Team Building Activities

Teamwork is one of the most important elements of any major organization. Teams working together can produce a higher output with great efficiency, while maintaining a high level of quality. Grouping individuals together however is a very complex task. Team building activities should be an integral part of any organization. It can be a powerful way to unite a group, develop strengths, and address weaknesses.

One of the activities I’ve been part of at work has been our company sponsored bowling night, its paid by the bank. Everyone in the branch is invited and split into teams for a fun night. This is a great opportunities for employees to mingle and get to know each other better.

Do you have any Team Building activities that you could share?

Thank God It's Friday!

A poll carried out by Fresh Track Team Building implied, workers are at best at approximately 11:33am on Tuesdays. The report says that on Mondays workers are realizing the weekend is now over and they have five whole workdays ahead of them. Comes Tuesday and workers are back into there weekly routine and have a plan set for the rest of the week. The worker feels more organized, confident, and in control as this peek point of 11:30 am is arriving on Tuesday. But don’t get too excited as they say, “What goes up, must come down” is exactly what happens. On Wednesday afternoon everyone is forcefully working hard until Friday, so that his or her weekend is as relaxing as the last.

Based on this article what day of the week would you best function to work in a team?

Understanding a successful Team

Establishing a proficient, passionate, and talented team is the key to a successful operation in an organization. To build such a team, you need to understand how to work hard and take on responsibilities, resolve conflicts, identify resources, and keep your team sharp and motivated. These skills are covered by the following topics:

Clear and Elevating Goal

§ Goal has to reflect group/community values

§ There was free discussion of the objectives until members could commit themselves to them; the   objectives are meaningful to each group member. 

§ Just beyond reach but nonetheless possible: BHAG

Results-Driven Structure

§ Balance between process and product

§ Give participant’s immediate feedback

§ Maintain communication among shareholders

Competent Team Members

§ Build community capacity

§ Encourage and inspire wide participation

§ Diverse and balanced leadership                       

Unified Commitment

§ Team spirit

§ Commitment from all levels of organizations

§ Identification, respect with others on the team (there is no “I” in T-E-A-M)

Collaborative Climate

§ Understand the obstacles to collaboration

§ Build relationships

§ Collaboration as a journey, not a destination

Standards of Excellence

§ Performance measures

§ Project outcomes

§ Evaluate, Refine, Revise

External Support and Recognition

§ Diversified financial support

§ Recognition for accomplishments – celebrate successes

§ Internal support from partner agencies

Principled Leadership

§ Embrace diversity and conflict as learning opportunities

§ Consensus building

§ Foster vision, a belief in the opportunity for change, and opportunities for meaningful involvement

High Performance Teams and Their Characteristics

This video provides the power point pages to analysis what the high performance teams are and their characteristics.

The high performance teams are defined as the teams consist of motivated team members who achieve outstanding results.

The high performance teams have many characteristics as follows:

• sense of purpose
• open communication
• trust and mutual respect
• shared leadership
• effective working procedures
• building on differences
• flexibility and adaptability
• continuous learning
• usually self-directed
• empowered
• learn
• innovate
• collaborate 

In this video, it also offers website link to provide more information and research in the high performance teams.

How to Build a Successful Team

"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable." (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993) The following characteristics show how to build a successful team.

1.     Select a team with diverse knowledge and skills. A team is made up of members who differ in gender, age, talent, strengths, culture and experience will often produce more creative solutions.

2.     Establish a purpose. Each member in a team knows what is expected and understands the significance of their performance directly affecting the company’s mission.

3.     Determine the individual roles, functions, and responsibility. Members are no longer individuals, each team members should realize how important it is in relation to the overall team goal.

4.     Good communication. Team members are willing to exchange feelings, thoughts, and ideas. What’s more, team members should listen to other member’s thoughts and respect their ideas.

5.     View disagreement as a positive. When a conflicting option is voiced, team members should carefully analyze disagreement with knowledge instead of saying no.

6.     Shared leadership. Effective team often has no normal leader.  Each team member has an opportunity to take leadership positions in their areas of expertise.

The Secrets to High Performing Teams

Hello, here is a short video (3minutes) "The secret to High Performing Teams" uploaded by the Paul Merage School of Business.
           
There are four points discussed in this video.
          1. Separate content from delivery
          2. Consider task equity over task equality
          3. Differences among team members are to be desired
          4. Use conflict as information about legitimate differences