Team Building & Consultants

Used in many businesses today, team building allows individuals to work together for a common goal. Consultants monitor team activities in order to identify strengths and weaknesses, leaders and followers. Successful teams take skills learned during team building exercises and incorporate them into real-world problem-solving applications.

Motivation

Consultants emphasize the importance of motivation in building a team. Once formed, teams need motivation to succeed. Otherwise, the team is simply a group of individuals. When those individuals work toward a goal, the team becomes strong. Achieving that strength requires proper motivation. Elements considered by consultants when building teams include purpose, difficulty, the challenge itself and the reward.

Training

In order to create an effective team, the members need training. Consultants train in different ways. Some clearly define every element needed to achieve a task, while others allow the team to train itself, through trial and error. In addition, consultants know that training requires progressive learning. Training once a year might not produce an effective team. Training once a month emphasizes growth in the team through shared knowledge and learning.

Assessment

When a consultant builds a team, he concentrates on two areas -- strengths and weaknesses. Once these are identified, the consultant and the team study the weak areas, working on ways to strengthen them. An effective assessment requires honesty when examining the team.

Problems

Problems surface for even a good team-building consultant. Not everyone enjoys the idea of team building. For example, a highly creative individual who flourishes when left alone might generate more creative material for the company than he would if he were forced to become part of a team building project. Single visions occasionally work better than allowing multiple visions to evolve. One example of this comes from Hollywood. Movie directors do not necessarily operate in a team-building environment. Instead, they create their vision and let others bring that vision to life.

Activities

Consultants typically use a variety of techniques when team building, focusing on areas such as communication, trust, goal setting and problem solving. Consultants pay close attention to such areas as group dynamics, identifying team members who lead and team members who follow.

Transition

The transition from a team-building exercise to using the training in real-world settings is integral in successful team building. The consultant wants more than having team members create a sushi platter, for example, as a means to build a team. The consultant wants the team creating a sushi platter to put the same skills to use on any problem arising in the company.

References

• Team Building Inc.: Team Motivation; Peter Grazier, January 1998
• Smart Entrepreneur: Employee Team Building - Aligned with Purpose and Dedication
• Birdieball.com: The Goals of Team Building
• The Ridgefield Press: Recipe for Success: Cooking as a Means to Corporate Team-Building; Macklin Reid, March 2011