a work function, the roles depend on the nature of the tasks or job of the team. For example, a marketing team may require an editor, a writer, a consultant, and a graphic designer. In team meetings, there are various role assignments to the members. The following are the roles required in a team meeting:

Facilitator
Minute Taker
Spokesperson
Reflector

Normally though, a team is composed of a team leader or the manager and a group of individuals. In a sports team, the typical roles are that of a team captain or head coach and players. The support group is also included in a sports team. These would be the team manager, promoter, coach, and other supporting roles.

 

 

Team Building Stages

The birth of a team goes through various stages of development. Forming a team is not as easy as forming a group. A group can be created in a very short period of time, even instantly. Group members can simply be obtained by gathering people of a certain commonality or specific category. A group can be formed out of individuals of the same gender, people with the same culture, those of a certain age range or individuals with common religious beliefs and values.

A team, on the other hand, takes time to develop. The process is not a mere picking of individuals with a common denominator. A team formation requires phases of development in order for the team to grow and become effective since a team is ideally considered a collective or cohesive unit.

In 1650, an American educational psychologist, Bruce Tuckman, designed and introduced the stages of team development after a careful study and observation of the behavior of small groups in the society and the phases that these groups go through. The developmental model was born out of the aim of achieving high performance and effectiveness in teams.

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