TEAM BUILDING

Introduction:

'Team Building' refers to the process of establishing and developing a greater sense of collaboration and trust between team members. Interactive exercises, team assessments and group discussions enable groups to cultivate this greater sense of teamwork.

Characteristics:

The following are the characteristics of good team building:

* High level of interdependence among team members;

* Team leader has good people skills and is committed to team approach;

* Each team member is willing to contribute;

* Team develops a relaxed climate for communication;

* Team members develop a mutual trust;

* Team and individuals are prepared to take risks;

* Team is clear about goals and establishes targets;

* Team member roles are defined;

* Team members know how to examine team and individual errors without personal attacks;

* Team has capacity to create new ideas;

*Each team member knows he can influence the team agenda;

Team Effectiveness:

When evaluating how well team members are working together, the following statements can be used as a guide:

* Team goals are developed through a group process of team interaction and agreement in which each team member is willing to work towards achieving these goals;

* Participation is actively shown by all team members and roles are shared to facilitate the accomplishment of tasks and feelings of group togetherness;

* Feedback is asked for by members and freely given as a way of evaluating the team's performance and clarifying both feelings and interests of the team members. When feedback is given it is done with a desire to help the other person;

* Team decision making involves a process that encourages active participation by all members;

* Leadership is distributed and shared among team members and individuals willingly contribute their resources as needed;

* Problem solving, discussing team issues, and critiquing team effectiveness are encouraged by all team members;

* Conflict is not suppressed. Team members are allowed to express negative feelings and confrontation within the team which is managed and dealt with by team members. Dealing with and managing conflict is seen as a way to improve team performance;

* Team member resources, talents, skills, knowledge and experience are fully identified, recognized and used whenever appropriate;

* Risk taking and creativity are encouraged. When mistakes are made, they are treated as a source of learning rather than reasons for punishment.

After evaluating team performance against the above guidelines, determine those areas in which the team members need to improve and develop a strategy for doing so.

Leader and Team Building:

The three vital determinants of teamwork are:

* Leader;

* Subordinates;

* The environment.

These factors are interdependent. It is the leader's responsibility to make the environment conducive to work. He studies the employees individually and insists interest in them. By encouraging the inquisitive employees and by prohibiting insidious elements, he creates hygienic environment. He inculcates the sense of collectivism in employees to work as a team. The resultant output will then be efficiency.