Team Building: How does It Happen?
Building a team is a continuous process. It is a step-by-step procedure for bringing about desired organizational change. Teams are typically constituted for a specific purpose or project, and they are usually temporary.
Identify the Need for Team Building
According to LIFO®, Team Building Programs assist managers in improving teamwork, communication, productivity, performance, and much more depending on the team and its needs. Hence, identifying the particular need of the team based on its roles, tasks, projects, and performance aids in tailoring the program that addresses the critical issues and gaps. Here are some question2 sets by LIFO® that could help you further understand your team's needs:
- Are we working well together?
- Are differences with each other being managed?
- Are we coordinating our activities as well as we should?
- Are priorities clear and sorted out?
- Are we accomplishing things fast enough?
- Are mistakes too frequent and too costly?
- Are we maintaining the proper standards of excellence?
- What is the best way to get us headed in a new direction?
Define Your Goals and the Skills You Will Need
The next step is to write down the organization's goals and the talents required to achieve them.
Team Roles to Consider
The manager analyses various factors, including individual interactions, duties and responsibilities, strengths and limitations, and the makeup and suitability of potential team members.
Make a Strategy for Forming a Team
To facilitate effective team formation, the manager needs to understand the different behavioral LIFO® styles. As mentioned in the article "Revealing the 'I' in a team," there are several windows through which we perceive the world. Hence, each orientation brings about different behaviors. Managers need to understand those orientations and their behavioral implications to be able to build on their various strengths. Moreover, managers who understand those LIFO® styles can build diverse teams and leverage their strengths.
Moreover, to facilitate effective team formation, the manager must now understand the operational framework thoroughly. He must be confident in the team's objectives, roles, duties, duration, resource availability, training, information flow, feedback, and creating reliance.
Create an Individual Team
Individuals are gathered at this point to form a team. Each team member is educated on their tasks and responsibilities.
Establish and Disseminate Rules
The rules for team member reporting, meeting schedules, and decision-making within the team are covered. Individuals are encouraged to ask questions and express their opinions to foster open and healthy team communication.
Determine a Person's Strengths
Individual strengths are highlighted through a variety of team-building tasks. It also helps team members learn about one other's strengths and limitations.
Become a Member of the Team
At this point, the manager should join the team as a member rather than a boss. Individuals must be made aware of their importance in the team, and each member must be treated equally. Members of the team should regard their manager as a leader, mentor, and role model.
Performance Monitoring
The next step is to assess the team's overall productivity and performance. It entails identifying flaws and determining why they exist. This step is crucial to boost the team's performance and production in the long run.
Meetings are Scheduled
Holding purposeful meetings from time to time to address team performance, task-related challenges, and future course of action is one of the most important measures.
Disintegrate the Group
Finally, the management must assess the results and recognize the employees for their contributions and accomplishments. Finally, the team disperses to achieve the goal for which it was founded.
1The Investor Book,14 Dec 2018, Anjali J, Team Building, Accessed 1 May 2022, https://theinvestorsbook.com/team-building.html
2Stuart Atkins, Incorporatd, Team Building program for Improving Communication And Teamwork
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