TEAM BUILDING: Q & A For Facilitators
1. What is the Purpose of Team Building?
You have to start with an understanding of the definition of a team: an interdependent group of people with a common goal. In other words, it is not just a group of people with a goal but a group of people who need each other to accomplish the goal. Runners in the Boston Marathon are not a team but runners on an 800 meter relay team are. Therefore, the central purpose of all team building is to create or increase a sense of commitment to the goals of the team. The outcome of all team building should be (1) improve the functioning of the team as a whole and (2) increase the effectiveness of team members as team players. On a number of occasions I have told a company that team building may be a waste of time since the group is not a team. Therefore, team building exercises, typically designed for use with a team, would achieve their desired purpose
2. What Distinguishes Different Types of Team Building ?
The so-called “types”(outdoor adventure, personal feedback, problem-solving, strategic planning, etc.) are really just different methods of reaching the goals of team building. The method you chose should be based on a need assessment conducted prior to the meeting. The assessment may include interviews, focus groups, surveys and other methods of defining the issues that need to be addressed in the meeting. For example, if the assessment reveals serious conflict among some team members, you may elect to use style survey such as my Parker Team Player Survey. However, if you find that members of the team work in different locations and have never met, you should probably plan an interesting and fun get-acquainted activity.
3. Why Might a Company might Choose to do Team Building?
Some reasons to engage in team building may include symptoms of ineffective teamwork such as:
• Unclear goals and/or strategy.
• Conflict among team members
• Negative feedback from customers
• Decisions avoided or re-visited
• Missed deadlines
• Poor meeting management
• Breakdowns in stakeholder relationships
4. Can you describe an Evaluation Process for Determining Whether a Team might Benefit from Team Building?
This is a very good question. A team will benefit from team building if:
• The team leader and/or senior manager are committed to implementing the outcomes of team building.
• The meeting is based on real issues that arise from the needs assessment process that I mentioned earlier.
• All team members understand the purpose and agree to participate in the meeting.
• The meeting has a clear purpose supported by an agenda of specific activities.
• There is a method for evaluating the meeting.
• There is a follow-up process built into the meeting.
In addition, I always conduct a brief orientation and overview before the off-site meeting. At this meeting, I review the purpose of team building, the process and possible methods that will be used, what the participants can expect from the meeting, and what is expected of them.
5. How would you Suggest a Facilitator choose an Appropriate Activity?
There are so many activities available from so many different sources. However, the task becomes more manageable if you follow the architect’s maxim: form follow function. First, define your purpose or goal (e.g., increase the level of trust among team members) and then look for an activity that (a) supports that goal and (b) is consistent with the culture of your team. In other words, know your goal and know your people.
6. Where should a Facilitator Start in Putting Together a Team Building Exercise?
At this time, you really don’t need to create a team building exercise from scratch. There are many books of exercises out there in the marketplace. Two publishers that I like (and not just because they publish my books!) are Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer(www.pfeiffer.com.) and HRD Press (www.hrdpress.com) . If you are looking for team building games, check out the web site of my colleague, Sivasalam Thiagarajan, www.thiagi.com, as well as a book we co-authored, Teamwork and Team Play: Games and Activities for Team Building and Team Training(Pfeiffer, 1999). Once you find an exercise that looks like it will help you reach your goal, look for ways to adapt it to the size of your group, the amount of time you have available, your work environment, any cultural differences among your participants and your own facilitation skills. You might take a look at myTeam Building: An Annotated Bibliography of My Personal Favorites and my various Facilitator Handbooks
7. What Challenges might a Facilitator run into when using one of these Exercises?
I see facilitators getting into trouble when they use an exercise before they are completely comfortable with it. Many exercises look good on paper but the process may require someone with considerable experience or high-level facilitation skill. In addition, many team building activities produce responses or data that cannot be predicted. For example, during one meeting, what I thought was a rather simple, straight-forward activity resulted in rather strong disagreement, including shouting, among several team members. I had to call a break to deal with the issue but it could have derailed the whole meeting. The message here is (a) always play “what-if” before using an exercise and (b) choose an exercise that is well within your skill and comfort level.
8. What Dynamics are involved in a Team Building Session that can lead to better Understanding and Increased Team Effectiveness?
I like to use data to help a team understand their strengths and weaknesses and build a plan for increasing their effectiveness. For example, prior to an off-site team building for a management team, we asked members of the team, employees in their business units and some stakeholders to complete a survey assessing the team against a set of performance factors (e.g., clear goals, open communication, interpersonal relations). At the meeting (we also met with the leader before the meeting to review the highlights of the data and prepare her for the meeting), we presented, discussed and analyzed the data, selected a few key areas and developed improvement plans designed to address the survey results. In addition, the team could use the data as a baseline against which to measure their progress over time. For example, the team could re-administer the same assessment survey six months later to determine their progress and the results of their improvement plan
9. What can be done in a Team Building Environment to help a team that has trouble Working Together to do so During the Exercises?
Team building should be thought of a laboratory for learning. At a team building meeting, a team can practice working together solving a business problem, making a decision using the consensus method or creating a new marketing strategy based on a case study that simulates their work situation. In this way, the team learns to work together by working together. However, in order to make the situation a learning and development experience, the facilitator must help the team review and analyze how they worked together on the simulation and identify successful methods used in the “laboratory” that they can transfer back to their work environment. The facilitator must remember (and schedule time) to “generalize” the learning and help the team transfer the results back to their work situation.
10. What is the Role of the Facilitator in Ensuring Team Building Exercises have an Impact on Team Members?
The facilitator plays a critical role in ensuring that an exercise is more than just “interesting,” “challenging” or “fun.” There are four important facilitator roles:
1. Exercise Selection. The facilitator uses the assessment data to choose the exercise that best addresses the issue and helps the team increase its effectiveness.
2. Identify the Key Behaviors or Action. At the end (or at critical junctures), the facilitator helps the team recognize what happened during the exercise such as how decisions were made, what roles were played and the pattern of communication.
3. Analyze the Impact. The facilitator then probes to determine the positive and negative impact of various actions during the exercise so the team can determine what helped and hindered team effectiveness.
4. Generalize and Transfer the Learning. Finally, and perhaps, most important, the facilitator’s role is to help team members identify and agree to certain actions that they will stop doing, start doing or continue doing in the future in order to increase the effectiveness of their team.
11. How can a Company act on the Results of Team Building to Create a more Effective Team?
In the first instance, I encourage teams to develop plans for change in areas over which they have control and that they are empowered to implement. This approach increases the team’s overall satisfaction with the outcomes of team building and minimizes the possibilities of frustration. However, in some cases, the team may need to identify changes that require the approval of higher level management or the involvement of key stakeholders. In these situations, it important to obtain an upfront agreement from these external groups to respond to the team in a timely fashion by (a) implementing all reasonable changes requested by the team or (b) providing an explanation for their inability to implement the changes or (c) suggesting alternatives that may achieve the same goal.
12. Overall, What makes Team Building Work?
The most important factor is a clear statement of the goals. What is the team trying to achieve? Sure, it can be something fun and engaging if you are trying to improve morale, create a team spirit or help people get to know each other better. Many team building activities break down interpersonal barriers, clarify roles and improve group decision-making. We know that when people enjoy working together, positive results are likely to follow. However, team building can also focus on increasing customer satisfaction, speeding up the product development process and improving the quality of team meetings. To paraphrase Lance Armstrong, it’s not about the exercise. Rather, successful team building is all about identifying the real issues and being clear about the desired outcomes.
13. What Makes Team Building NOT Work?
Team building usually does not work when “it’s all about the exercise.” It does not work when:
• The facilitator or team leader says something like “I want to include a fun team building exercise like the one I saw at a conference last year.”
• The facilitator does not ask the facilitator or team leader what goals they hope to achieve with team building.
• The facilitator does not ask or the team leader does not agree to do an assessment to determine the issues that should be addressed by team building.
• The facilitator selects the wrong exercise. A wrong exercise is defined as one that (a) does not address the real issues, (b) is not related to the goals of the team building, (c) is beyond the skill set or experience of the facilitator or (d) is selected simply because it looks like fun.
14. Is There such a Thing as a “Failed” Team Building Exercise?
Yes, of course. A team building exercise fails when it does not accomplish the goals of the exercise or does not improve the functioning of the team or increase the effectiveness of team members as team players. A failed exercise may make matters worse for the team.
15. Can you Describe Some of the More Popular Types of Team Building (adventure programs, ropes courses, mental problem-solving, etc.) and How they Affect the Team Dynamics?
Classic Team Building. In this approach, members of an intact team come together to address specific issues that have been identified in a pre-program assessment. At the meeting, the issues are discussed and analyzed and then recommended changes are developed for implementation by the team. Exercises, games, instruments and other activities are often used to provide additional data and practice in working together as a team. The goal is to walk away with individual and team improvement plans.
Games or Simulations. This type uses a serious, business situation, a fun game or a challenge that requires team members to work together to get the right answers, solve a problem or escape a dangerous environment. While props may be used, the simulation usually takes place in a typical meeting room. The goal is to identify lessons learned that can be transferred to the work environment.
Adventure Learning. There are many variations of this type but they almost always involve a group (sometimes an intact team) experiencing a series of challenging physical tasks that often include a mental component as well. The event usually takes place outdoors in the woods or a park but some of the tasks can be simulated in a large indoor meeting room. Think “Survivor” or “Amazing Race” but where the group collaborates rather than competes. Here again, the goal is to learn to work together to overcome the barriers, examine how the challenges were tackled and hopefully carry back the lessons to their daily organizational life.
Personality Type. This approach uses a style survey such as the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory or Parker Team Player Survey* to provide the data for building the team. Each person completes the survey which yields a score that indicates their personality type (e.g., introvert, thinker). Often the experience requires each person to also complete the same survey for their teammates. In this design each person receives his or her score along with the scores indicating the perceptions of their colleagues. Personality type data helps each person understand themselves, their teammates and develop plans to increase their personal effectiveness on the team. The team may look at the personality profile of the team to better understand their strengths and weaknesses and make plans to change.
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Glenn Parker is a team building consultant based in Skillman, New Jersey. He is the author of some 16 books, including several best-sellers. His latest work is Meeting Excellence: 33 Tools to Lead Meetings That Get Results (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2006). For more information, go to www.glennparker.com.
*Both surveys are available from www.cpp.com