Leaders and organizations frequently realize that they need to bring their employees together and help them interact more effectively because they’ve noticed negative morale, reduced motivation or lagging productivity. Leaders sometimes bring in a team building professional, everyone does a few fun activities and people feel great. The feeling of well-being lasts about a day and then everyone goes back to the same behaviors that created the current situation.
The traditional approach to team building helps people bond informally but often overlooks the vital things that bring people together like communication and ongoing positive behaviors. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to obtain better results from team building and help your employees collaborate on a deeper level.
Empathy
Do your leaders and employees genuinely understand other people’s points of view and are they able to welcome other points of view and experiences?
Listening
Do your leaders and employees listen to each other and let each other share whatever is in his or her mind? Do they do it without getting angry, interrupting, belittling, making jokes or giving advice?
Long-Term Commitment
Is the organization strongly committed to helping employees build stronger teams over time? Is there a culture of team building from the top down with leadership setting a positive example?
Deeper Interaction
Do people interact with each other on a deeper level to really understand one another? Do they move past casual conversation to really getting to know each other well?
Mutual Support
Are your leaders and employees there for each other unconditionally at all times? Do they volunteer to help each other because they genuinely care and want to make a difference in someone else’s work experience?
Think about how you address these ideas in your own workplace. Team building can produce much more long-lasting results for your organization if you move beyond short-term initiatives. Remember that your leadership sets the tone and example for the kind of workplace you wish to create. If you value team building it will show in every facet of your organization. How will you promote team building?
Take care,
Guy
