How to Build a Corporate Team

There are many models to help corporate trainers and managers build teams. Most are fairly similar, but Cog's Ladder is one of the most detailed. Developed by George O. Charrier in the early 1970s, it is used in many corporate settings and American military schools. The "cog" in Cog's Ladder comes from Charrier's initials spelled backward. Using the model, a trainer or manager can focus on which actions and activities are needed to form a team.

Instructions

1. Allow the team members to get to know one another. In Cog's Ladder, the first stage of building a corporate team is the "polite" stage. In this stage, team members often hold back when revealing themselves and try to avoid conflict. Activities should facilitate the get-acquainted process without forcing it. Give the team members the means and opportunity to talk about themselves and interact on a social level.

2. Give the team members goals and deadlines. After they become acquainted, they will enter what Charrier called the "why are we here?" or purpose stage. The team is looking for a common goal, so the trainer or manager should supply that purpose or give the team the opportunity to define it. Individual roles should begin to be defined at this stage.

3. Become a referee for your team to guide it through Charrier's "bid for power" stage. Individual roles will be tested and challenged as each person tries to voice his interpretations of the team's goals and his own responsibilities. This stage has the highest level of conflict and needs the most mediation. It is important that the members solve their conflicts through you and that you not dictate a solution.

4. Give the team more important and challenging tasks as the conflict decreases and the team enters the "constructive" or positive stage. In this stage, people tend to put the team's goals ahead of their own and operate more efficiently. Unifying symbols such as logos or slogans can also appear at this stage, so the trainer or manager should support and encourage such activities.

5. Give the team tasks that are beyond its scope as it moves into the "esprit" stage. A corporate team rarely enters this stage, but it is possible under certain circumstances, which are usually external. Such circumstances could include an impending bankruptcy or merger or an internal restructuring. One of the most well-known esprit teams was the 1980 men's U.S. Olympic hockey team. Although the hockey team was not a corporate group, trainers and managers can learn a lot about building corporate teams by studying it.