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[C865]Communication Games Team Building

by Cathy Warschaw, Cat

We've all heard the saying, ?There's no ?I? in Team.? Team building has been a goal of the workplace for many years because of the numerous benefits it brings. Team building is a great way to have fun and energize coworkers, build and strengthen coworker and employer relationships, and improve productivity in the workforce.

With all these great benefits, it's easy to see why developing collaboration in the office is usually one of the top five business priorities of an employer!

Being part of a great team sounds like fun ? but what actually makes a team productive and worthwhile? Good teams share some common traits:

-Members depend on each other
-Each member believes that his or her opinion is important
-Every person has a role
-A safe environment exists that allows members to feel comfortable sharing ideas
-Members can move past setbacks and overcome challenges together
-An ability to effectively cooperate with each other to problem solve

Fortunately, establishing great teamwork in the workplace is not an impossible task. There are many activities and games that specialize in building cooperation and mutual dependence, such as icebreakers and scavenger hunts. In fact, many businesses provide these team building services to other businesses.

If you believe that your workplace could use a little group TLC, consider discussing further with your supervisor or even colleagues. Conduct some research on team building activities and locate service providers. Identify the personality of your workplace and decide which activity would best suit its needs.

While you're seeking ways to team build as a group, also think of actions that you as an individual can take to promote collaboration.

For example, offer assistance with a task that a coworker appears to be struggling with, or at the next group meeting, ask for the opinion of a colleague who is normally quiet. Make an effort to practice open and honest communication with your coworkers. There are many opportunities available to demonstrate your commitment to working as a team.

Team building offers many benefits in the workplace that empower employees to create a work environment to which people want to belong; however, don't let all the hard work overshadow the most important thing ? team work is also about having fun!

Not all the team-building events succeed. Organizers need to look out for some of the reasons that could cause an event to fail so as to identify the necessary pitfalls to avoid. Companies that design their team approach well develop better results though most companies get team-building ideas from only members that are at the very top level of management and most of their approaches are poorly designed. An organization model, whose design is not only short sighted but also misguided in its reward and evaluation system, is bound to fail. Team-building events should be based on cooperation not competition. However, most companies come up with activities that set up artificial contests between co-workers resulting in competition. Events, where teams compete against each other bring focus to competition and do not encourage cooperation and therefore miserably fail to meet goals set. Though competitive activities ignite passion and make them more active and focused, the people try to win at whatever cost and this could actually harm the teams.

Team-building activities that focus on getting teams to win will definitely get some to win though not all. When the main focus is on winning and competing, participants that are in groups that do not win leave the team-building feeling they are “not good enough.” This feeling leaves a bitter resentment and does not serve the purpose to team-build. If organizers encourage competition they are likely to bring out the worst in the team members in their quest to win. Competition shows most people's true colors. Some become abusive while others cheat to win and this is not a good basis to foster future cooperation. It is even better if members leave the event with pleasant memories where they see each one another at their most likable and best.

A team-building activity, where members focus on competing to be the best or to win does not effectively get members to learn much compared to if they had cooperated to a greater deal. Studies reveal that human beings learn more when they cooperate and less when they compete. Members focused on winning will not concentrate on learning since they will be consumed with applying all their efforts to winning. As a result competition ultimately lowers the performance of an individual or group. Cultivating the habit of cooperation is better since members are able to learn from each other both at the team building event and at work especially when tackling tasks that are complex. However a culture of competition rules out the chance of people wanting to learn from each other and be of help to others in return. Team-building events that focus their energy on finding winners and rewarding them more than ensuring members learn things that can be useful at their places of work fail a great deal. Members begin to find these events as time wasted and begin to resent them as preventing them from doing actual, real useful work. Organizers should ensure the team-building events bring people together to cooperate, learn and see the best from each other.

Article Source : Women's All American Team

About Author

Both Cathy Warschaw & Lily Morgan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Cathy Warschaw has sinced written about articles on various topics from Kids and Teens, Soccer and Internet Marketing. Written by Cathy Warschaw, Director of the Warschaw Learning Institute. Offering cds, eBooks and online training for the dental and medical field. Register for our newsletter at. Cathy Warschaw's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Lily Morgan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Concerns, Team Building and Family Concerns. Add to your miniature collection, or start a new one! Come see our large selection of and accessories. Visit us online. Lily Morgan's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.