What is Team Building?
We’ve all heard about team building. It’s that one day of the year when everyone in your workplace gets together and does something other than work, right? Well, yes and no. Team building activities, like the ones we facilitate at Strayboots, are an excellent way for people to learn to work together effectively.
But team building should also be an ongoing process in the workplace. Even the simple daily interactions between employees are part of the team building experience. Every day, team members should be working towards fostering open communication. Team building is the constant strive to enhance the relationships between employees and help them collaborate in the most effective way possible. And team leaders play a key role in this. Essentially, leaders are responsible for taking individual employees and bringing them together as a cohesive team.
Why is Team Building Important in the Workplace?
Team building encourages team members not only to work harder but to work smarter. When people understand how to use their individual skills to the group’s advantage, teams find the best ways to cooperate and succeed at job tasks.
One of the most important things that a team needs to have is good communication between members. Team members who are comfortable communicating will be able to work together with the most efficiency. This can be hard for people who are not used to engaging in effective communication. Some may find it uncomfortable to offer advice or ask for help from team members. This is why team leaders should constantly encourage clear communication between members. Leaders can use team building activities to introduce employees to an environment of open communication.
Team building also guides employees toward discovering the roles they are best suited for. For example, some people are good at delegating work, some are better at checking over finished work, some people are great at professional essay writing, and others are naturally suited to following directions. Team members need to find the role they fit into most comfortably because this is where they will perform best.
Successful teambuilder, Talan Miller, has said that our own natural behavior strengths will determine our impact on the rest of our team. Members can identify their strengths and weaknesses to find the role they fit best. Team building activities let individuals discover their own strengths, as well as the strengths of their team members, and how these can be applied to solve problems
Why Leaders Need to Encourage and Prioritize Team Building
There’s a big difference between being a boss and being a leader. A boss gives orders. A leader provides guidance. Traditional boss-employee relationships typically go like this: A boss tells their employees what to do and when they need to do it, and the employees go and get it done. Instead, the best leaders are the ones who take a teamwork approach to solving problems and completing work-related tasks. Leading doesn’t just involve directing but involves teaching the team about how they can best work together.
Leaders need to be working towards developing great teams every day. In fact, the ability to build teams is a valuable leadership quality. Leaders who are effective at this have a few essential characteristics. They are good communicators and trustworthy, and they nurture relationships with their employees. Leaders also must be keenly aware of what their team needs to do their best work. And importantly, they understand the strengths and weaknesses of each member and give them each a role in which they can excel. These kinds of leadership qualities can help build motivated and efficient work teams to increase productivity and workplace happiness.
Team leaders have a lot of pressure on them. They have to retain a position of authority and respect. They have to inspire a common purpose for the members of their team to agree on and work towards. They need to be actively involved in developing the skills of individuals on their team to benefit the group. Many people in positions of leadership don’t know the best ways to encourage and develop team building among their employees. Team building activities are a great way to get started with this. They help leaders better understand their team’s skills and discover how to encourage teamwork regularly.
How Leaders Can Create Fun Team Building Environments
Team building doesn’t have to be restricted to regular meetings and day-to-day discussions. The most effective events are the ones that take employees out of the office and put them in new and fun situations. Leaders can treat their employees with activities that will strengthen the daily work they put into building a great team. These kinds of activities can help employees see each other in a new setting, strengthening connections between them. Challenges also work to expand people’s skills when they are faced with new problems to solve.
Strayboots brings all the benefits of team building activities to your organization without requiring you to do extensive planning. With simple mobile-based games and challenges, your staff will love to get involved. We’ve got everything from unique mobile scavenger hunts out in the streets of your own city to in-office trivia games.
These activities are designed to bring your employees together and help them work as a team to solve challenges. This can be an effective icebreaker for new employees or breathe new life into employees who have been around for a while.
With December right around the corner, leaders can take advantage of Strayboots’ holiday-themed seasonal games. Get your employees outside to explore the city in the brisk winter air or stay inside where it’s warm and take part in fun holiday trivia questions and photo challenges.
Ready to Join the Stray?
So, when it’s time for your next office activity, let Strayboots take care of it. Just contact us so we can plan your fun team event!
Treating your employees to collaborative activities like these is all part of an effective team building experience. Leaders can take lessons learned during these activities back into the workplace. Then, they can nurture the communication and motivation developed there through their daily leadership. In the end, building great teams will benefit everyone in the workplace. Employees will be happier with the work they’re doing, and leaders will be rewarded for their increased productivity.
