The dream of any senior manager is to lead a team that is a friendly and close-knit team, ready to work hard to achieve their goals. But how to achieve a similar result? To do this, you will need some experience and knowledge that the team building manager can give.
It is an event designed to rally the team, increasing the efficiency of its work. Translated from English, the word "team building" means "team building." The application of this direction is an urgent need for any pragmatic business owner. Using team building, you can so unite the team that the work of employees will increase the competitiveness of the company and will allow you to make big profits. Moreover, such growth will not occur at all due to external attraction of resources. Internal reserves will be effectively used.
A bit of history
Team building exercises, which were aimed at uniting the team, first began in the 40s of the 20th century. They were actively used in the USA. Events very similar to those held today took place in America in the 50s. As for Russia, it is believed that teambuilding came to us only at the end of the last century. However, team building events in our country have arisen for a long time. Remember at least the game "Zarnitsa". How sad it was to part with friends who, next to you, overcame a variety of difficulties. The Lenin subbotnik contributed to the same rallying of the collective. What about socialist competitions? After all, this is the same team building, only more extended in time. School team building options were the collection of waste paper and scrap metal. Similar events united people around the solution of one problem. At the same time, they allowed us to see each other in a completely new way.
In the 90s of the last century, companies even began to open up in Russia, specializing in corporate events. Gradually, teambuilding is no longer considered a public phenomenon. It has become a tool for building a corporate culture.
In recent years, large corporations are constantly increasing the allocation of financial resources for active events with the team. This allows them to create a solid foundation for the formation of a favorable microclimate in the organization, which leads to the productive work of a team of like-minded people.
Team Building Goals
Performing games and team building exercises allows you to:
- Form operational teams. Selected groups of employees will begin to work on the solution of assigned tasks, subject to a limited time.
- To unite top managers. Team building exercises will allow employees to exchange the necessary information as quickly and efficiently as possible, increase creativity and combine efforts.
- To unite the team inside the unit.
- To unite middle managers. In this case, the implementation of team building exercises will allow them to manage subordinates as efficiently as possible, increase the efficiency of each employee, speed up the time for internal corporate information flows, correlate their goals with the general tasks of the company, and improve the psychological microclimate.
Team Building Tasks
Performing team building exercises allows you to:
- to form a common understanding among employees of the goals and objectives of the enterprise;
- to establish the optimal balance of personal goals and general objectives of the company;
- stimulate awareness of the interdependence in achieving the goals of the organization with the satisfaction of the personal needs of each employee;
- improve the psychological climate in the team;
- identify and resolve existing interpersonal conflicts;
- improve personal relationships;
- remove barriers to the passage of information flows, minimizing data distortion;
- provide motivation for the training and development of each team member, depending on the tasks and goals that the organization faces.
Team Building Principles
When performing team-building activities, certain rules must be followed, which are as follows:
- Setting goals. What is the peculiarity of team building? The team must have a common goal. Of course, an individual employee may have his own task. However, they should not go against each other. When setting clear objectives, the team will certainly focus on finding the most effective ways to implement them, focusing on the result. This, among other things, will have a beneficial effect on the team microclimate.
- Collective performance of tasks. A similar principle is the basis of team building. The fact is that the company needs the work of all its divisions, carried out in close interaction with each other. When people work together, this sets them in a certain way with understanding each other, awareness of the individual characteristics of each and with the formation of trust. Collective performance of tasks will certainly improve the energy potential of employees, which will lead to their more effective actions in the interests of the organization.
- Taking responsibility. This is an important condition for team building. And it concerns every employee. Only by assuming responsibility and understanding that only common efforts will help to achieve success, it will be possible to obtain the desired result.
- Determining the form of stimulation. This principle requires taking into account the characteristics of the team. For example, if this is a production area, then the best form of incentive will be the provision of material or financial compensation in combination with public recognition and moral satisfaction. If the activity is carried out in an intellectual direction, then the material position will play a secondary role. An incentive for self-affirmation, career and prestige is highlighted here. But what if the company has combined activities? In this case, it is necessary that the incentive combines the two previous options.
- Advanced training. The main task of any team building is the professional growth of employees. What is the scope of the team, while it does not matter. It is important to act in such a way that overall and personal indicators are enhanced. It is important for the leader to make sure in advance that his team can feel the degree of their own growth, comparing it with the assessment of progress. It is most convenient if in this case a variety of team building trainings, programs and exercises will be applied.
- Level of creativity. Sometimes this principle plays the role of an auxiliary element. This applies to cases when team members are engaged in technological activities, and certain benefits are an incentive for them. Creativity will not play a special role. But if a team is predominantly engaged in intellectual work and for it the main motivation is career-prestigious factors, then the situation will be different. Creativity will come to the fore, because overall success will directly depend on bold decisions and new ideas.
- Productive functioning. This principle is based on the rule, which states that the longer the team exists, the higher the level of its professionalism, effectiveness, efficiency, success and harmony of the elements.
The expediency of team building
When does the need for team building activities arise? They are needed:
- During the period of rapid development of the company. When expanding the staff in a short time, tensions between former and new team members are likely. In order to have a positive impact on various groups of employees, it is necessary to start working with formal and informal leaders. Team building will lead to the fact that people get to know each other better, and friendly relations will form between them.
- During the period of decline or stagnation of the company. This stage is characterized by the lack of initiative of workers who do not see the prospects of their activities. Many of them have probably already started looking for a new place of employment. In this case, it is important for managers to work on raising their corporate spirit so that employees realize that the future of the company is in their hands.
- In the presence of local problems. Team building measures will allow to unite employees. And this, in turn, will help the company cope with the most pressing problems.
Where is team building held?
For events that contribute to team building, it is not necessary to choose a specific time period. Team building can be held year-round in the fresh air or indoors. The second option is preferable in cases where the purpose of the event is to identify the values of the company, the internal roles of employees, as well as the communicative relationships existing between them. Team building exercises in nature are carried out in order to create a free and relaxed atmosphere. The main point in the off-site event is in those unusual conditions in which the team finds itself who has left the walls of the offices. Team building exercises in the group will reveal mutual sympathies, internal conflicts, identify hidden leaders.
What will be the tasks? The program and exercises for training on team building will be selected by specialists based on the current situation. This will make it possible to rally employees by solving their interpersonal problems.
What can serve as a venue for such an event? It’s great if team building exercises will be performed in a camp, boarding house or rest house. Here you can stay overnight. The training program is divided into two days. Team building exercises for students can be carried out in a forest zone in a clearing, on the shore of a reservoir, etc.
If the company decided to invest in long trips abroad or at sea, then in this case the trainings will be held as dynamically as possible. Such events will be one of the most striking events in the life of the company. It is worth noting that teambuilding is usually carried out during working hours. This will make it possible to gather all employees, including even those who “do not want” or “cannot” go to the list.
Team building exercises in the office are carried out in cases where the company has a conflicting unhealthy atmosphere. For this reason, employees are sharply reduced working capacity. Tensions lead to reduced labor productivity and staff turnover. Indoor team building will solve this problem. A wide variety of games, contests and exercises increase the cohesion of employees and smooth out conflicts.
Team Building Rules
All team building exercises in the training are based on the rules, which include the following:
- Separation of participants into teams. The formation of groups can occur either in advance or directly on the spot. Moreover, this may be a random or targeted choice. In the latter case, the training will pursue the goal of establishing communications between specific employees.
- Choice of captain, title and motto.
- The direct implementation of exercises on the construction of crossings, overcoming obstacles, orienting in unfamiliar areas, etc.
Types of team building programs
Team building events can be held in a variety of forms. Everything will depend on the material capabilities of the organization, the age composition of employees, as well as on the features of the services provided by the company.
The organizers of the event will select those contests that will be interesting for its participants. However, it does not matter which program of the event will be selected. The main thing here is the competition process.
Team building programs are:
- Strategic. Their main goal is to form the most effective team.
- Intelligent. This program is an alternative to sports.
- Creative. Such events contribute to the development of innovative thinking, as well as a creative approach to achieving the goals.
- Sports.
- Youth. Most often, such a team building training is conducted for students. Exercises of this kind have a certain specificity, taking into account the age category of competing groups.
Team Building Examples
Quite effective is considered an exercise on team building "Labyrinth". For its implementation, the team is lined up one after another, blindfolding each employee, except the first, eyes. Everyone must follow the "leader" to go through the maze. Negotiating is prohibited.
In the training entitled “Rope courses”, participants overcome not only physical obstacles, but also emotional ones. Moreover, each test is an independent task. When conducting such training for adolescents, the presence of an adult is mandatory. Before the event, you need to weave a web of rope. The number of its cells should be equal to the number of participants. The main goal of the group is to overcome the web. In this case, none of the participants should touch the rope. Otherwise, the test should be started again. This training includes other tasks.
Children's team building
Team building exercises allow the child to learn how to interact in a team. Children begin to get closer to each other and build communication among themselves. Very often primary school teachers conduct such events. Team building exercises for children allow students to make friends faster.
Team building is important for teens. After all, any defeat in the competition gives rise to self-doubt, becomes the cause of various fears. Team building exercises for teens are free from this drawback. They allow you to teach children effective methods of communication with peers, as well as to develop their interaction skills between team members.
After working out a specially selected team building exercise during training, the adolescent's self-esteem increases. He becomes more confident in his abilities. After the game, the teacher should discuss with each child what he did to achieve the goal. At the same time, the children should understand the essence of the tasks themselves.
Consider an example of a game that is well suited for a team building training program. The age of its participants can range from 7 to 18 years. All children are divided into 8 groups of 5-10 people. You need to take care of the props in advance. These are plates on which the names of stations are written, route sheets for each team and tokens. You can conduct such a game in the gym or in the hallway of the school. Within 50-60 minutes, the teams move around the stations, adhering to the points indicated in the route sheets. At each of the points, animators are waiting for the children, asking them to complete pre-designed tasks for which they can receive tokens. Whose team will collect them more, that is considered the winner.