Team Building Skills

Tap to Read ➤ Abhijit Naik

Taking into consideration the prominence team work has gained in the corporate world of late, it's healthy to revise effective team building skills every once in a while.

A component of organizational development in business context, team building has also been applied in various other fields, including sports, academics, or just a group of individuals working for a particular cause.

In simple words, team building is a process which inculcates the importance of participation, collaboration, unity, and other such team building skills in the team members to enhance the performance of the group or organization as a whole.

Development of a Team

There are four stages of team formation. An efficient team is formed after going through these four stages. Forming - Team members get to know each other and their roles in the team. Storming - Members come up with ideas which are discussed within the team.

Norming - Differences pertaining to ideas are resolved. Performing - A perfect team is created and the performance graph goes upwards. Whilst going through these stages, the team members assess their roles as well as the roles of other team members.

Effective Team Building Skills

As a leader, you need to know that team building doesn't happen on its own. You will get a group of people, but you need to put in some efforts to carve that group into a perfect team which can yield good results.

Coordination Within the Team

It is one of the most important aspects of a successful team. Various fractions of the team will know what is expected from them, only when information will seep through each layer of the organization.

Ideas and suggestions communicated during team meetings will have to be properly scrutinized and implemented.

Efficiency and Competence Levels

As the leader of the team, the individual must be well-versed with the efficiency of the team members and thrive to increase it with time. The competency levels of the team members does reflect on the final achievements of the team.

Therefore, it's important that the team leader ensures that every person in the team gives his best. This is, in fact, one of the most important skills that the leaders need to inculcate in their team.

Distribution of Power and Responsibility

Each team member should be given equal freedom to come up with new ideas, skills, etc. Encouraging such behavior will enhance the participation of all team members, thus improving the efficiency of the team as a unit.

At the same time, it's also important that all the team members are aware of their responsibilities and limits. Untoward behavior, if any, should be promptly dealt with.

Team Bonding

Providing team members a flexible work environment will help in ensuring that they give their best performance. The flexibility aspect can be defined as the open mindedness and trust between the members of the team.

Leaders can work to ensure that there is proper bonding within the team, and personal differences, if any, are promptly resolved. Trust doesn't just refer to trust within the team members, but also the trust of the organization leadership on the team.

Optimal Performance

The team as a whole should be accountable for the results as well as stipulated deadlines. Instead of coaxing the team members to give their best performance, the leader should make them understand the importance of giving their best.

Once the team understands this, they will indeed work as a single unit which will eventually show in the performance of the organization.

Ideally team building workshops feature various games and activities which can provide members of the team a work-friendly environment and bring out the best in them. All these efforts are undertaken only to ensure optimal performance from available resources. Optimal performance is the best measure of proper team functioning.