Team building is about providing the skills, training and resources that your people need, so that they can work in harmony. But, to be truly effective, it needs to be a continual process, embedded into your team and organization's culture.
There's a place for one-off team building exercises, but they need to have a clear purpose, such as improving a particular skill, and must be well designed to avoid conflict.
The first and most important step when planning team building activities is to identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Start by asking the following questions to identify the root of any problems:
- Are there conflicts between certain people that are creating divisions within the team?
- Do team members need to get to know one another better?
- Do some members focus on their own success, and harm the group as a result?
- Is poor communication affecting the group’s progress?
- Do people need to learn to work together, instead of individually?
- Do some members affect the group’s ability to move forward through resistance to change?
