subject: Great Team Building Tips [print this page] Teams and groups play a very vital role in the success of any organization. The accumulated output of two individual employees is less than the output of two employees working in a team. Teams are way too effective than individuals. And this is the reason that most of the businesses prefer teams. Making a team is easy, but to develop it in an effective team where every single member think and work collectively instead of individually, is very difficult.
Team building
Higher management emphasizes a lot on effective team building. Merely a group of people working together is not what we call a team rather a group of people where each one of them is fully committed, honest, is willing to work, is willing to work for the organization, is willing to work for the team not for individual goals.
Tips for team building
Here are a few great tips for effective team building.
Foundation of the team
Team building starts from strong foundation. How to lay a strong foundation for a team? The best practices include:
Defining the purpose of the team
Formulating team goals and plans
Choosing the best workers based on their expertise and willingness
Willingness of all the team members is very important
What is expected from the team must be clear
Basic team structure
Communicating team purpose, team goals and team structure to all the members
Proper communication
Communication is supposed to be the core of any team. Without proper in-team communication, team can never come out victorious. Team communication can be enhanced in following ways:
Team members must be encouraged to spend time with each other
Arrange parties, team get-togethers, informal team meetings has been found very effective in increasing communication
Monitor
Once team has started its operation and when it is in storming or norming stage, management needs to monitor team behavior, working capacity, see results and other ups and downs. If team is performing as expected and everything is working as forecasted, nothing needs to be done. However, if team is not performing as expected, immediate actions must be taken. Those members who are unable to fit in must be dismissed. New members should be added if needed. Team counseling can be pretty useful. Team meetings must be conducted.
Appreciation
Appreciation must not to be ignored. Management needs to appreciate whole team instead of appreciating individuals. This is very important for team building. Recognize all of them as one single team. Teams where individuals are rewarded, appreciated and criticized have been found less effective than those where all team members are considered as a single entity.
