Many leaders and organizations try to implement team building in one or two sessions only to find that their employees quickly revert to old behaviors. It takes self-awareness, time, and commitment for team building to take root and grow in any organization. It’s nearly impossible to move away from the behaviors you’ve built up over time and replace them with new, more effective ones without sustained effort. Here are ten practical tips to help you demonstrate and model self-awareness as a leader and implement a successful team building program.
- Make sure leadership is fully involved and sets a positive tone.
- Team building is offered to employees at every level.
- A one-hour time block per week is set aside for team building activities.
- Refrain from changing the team building schedule or combining it with other meetings.
- No interruptions during sessions, including people using phones, texting or being called out of the activities.
- Leave egos and agendas at the door, everyone is treated equally.
- Use an experienced, positive and neutral facilitator for activities.
- Focus on activities that build deeper interactions and relationships.
- Practice new behaviors over time.
- Evaluate how you’re doing after six months and make adjustments if necessary.
The key to successful team building is to have the self-awareness to model behavior and participate in activities that bring people together on a deeper level and help them acquire skills to keep moving forward. Practice team building over time so that everyone gets used to doing it. Once people are comfortable with your new approach, it will become second nature and your workplace will shift to one where collaboration and shared purpose are the norm. How will you practice self-awareness and promote long-term team building in your organization?
Cheers,
Guy