Team building. Teambuilding - what is it? Team building: scenarios, exercises

A long time ago I began my career in a fairly well-known company in Siberia. I’m sure there are similar companies in your region: Moskenergo, Kazenergo, Irkutskenergo.

I just worked in the latter. And since I had just left the institute, I really liked that they constantly gathered us up for the weekend, took us to the camp site and “entertained” us in every possible way.

Then I didn’t yet know what it was called and why it was all for business (especially marketing). And in general, what kind of beast is “team building”.

It all looked like this: We, about 30 people, were picked up by a separate bus and taken to the camp site purchased for us, where several instructors “entertained” us in every possible way, giving us various interesting tasks (and taking us on ATV rides).

Then I didn’t understand one thing: “Why spend so much money on people who could quit tomorrow?”

However, now, after many years (12 years have already passed, it’s scary to even imagine), I realize why all this was done.

To the point that I personally use it in our company and clients’ businesses. Moreover, both at the team (business) level and at the client (marketing) level. And in this article we will figure out why and how.

Americans are to blame

I am not one of the people who do not like Americans, although this is now quite popular in our country.

It’s just that they came up with the word “team building”, which in English looks like “team building” (from the words team and build, the translation sounds like “team” and “build”, respectively).

If you have not heard the word team building, then you have probably heard the word team building. In fact, they are the same thing, but what do these concepts mean?

Team building or team building- actions or activities aimed at creating a team in the company and increasing its efficiency.

But besides the word, the Americans came up with what it should look like. The first team building events began to be held back in the 40s.

And their active use and, let’s say, the formation of the approaches that are used now, dates back to the 50s.

They reached Russia much later, towards the end of the 2000s, in the form of a rather unusual form - business training.

In those days, the trainings were very real, since there were only a few trainers and they were all real practitioners. And not like in this humorous video:

Types of team building

If we are talking about formats, then let’s immediately figure out what types of team building there are.

And then at the beginning of the article I promised you about riding ATVs together with colleagues, and now I’ve smoothly moved on to business training. So, team building is of the following types:

Sports team building. Initially, the whole essence of joining a team was taken by businessmen and psychologists from sports.
In order for the company’s employees to receive the same “team spirit” that any team has during competitions.
This is exactly the concept of team building that everyone imagines (tug of war, sack races, overcoming obstacles, etc.).
Psychological team building. All activities aimed at developing psychology and developing employees as individuals (surveys, testing, training, performing special tasks).
The format most often takes the form of an imitation of some kind of story, where everyone has their own role.
Creative team building. It is often carried out in creative companies, as it requires people to be open-minded and can include everything related to creativity.
For example, from creating a company musical group to going together to an impressionist exhibition.
Exotic team building. The most uncommon type of team building. This is when employees get together according to the traditions of one of the countries.
Each is entrusted with their own stage and thus, in a simple manner, they become closer through informality and spiritual life.

You can highlight dozens more types of team building for employees. But they will all be a branch of these 4.

In this case, it doesn’t matter what you call the “ship”, the main thing is that you understand how it works and how to get to your cherished goal with it. Therefore, choose team building options specifically for your company.

WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON

Zen question

Buddhists have a legend that the answer to just one question provides answers to many more questions.

And this question sounds like this: “What for?” And it is very easy to apply to team building.

It is clear that the company needs a strong and effective team. But here's what for? Why is team building needed?

Below are a few points that will fully answer the question of why team building is needed and why team building in an organization should not be neglected:

Unite the team. Create that same “team spirit” in the company. Which should transform your employees from disparate mechanisms into a single, ideally working system. Practically.
Improve interaction. Colleagues also need to be trained to communicate with each other.
Correctly set tasks, give feedback and help in work. Such qualities are especially needed when...
Strengthen the authority of the leader. Leaders are often treated as tyrants.
But if employees see that the leader reveals himself completely differently in informal situations, then their opinion may change dramatically.
Remove the “load”. Family, children, stress at work. Everyone has it. And it can lead any employee to stress or even dismissal.
But if the company helps you unload emotionally, then people, albeit unconsciously, will be distracted and will be grateful.

As a result of all these actions and team building in the organization, there is a positive background, and most importantly, an increase in sales.

Because the company becomes not just friendly, but results-oriented. I really like the comparison with the fingers, which, when combined, turn into a fist.

Do it all yourself or how to do it

If you are a large company, then it is better to hire a special organization to conduct corporate team building.

This will be more effective than implementing it yourself. But what to do if you are a small organization, but are also interested in the idea of conducting team building in the organization?

To do this, I have prepared the following instructions, which will help you organize team building without involving a specialized team.

Of course, you will have to study some points on the Internet, learn from the experience of conducting successful team building events, but you will have a general understanding of the sequence right now. So, the stages of team building:

1. Goals and budget

A standard step when starting any planning. We decide on the goal we want to achieve and the budget we are willing to spend on it.

Work out the goal very well, as the entire format is designed around it. If you miss the target, you may even get a negative effect.

We had a client who organized corporate team building in nature with pilaf.

The idea for team building was good, the pilaf was delicious, we ate all 4 cauldrons. Only the result was disastrous. Everyone arrived, ate very modestly and left. This is what it means to have no goal.

“..and why did you come? It would be better to stay at home.

2. Date and time

An important question is when to carry out a grandiose operation to unite the team. The logical answer is on weekends.

But it's wrong. Employees will be more receptive to your idea if it’s on weekdays and you don’t steal their weekends (family, children, parents). Ideal time is Thursday-Friday.

Of course, we had the option of implementing team building (in our company) on weekends, but then we involved not only employees, but also their families.

Which is also one of the interesting actions to strengthen the desire to work in your company even among other halves.

3. Ideas

This is where you need to consult with professionals, look for ideas on the Internet for exercises (I’m talking about team building scenarios) or come up with them yourself.

It is important to decide how the event will be held to achieve the goals and objectives of team building.

Since team building is not a one-time event, use different ideas each time. Make a psychological game at one meeting, and a sports game at another meeting.

And naturally, you must evaluate your colleagues objectively. If these are women over 50, then how can we talk about going out into the forest for a week without equipment?!

4. Miscalculations and organization

Who will arrive and leave with what, where they will live (if the event is off-site), what food there will be, what to wear and other little things that are measured not only in money.

That's it, this needs to be thought out in advance, otherwise it could all turn out to be a disastrous experience.

No more team building!!!

Everyone chipped in for food, came and paid for their own accommodation. Of course, no one said anything to the manager (after all, he is the boss), but a concrete aftertaste remained.

Maybe something else?!

I can immediately say that if you organize such an event for the first time, it is unlikely to be 200% successful.

And that's bad news. The good thing is that due to the novelty and the fact that your employees will be participating in it for the first time, they will receive it with a bang in any case. But it is not exactly.

From myself I can add only a few tips and nuances, paying attention to which your event will go much better.

They are not the only ones, but as they say, the top reasons why your event may fail:

Fun. This is important, very important indeed. If employees come, eat, listen to a boring lecture on how it would be great to live together, then the event will not only fail, but will also work against you. It should be fun, perky, positive.
Dinner. Here I think there is no need to comment. You won’t force your employees to carry grilled chicken in foil and boiled eggs, will you?
You must take care of their lunch so as not to hear the rumbling of hungry bellies. This is actually very important.
For example, when Adidas employees tell me about their team building events, first of all they note how well they were fed and how huge the portions were.
Equality. What kind of team building and trust in each other can there be if a subordinate, who was appointed senior in the team, is afraid to reprimand his manager, who is “messing up”.
Only trust and equality will help you hold an event fully and reveal all sides of your employees.
Aftertaste. And also feedback. After a while (for example, a week or two), I recommend that you collect feedback on the past event and what can be improved in it.
And also wishes for the following. Thanks to the analysis, you will understand what was done correctly and what needs to be improved.
Nature. Organize it in nature. Even if it is held in late autumn or winter. Firstly, in nature, away from offices and cozy apartments, a person opens up completely.
And then it is much easier to identify leaders and conflicts if they exist. And secondly, in nature it is much easier to unload emotionally, which means your involvement in the process will be higher.
Heterogeneity. Remember when I wrote that in team building, as in the bathhouse, everyone is equal? So, another point that needs to be paid attention to is that these are diverse teams, and not the marketing department versus the legal department.
Mix them up so that they have no other chance than to develop “team spirit”.
And you too. You, as a leader, also need to participate in this event. Moreover, preferably with the smallest employees.
Yes, at first they will be shy, but then they will get the hang of it. As a bonus, the staff’s trust in you will increase (if you don’t push them) and, as a result, understanding and acceptance of the decisions you make. And this is expensive.

You can connect your clients to your games. Such an event will take place in less close contact, but will bring your clients and employees closer together for longer-term and loyal work.

Briefly about the main thing

Now that you know not only what team building is, but also all the ins and outs, you see that team building is simple only as a definition.

But its organization, implementation and results are a rather complex and long process. But I am not dissuading you now under any circumstances.

On the contrary, I urge you to carry it out, but not just anyhow, but by consistently and methodically preparing for it.

Perhaps your company also means reserved employees, so organizing creative team building will be a disastrous step. Or maybe not.

Nobody knows your company better than you. One thing I can say for sure is to avoid template scenarios and hackneyed games like “Stream”. And your employees will repay you with the same reverent attitude towards work.

P.S. What does marketing have to do with it?! If you have a scattered team, then all requests will be merged, and tools will be implemented through fingers.

Therefore, you can increase sales without increasing traffic and customer service. Strange but true!

One of the features of a good employer seeking to develop his company is organizing team building activities for his subordinates. Translated from English, teambuilding means “team building”, that is, activities aimed at uniting the team.

Benefits of team building

A responsible attitude to work, a desire to grow, develop, and contribute to the common cause do not appear in employees on their own. It is important for a person to feel indispensable, to be part of a team, one team. Only then does he reveal himself one hundred percent, show what he is capable of, and unite with his colleagues for a great goal.

Properly organized team building makes it easy to achieve all this. Here are just a few of his results:

A feeling of unity and team cohesion appears;
Subordinates develop a sense of healthy competition and active cooperation;
A common team spirit is instilled;
Motivation to work is actively developing;
The authority of management is significantly strengthened;
Employees receive a psychological “reboot”, which adds strength for new achievements;
The work team ceases to be just strangers forced together under one roof - but becomes friends, or even friends;
Overall team productivity skyrockets.

For teambuilding to achieve all these effects, several simple conditions are necessary:

Understanding the goals of the event;
A well-thought-out script with roles for everyone. It should not be allowed that only part of the team is involved in active tasks, while the rest will just be spectators;
Responsible approach to the place and time of the event. You should not have a corporate event after work or on a day off. To achieve 100% employee turnout, it is best to organize the event during working hours;
Focus on positive emotions, abstraction from work processes or conflicts.

Our company “Kvadroprokat” will help you organize cool team building for your subordinates.

Types of team building activities

Team building can be done in different ways. You shouldn’t just have a banquet in an office or restaurant. Even at the expense of management. An ordinary feast will not bring any effect, except for the desire of employees to go home as soon as possible. After all, they see their colleagues every day at work. This requires activity and unusualness.

There are various scenarios for truly effective team building:

Historical or role-playing teambuilding

Historical reconstruction or role-playing games will not leave anyone indifferent. Roleplaying, costumes, props close to real - all this gives a large number of unforgettable impressions. Scenarios can be absolutely anything, everything is limited only by imagination:

Historical events of the Great Patriotic War, with thinking through strategy, tactics, stylization of “combat operations”. At the same time, full compliance with historical facts is not necessary; what is important is team unity, mutual assistance, and achieving the desired effects from the event;
Script based on Tolkien's books "The Lord of the Rings". Many will be happy to plunge into the fictional world of elves, gnomes, hobbits, and begin to fight evil orcs;
Organization of a beautiful ball in the style of the 8th century, with magnificent dresses, exquisite dances, princes and princesses;
Viking Age theme. Thanks to the series of the same name, it will be of interest to many. Combat costumes, historical weapons, horse riding – plunging into the world of northern romance will be of interest to many.

We regularly develop and offer new ideas on various topics. None of those present will be bored, and memorable photographs in an exotic atmosphere will warm the soul for a long time.

Sports team building

You can organize cool competitions in nature without wearing masks of historical or fictional characters. It is enough to simply divide the participants into groups and give them the opportunity to have a lot of fun. Solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles with the help of the whole team gives a good unifying effect. Here are just a few of the challenges participants will face:

ATV trial. This is not just a ride, but overcoming an impromptu “swamp”, finding balance on swinging boards, playing “minesweeper” with tips from your team members;
Rope climbing park, with bridges stretched between trees, obstacles, including various tangles and puzzles;
Mega volleyball, played with a huge ball;
Mopball, reminiscent of hockey, in which mops are used instead of a stick, and a ball is used instead of a puck;
Playing snowballs is a winter option that has been loved by everyone since childhood. Complicated by certain rules;
“Race walking” with balloons tied to your feet. The goal is to make your opponents’ balloons burst, while trying to save your team’s balloons;
Shooting at inanimate targets at a shooting range. We have air guns, bows and crossbows, as well as mega-slingshots, which can only be fired with a team effort;
Orienteering on rough terrain, using a walkie-talkie and GPS;
Airsoft, paintball and laser tag - feel like you're inside a computer shooter!

We have many more scenarios, each of which deserves its own article. Contact Kvadroprokat to be aware of all the details.

Creative master classes

Creative teambuilding will not require physical effort from the participants and will not give extreme sensations. But it will be an excellent way to unleash the creative potential of subordinates, which always has a positive effect on work results.

Examples of such events include board games, master classes in drawing, felting, and weaving bracelets or amulets. A creative trip to nature to exercise your photography skills followed by relaxing over a barbecue will be a wonderful, easy and affordable option for team building.

Staging plays, singing karaoke, competitions in different dance styles, culinary fights - all this is extremely exciting, and begins to work even at the preparation stage.

Psychological team building

This type of team building can be carried out in an office, hall or other room. The purpose of this event is to identify a leader, teach employees to trust each other, and develop their communication skills.

Here are some examples:

“Trust” exercise. The familiar fall with closed eyes into the hands of a colleague standing behind him;
Artificially simulated force majeure. For example, the activation of a fire alarm or the “arrival of the police” regarding some theft at the workplace;
The presence of a psychologist who will conduct a collective conversation, ask tricky questions and paint a picture of the relationships in the team.

Extreme Team Building

Exotic team building with extreme elements can give better results than working with a psychologist. Here are some unusual ideas:

Rafting (rafting) along river rapids;
Flights with parachutes behind a boat (parasailing);
Horseback riding;
Bike tours;
Traveling on ATVs;
Zorbing (descent from a mountain in a soft inflatable zorb ball);
Paragliding;
Skiing in winter;
Dog sled competition.

Our goals and operating principles

The goal of the Kvadroprokat company is to give you unusual sensations and new impressions. Our organization of team building and corporate events will allow you to find a cohesive team and reach new heights in your business. We love our work, we enjoy it, and we want you to enjoy it too. In any weather, at any time of the year, we will be able to create an unforgettable holiday for you.

The second goal of our company is to ensure your safety. We will provide all the necessary equipment and details. Competent instruction, the opportunity to practice, high-quality protection - and you will get a cool event.

To be effective people, we need to work together towards a common goal in a coordinated and collaborative manner. Therefore, you can say that team building is a systematic process designed to improve working relationships and teamwork such as problem solving, decision making and conflict resolution, which allows the group to overcome the barrier of goal blocking. For many, this mission-oriented outcome is a realistic goal for team building. Thus, the purpose of Team Building may simply be to identify and develop effective communication. Another way to look at it is that the team building is like training, but for a collective group. Team building is a process that develops cooperation and teamwork within a work unit that encourages individuals to achieve a common goal.

Team building is important for every aspect of life, regardless of your position in the organization. Needless to say, many projects and events often fail because collective cooperation and teamwork have been sacrificed for personal achievement. Belonging to a team sets you up for greater efficiency that you could never accomplish on your own. Team bonding brings people together, encouraging collaboration and teamwork. Entertainment that helps people see each other in a different light allows them to connect in a different setting. People on your team are encouraged to think about the consequences of these actions in the workplace.

The term "Team Building" is often used to describe any activity that can create some type of camaraderie or team environment, but the specific activities and games that make up a good event can be grouped into several types of categories. One of the biggest reasons to build a team is to get results. Through a series of planned team bonding activities that are fun and motivational, teams build skills such as communication, planning, problem solving and conflict resolution. Collective ideas that work help long-term team building by encouraging authentic connections and deeper discussion and processing.

When people with the same interest, attitude and taste come together to achieve a common goal, a team is formed. Each individual contributes equally and performs at his or her level to meet the team's goals and achieve the organization's goals. Team members strive to meet the expectations of others and successfully complete the assigned task. A team cannot succeed unless and until each member is focused and takes their responsibilities seriously. For each team member, his team should come first and everything else later. Every person needs to feel motivated to perform their level to the best of their ability. Never force anything; instead, individuals must take the initiative themselves. They must step up and accept the challenge.

What is team building?

Team building refers to various activities aimed at motivating team members and increasing overall productivity for the team. You simply can't expect your team to work on its own. The motivating factor is necessity. Team building activities consist of various tasks aimed at motivating team members to perform at their best. We are all human and love to appreciate. Any person who performs an activity exceptionally well should be judged well publicly. He feels happy and motivated to perform even better next time. If any team member came up with a unique idea; approach him with any thing that makes him happy.

Never criticize any team member or dismantle him if he failed to perform.

Team building is the process of turning a group of individual contributors into a cohesive team. A team is a group of people organized to work together interdependently and cooperatively to meet the needs of their customers while achieving their goals and objectives.

Team building can involve the daily interactions in which people collaborate as they work together to complete required tasks. It may also include structured activities and exercises that employees can complete. Or, with the proper budget and goals, managers can negotiate a simplification with an external resource.

Regardless of how you choose to structure your group of employees within a team, the resulting bonds will enable them to accomplish your organization's work and goals more effectively than unaffiliated groups. As long as your focus is on opportunities to create teams that can help get the actual work done, you are actually building a team.

It's easy to confuse the terms "team building" and "teamwork", but they are two different concepts.

Team building focuses on the formation of groups, while teamwork focuses on the function of groups; both are vital to success. Understanding the fundamentals of team building and collaboration can improve your effectiveness as both a leader and a valued team member.

How to create

You can look at team building in two ways. First, it may refer to the act of bringing a team together by recruiting, polling, and selecting members through public or strategic selection from an already defined group. Secondly, it may mean participating in activities aimed at strengthening professional and personal relationships within the team. Team building activities can improve the alignment, productivity, and effectiveness of team members when working together. Small businesses rely on both aspects of team building to achieve success. Small business owners must take special care to build a high-performing team and must actively interact with team members in team exercises to improve the level of performance. Team building is the result of teamwork. It relies on a number of vital success factors, including good communication skills, mutual respect, complementary skills covering all required competencies, defined leadership and defined decision-making procedures. At their best, work groups function like well-oiled machines, with each member knowing what she is responsible for and how her contributions fit into the larger picture of the group's performance.

When recruiting or selecting team members, pay close attention to the candidates' individual types and skill sets. Try to create teams where each member's personal weaknesses are offset by the strengths of other team members. Try to bring people with similar personality types together to increase the chances of team members seeing them. Exercises for command staff aimed at strengthening team relationships can take many forms. The best team exercises force employees to get away from their desks and their personal comfort zones, placing them in situations where they have to trust each other while having fun. Rock climbing and charity marathon walking are examples of effective team-building exercises. Measuring team performance and monitoring the results of team building exercises can help you improve your strategies over time, creating high-performing teams in the process. Every team building initiative should include its own monitoring mechanism. Compare teams' release levels before and after sending them on a team retreat, for example, to assess the perceived impact of the exercise. Use the data, as well as direct input from your team, to fine-tune future team building exercises.

Why is team building important?

Team building formalizes the power of collaboration between what may otherwise be excluded or often alienated people. For many, team building is a way to combine the talent, skills and creativity of a group. Through collaboration, team building improves collaboration, time, and resource management for the benefit of the organization or team.

The implication of this is that effective team building produces better, faster results and provides a satisfying and motivating experience for team members. Some reasons why team building is so important are:

Most organizations are so complex and redistributed that teams must be created to achieve success.
Each person must work towards common goals; team building will promote development.
A team building environment will not be superior to any team based environment.
Achieving goals - Teams are not designed to solve simple, repetitive tasks, as humans will usually be faster. However, team building comes into its own when faced with complex challenges and related problems where there is likely no single right answer.
Quality of solutions - A team builder can generate more ideas than any one person, so there are many possibilities to choose from, and the highest quality solution is likely to be better than an individual's solution.
Accuracy of decisions - judgments are much better through team building than through individual evaluation of problems that involve random error, because group thinking tends to blur ill-fated concepts and weak individual thinking.
Risk Taking - Building a team has been shown to create the confidence to take larger but calculated risks (and seize opportunities).
Motivation - Team building improves morale and encourages people to perform effectively at a higher level.
Team building creates a progressive yet stimulating environment that allows team members to learn faster than people working alone.
Making team building easier is important because it helps the group capitalize on its strengths and minimize its weaknesses. The synergy that comes from creating a team can be very powerful.
Networking and getting to know each other better. Socializing and making friends in the workplace is one of the best ways to increase productivity in the office. Not only does this improve office morale, but it also allows the office to better deal with day-to-day workplace issues.
Teamwork and increasing team productivity. Connected collaboration also improves jobs that involve collaboration. After completing teamwork, employees better understand each other's strengths, weaknesses, and interests.
Competition and boasting. Competition has been shown to increase production. Thus, by channeling increased production into fun, inclusive team-building activities, employees can bond in a way not possible through other means.
Celebration, team spirit, fun and motivation. After any sports team wins a major championship, they will celebrate and have fun. This motivates them to want to win even more. This extreme example shows that the celebration, applause and fun that come with every team building event can motivate employees to take their work to the next level.
Collaboration and promotion of innovation. People tend to be more imaginative when they are around people they are comfortable with. Thus, successful team building activities not only bring people closer together, but also lead to more successful and creative ideas in the workplace. Additionally, day-to-day collaboration in the workplace is key to a successful business. For example, the trainer always has assistants to help when needed.
Of the best reasons to create a team is that the activity actually works to improve communication. Successful team building activities certainly mean a more comfortable and successful operating environment for any company, large or small.

Teams are often composed on a "functional role" basis, while the group's individual Role behavior (their unique tendencies to behave, contribute, and relate to others) is given little or no thought. At key stages of any workplace project, team building will come to the fore and determine whether the team succeeds or fails, often regardless of what ability, experience and skill are present. An individual does not simply develop one team building style, but has a unique combination of natural, controlled, and least preferred behavioral styles. Where there is an excess or deficiency of such roles in a team, it can predispose it to predictable biases, strengths and weaknesses. Here's a quick overview of some common types of team building and how the model and profiles can help you better understand and work with them.

Delta Team. People are often included who have many years of experience and very important specialties, but their distinguishing psychometric feature is the lack of “thinking ability” and creativity. This usually leads to mediocre results. The introduction of a good plant or resource researcher can transform it by introducing new ideas and creativity.
Apollo Team. A team full of ideas and originality. A common scenario is to reformat each other's ideas. The answer may be to restructure the team.
A group of super analysts. It seems that monitoring assessment teams or strong analysts have a poor success record. They may not be natural "interactors" and they tend to argue over fine points and get stuck in a negative thinking cycle. A smarter coordinator can improve the productivity of such a team.
Team Izolyatov. The team members consist of anxious, introverted personality types. Anxiety seems to interfere with the process of social connection and clear thinking. They feed off each other's anxiety levels and take time. Introducing a strong coordinator can help turn such a team into a more powerful force.
Alliance team. A team of two key figures. The coordinator as a manager, and the leader as an innovator. Successfully combining these two types of roles can quickly establish a strong rapport with the Coordinator acknowledging and directing.
Team Stable Extrovert. Some successful teams do not have outstanding members, and their success depends on how they learn to interact with each other. Collectively, they think better than they do individually. Members of such a team tend to score high in extraversion with low scores in anxiety. Superior intellectual ability does not seem to be a necessary attribute or even an advantage unless the task involves a very high level of difficulty.
Balanced team. This team keeps track of which key roles are present on the team. He has a coordinator who is more intellectually capable. The leader supplies creative input; a monitoring evaluator who provides the analysis, one or more Executors and Commanders to help actually get the job done, a Resource Explorer for networks and contacts, and a Final Finisher to make sure everything is done correctly and in a timely manner. A balanced team provides greater flexibility and stability.

It's surprising how little understanding can go into creating extremely productive and positive experiences for real teams in the workplace using team building theory. When it comes down to it, most people realize that it's not enough to just throw a bunch of people together and call it a team. While this may fit the definition of a team, it is unlikely that any group of people, no matter how individual or talented they may be, can work cohesively as a team. The fact is that great teams are made, not born. Good leadership is important, both at the individual level (for example, in any form of management) and in the context of the larger, complete group. Because collaboration is so important to the success of a wide range of efforts and to the development of each team; is so complex, it is vital that those in leadership positions invest the time and effort required to learn how to do team building properly.

Types of commands with examples

Most people have heard the story of how the Ford Motor Company revolutionized manufacturing by developing the first known moving assembly line. Before the Industrial Revolution, most products were made by hand, from start to finish, by one person. Obviously, this resulted in limited production and limited employment opportunities since not everyone was equally able to produce completed projects from start to finish. Many manufacturers will have a number of employees producing the same objects or items at the same time; instead, these workers worked simultaneously, but through teamwork were still able to identify and use the best methods, the cheapest suppliers, the best materials, etc. With a moving assembly line, the teams were able to produce more products in the same period and use more a wide range of people, since they only needed to complete one or two selected tasks rather than complete the entire project from start to finish. It is worth noting that this method has limited usefulness, depending on the activities of the team involved.

For successful team building, it is essential that you determine what kind of team you want to build. While this may seem obvious, the reality is that what works best may not always be the norm. Whether you manage a team of 3 or 30,000, it's a good idea to periodically evaluate whether you're using the best type of team for your goals and strategy.

Independent teams. Independent teams typically involve scenarios in which each individual team member acts or completes complete projects individually, but their performance still affects, or affects, to varying degrees, the rest of the team. This usually happens in one of two ways.

Example:

Independent members perform the same tasks, but the success or failure of the entire team still depends on the success or failure of each independent member. For example, a bowling team may compete against another bowling team and will often determine the winner based on the total points of each team member. Team A consists of four players who scored 140, 173, 195 and 145 points for a total of 653 points. Team B members, alternatively, scored 92, 160, 197 and 179 points for a total of 628 points. Team members played as individuals, with each of them performing the same activity during approximately the same period. However, the entire B team lost because one member scored so low that the rest of the team's efforts, including the highest individual score, were not sufficient to win. Although this represents the individual composition of the team, the team's success is nonetheless dependent on the actions of each member and is therefore an independent team.
Additionally, there are completely independent teams in which the success (or failure) of one member does not necessarily determine the success or failure of other members. For example, imagine a school spelling bee. Each teacher works with their class to study words, practice spelling words together, and similar general activities. This way, each class is a team that works to encourage each other, share ideas on ways to remember spelling, etc. When the day to write the order of the bee arrives, only one student will win. The student who spells the most words correctly will still win, even if every other member of their class fails to spell a single word.

Interdependent teams. When many of us think of a team, we often think of an interdependent team. In an interdependent team, the success of each member depends, to a certain extent, on the success of the other team members. To distinguish this from independent teams that have the same end result, interdependent teams often allow different team members to perform different activities (the extent to which this can be changed). For example, a football team is a perfect example of the interdependent team style. No matter how talented a player is, he or she cannot win on his own. Moreover, although there are utility players, most participants have a special position; different team members perform different tasks.
The right type of team for you. Again, many people don't necessarily consider all of the available options when it comes to designing their team structure. For a long time, all football players played in every position, just as the production of objects took place from start to finish by one person. These two types of team building were the same, relying on each member being able to do everything equally well, whether they achieved it on their own or with the team as a whole. Moreover, these two examples are ideal for demonstrating the reasoning involved in considering a different way to approach building your team than what has been done in the past, or is assumed to be a better way to do it. While many professions extol the virtues of “thinking outside the box,” many still persist in reality, even though it consistently demonstrates its criticality to achieving virtually any type of team.

If you take the time to evaluate what your needs are when it comes to your team, there are a few questions that will be critical to your decision making and how will I define success? For what I need to accomplish, what level of specialization is needed? What are my goals for this team? What is my ultimate goal? Who else shares this type of goal? What are my responsibilities to the teams I serve? Setting clear, realistic, and measurable goals for your team will be the most important task you undertake when it comes to building a team and achieving success. Finally, it's important to remember that deciding on your team structure will have long-term consequences. However, this does not mean that you can never change the structure of your team. If a certain team style doesn't seem to be working for you and your goals, you can easily step into a new team design without necessarily damaging or negatively impacting your business, clients, etc.

This article will provide an explanation of what is meant by the word team building, what is the history of its origin, what types of it exist today, as well as what its goals and objectives are. In addition, we will try to understand what is better - a team or a group, analyze various examples of games aimed at strengthening corporate spirit, and consider what the advantages and disadvantages of custom and independently organized team building are.

What is team building?

Today's realities are such that corporate spirit is becoming increasingly important. Organizational leaders are increasingly trying in every possible way to develop corporate culture and strengthen corporate spirit.

In order for the work process to be successful, managers must not only hire employees, each of whom will be assigned a specific range of responsibilities. It is important that each of the subordinates understands that he is part of a single whole. So, team building, which is understood as a series of events, the purpose of which is precisely to create a team and develop a sense of cohesion within it.

Translated from English, part of this concept or the word “team” means “team”, and “building”, in turn, is translated as construction. In practice, there are cases when managers misunderstand the meaning of this word and mean corporate evenings accompanied by the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In fact, there are a lot of techniques besides corporate evenings that allow you to achieve a sense of unity between team members.

History of origin

For the first time in history, games whose purpose was to unite the team began to be used in the 40s in the British army. This technique justified itself so much that within ten years the most advanced managers of American companies began to practice something similar among their employees.

At the initial stage, it was like some kind of theatrical spectacle, where each member of the team dressed up in a costume from a certain era, and everyone played small scenes together.

As for the countries of the post-Soviet space, it took them many decades to realize the full value of such techniques. And only at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia certain business trainings began to be practiced, which for a long time remained an exclusive method of team building. And only a little later cultural and sporting events were included in this arsenal.

Kinds

There are the following types of events aimed at creating a spirit of unity in the team:

sports, when various games and competitions are held in the fresh air;
historical, when members of the team are reincarnated as historical characters;
psychological, in which employees undergo various trainings or tests, and also perform a number of tasks related to psychological topics;
creative, when colleagues are engaged in joint creation, for example, wall newspapers, staging plays.

Team building goals

The objectives of the events were already outlined when defining the concept of team building.

As for goals, it is necessary to highlight the following key goals:

creating a sense of unity among team members;
eliminating the feeling of competition among employees in favor of a spirit of cooperation;
training in effective interaction;
developing mutual understanding and trust in each other;
team unity at a higher level;
strengthening the authority of the leader;
the possibility of psychological relief.

Which is better: a team or a group?

As you can see, within the framework of team building there are such units as a team or a group. So what is the difference between them, and which of these states is better.

If we are talking about a team, then within it the desire for personal advantage is not welcomed, while in a group, on the contrary, independent individuals try to defend their personal interests.

In turn, in a team, its members treat work as their own business. In a group, each employee performs his or her duties as an employee.

Within a team, each member strives to demonstrate their skills by completing assigned tasks.

If we are talking about a group, then new proposals are unlikely to find support. Most likely, in this situation there will be lobbying of interests.

There are many features of each of the proposed units of the workforce, which were studied back in 1977 by scientists Tuckman and Jensen.

Organizational aspects

You can entrust the organization of team building to professionals or do something similar yourself. In the latter case, experts recommend paying attention to some points:

first you need to understand what the goal is and what budget you can count on;
After that, you can think about the timing of the event. This idea will be received with much more enthusiasm if such an event is organized not on weekends, but during working hours;
When thinking about something like this, it is better to consult with a specialist in this field. This will achieve maximum effect;
The leader must ensure that everything happens in a fun and exciting way. The main thing in this matter is to arouse interest among team members;
it is important that during the event all colleagues, regardless of the level of their position, are equal;
It should be ensured that during team building activities everyone has the opportunity to demonstrate their full potential;
and some time after the designated event, it is important to receive feedback from subordinates in order to work on mistakes for the future.

Examples of games

There are many examples of games that can be organized as part of team building. One of these activities is the “Crocodile” game, in which participants must demonstrate, without words, an object, an animal, a film, etc.

You can also play formation, when, according to the received task, team members form, for example, into a certain geometric figure or in a row according to age or some other criterion.

When organizing team building, you can give your subordinates the opportunity to write a story together. So, each team member writes a proposal on a piece of paper, then folds it and passes it to the next participant. After the last representative of the team writes his proposal, the resulting statement is read out publicly.

As you can see, there are a huge number of options for how members of the same team can spend time together and strengthen the spirit of unity.

What is better: ordering a team building event or conducting it yourself?

It happens that not every manager is able to independently organize such an event. In such cases, specialized team building companies can be of great help. This will make the organized event more effective.

These companies employ psychologists who will be able to properly organize the entire process.

When choosing an organizer, you should also pay attention to his experience, as this is no less important.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is worth adding that such a tool as team building can help solve a number of problems that arise in the team of each company and improve the psychological background among employees.

Rope course, running in bags, “falling on trust”... Team building, or team building aimed at uniting the team, is a good and useful thing, but most Russian companies of any size have already gone through all these things at least once during their existence.

When you’re tired of the usual forms of team building, and your team (your own or your client’s) needs to be shaken up, it’s time to think original! Here are some unusual team building scenarios - take note and feel free to put them into practice. It will be fun and effective!

Self-test

Often the team does not have sufficient cohesion, including for the reason that it knows only part of its product or even has only theoretical ideas about it. Team building in the “tested by myself” style solves 3 problems at once: it collectivizes employees, gives them the opportunity to better learn about the product from the buyer’s point of view, and increases the loyalty of employees towards management - after all, it essentially provides them with a freebie.

For example, a company produces beer. Usually only tasters know its taste, the rest - to the extent that it is. Organize a beer identification competition or a beer party with competitions! Give people good prizes, and in the meantime, hammer information about the product into their heads.

It will be even better if we are talking about a salon that sells, say, snowmobiles. Who wouldn't enjoy an active holiday with racing your test models and barbecues outside the city? It’s not for nothing that they say: in order to unite a team, it is not necessary to teach people something. Just let them rest together.

Dancetherapy

This is fresh and original, although at first glance there may be many objections. The bottom line is this: music has a great impact on people’s minds, and dance and, in general, some kind of team physical exercises not only make the team more united, but also produce endorphins in a person - hormones of joy.

Dance therapy is dance therapy. This is not about teaching all employees of a particular company how to dance flamenco or hip-hop professionally. Team-building dance therapy goes like this: the team spends the whole day in the hall, in sports uniform, surrounded by music. Here team tasks are carried out, round dances are held, people fool around and at the same time open up in improvisation, performing, for example, a savage dance and so on. At some point, they are invited to listen to themselves, closing their eyes and dancing in the dark.

Such training allows people to open up and feel each other better, stop being shy and remove any blocks in communication within the team and with clients. In Russia this is still used extremely rarely, but in vain.

Passing the quest

Nowadays, quest rooms are in fashion - rooms from which you need to get out in an hour, completing tasks with your hands and, as they say, with your brain. Some similar rooms require passing through a whole suite of rooms. During such an adventure, the team of participants does not think about work at all: a completely different realistic world is created inside the rooms. It could be a pirate ship, a horror movie setting, or a mental hospital. Without thinking at all about any kind of team building, the people who went inside are obsessed with only one task: to get out and do whatever they can for this!

During the game, they will get an adrenaline rush, show themselves in a stressful situation and will definitely turn on the team spirit. This type of team building is ideal for small teams and can be designed specifically for the purposes of a specific company in a specific location. The result of modern and fashionable entertainment exceeds your wildest expectations!

Stay alive

Friends are known in times of need, and employee skills that are valuable to the employer are tested in unusual conditions. If the team is used to working primly in an office and wearing ties, you need to take them out into the deep forest for a couple of days and give them a minimum survival kit, including knives, flashlights, cereals and water. The more extreme the conditions, the better the team is tested when setting the combat mission “Survive two days in conditions of lack of comfort and food.”

For most companies, however, a simple overnight trip into nature is enough to understand what each employee is really like and how he behaves in a team. However, those who challenge their own team and invite them to survive, and not just barbecue in nature, will be rewarded: the team that passes the test will go through thick and thin for each other, and the extra people will most likely quit after such a test themselves.

Dialogues in the dark

In 1995, a German with the last name Heinecke came up with an interesting project “Dialogues in the Dark”. This is a training session led by blind trainers that takes place in the dark and lasts for several hours. Its participants can be from 2 to several dozen people. The purpose of the training is to help create and strengthen a team, using the effect of darkness, which sharpens perception and helps us to be more frank, and also to better feel everything that is happening, and not just see it.

Participants are given a variety of tasks: from determining the size of a room, which they do not know, to team tasks - solving some spatial problem, and so on. This is very unusual and productive - for example, with the help of such training, experts say, you can easily identify an “anti-leader” in a team.

Wool team building

This is already quite a popular thing in Russia and, in fact, is not a separate training, but an interactive fifteen-minute session that is very easy to organize.

During such a “wool” event, the host takes a ball of wool from his pocket and visually demonstrates with its help a scheme for creating strong and trusting connections between colleagues and people in general.

He throws this ball to one of the participants, thereby creating the first communication. Leaving the thread in his hands, the participant throws the ball further.
Tangles are also distributed to everyone else, the process continues - and gradually the whole room is covered with a woolen blanket.

First of all, it's a beautiful sight. Secondly, everyone loosens up and has fun, feeling how connected they are with literally everyone present. In general, this is a worthy conclusion to any event, bearing the main team-building idea - the success of many depends on the actions of everyone.

Wine day

To implement this team building program, it is highly desirable to live in Crimea or other areas of our country, where grapes grow and winemaking flourishes. A small grape farm is rented, where team building participants are given an excursion, lectures on winemaking, and even competitions.

For example, a team can be divided into teams, each of which will trample bunches of grapes, come up with a name and label for a new variety, and even present their product. This is ideal to work with sales managers, for example. Team building and identification of leaders occurs in a friendly manner and is accompanied by tasting.

The final point in such a pleasant team building can be the finished wine, which arrives at the company office after six months of fermentation.

Flashmob

A flash mob, as you know, is a kind of performance that begins and is carried out suddenly for the audience for which it is intended. If you set a goal for company employees to prepare and conduct such a flash mob, the team will face a serious test: they will have to work harmoniously and overcome various kinds of embarrassment in themselves in order to complete the task in public. Such actions bring people extremely closer together.

Here's an example: During the 2014 Australian Open, people walking around Federation Square in Melbourne suddenly donned T-shirts with a rainbow on them and the words "Making smiles, changing lives." Within a few minutes, they gathered in the center of the square and began to dance - it turned out to be all 240 employees of the Johnson & Johnson sales department.

Team creativity

As you know, everything that is created by a particular person’s own hands is extremely valuable to him. For the team of a particular company, you can conduct creative team building - for example, create a large picture together. It is not at all necessary to be able to draw.

Participants in this training are offered a set of tasks: attend creative master classes, go to different points, complete interesting tasks and ultimately create one work of art for everyone. There will be delegation of authority, and the involvement of everyone, and the implementation of individual tasks... A picture can, for example, be painted in parts - one department of the company is responsible for each section, and then, when brought together, the parts form a single canvas.

In the process of such training, employees will learn a lot of new things, take their mind off work, and will be able to feel like creators. And the masterpiece created at the end can be displayed in the office - and it will always remind employees of a fun creative day.

Field tests

This team building option is for very brave leaders. However, it is very difficult to come up with a better option for checking your own employees in business.

Given: sales department, say, 5 people. Well, or 50, depending on how many. The city where the company operates. Take with you only the essentials.

People are asked to complete certain tasks within their city. This is a kind of game on the verge of reality, in which people will have no choice but to show themselves. You can add fuel to the fire by adding to the script negotiations between your employees and fake actors, races around the city in the spirit of the game “Watch” with finding a specific point, and so on.

Such a game will be perceived with fear by your subordinates, but in the process they will become captivated by it and, most importantly, will allow you to understand what is really happening in the team. Those who don't take risks don't get the best employees!