Team Building Techniques - 5 Successful Techniques   

The following team building techniques are designed to help managers and team leaders build strong, high-functioning teams that will improve productivity and the overall environment of a company.

1 - Work Environment - Ensure that the work environment is a pleasant and a safe one, so that your team members have their belonging space, specific roles and responsibilities with clear expectations, in order to function as a part of the overall structure of the company.

 2- Goal Setting – Set goals jointly with your team. Remember, team members are more devoted and inspired to achieve a goal in which they were involved developing, as opposed to being “served” with a goal. They will take ownership and responsibility to work towards a shared goal. The best way to ensure goals are being met is to agree to the measurable indicators, right from the beginning. The goals must be SMART,  as this way is easy to track and measure objectively.

 3 - Empower – Share power and leadership with your team members, give them space to make decisions, provide solutions to problems, generate expertise and contribute to achieve the vision of the company. Involve them in formal and informal discussions; strategize and plan with them, use visual diagrams and tools to facilitate and inspire new ideas and innovative approaches. Rotate the facilitator’s role; give each of them a chance to show their strengths, to learn, to listen and to take ownership upon the process.

4 - Respect and Appreciate – Respect and appreciation are two key factors that motivate and, inspire employees, to not only implement but to overdeliver.  Do not make appreciation an event, but do it consistently, genuinely and fairly.  Respecting and appreciating their contribution takes the relationship between managers and employees to a different level. Giving out incentives is a great way to recognize contribution, but if it is not associated with genuine appreciation and recognition it is not going to produce the desired outcomes.

4 - Capacity Development – One of the best team building techniques that makes team members happily stick with their jobs is building their capacities and their professional-selves. It is proven that, the better we get at what we do, the more we love what we do. However, it is important, to not push development on them. Start simple by stretching their potential in a positive way and assigning tasks you know they can take on and succeed. Training and professional development are beneficial for both employees and managers. Training does not have to be a formal course. Often time, in-house advice, recommended books and other resources are usually great, convenient tools.  

 Quick Team Building Strategies

 Communicate openly – Exchange information on frequent basis

 Co-Create little exciting projects with/for your team members to beat the routine, stimulate creativity and enrich capacity.

Frequently assess staff morale by listening to what excites them and to what bores them. Always look for indicators of low morale such as; lateness, turnover, hostility etc.

Get to know your team members informally, you don’t have to get personal, but a drink on a Friday night, or a team picnic, can definitely change the dynamics positively.

Treat your team members fairly, but recognize their individuality.

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Related  Resources to Team Building Techniques

Scores on the Board: The 5-Part System for Building Skills, Teams and Businesses

Skill-Building for Self-Directed Team Members

The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Team-Building Tools: Best of the Annuals

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