Team Building

The idea of team building is never far from the surface in any environment where large numbers of people must work together towards a common goal. Sometimes maligned, sometimes praised as being essential, the team building ethic is something that most certainly seems to be here to stay, and will be something we continue to hear a lot about. But for many people, the concept of team building is a fairly alien one. Many people have heard of it but do not know exactly what it is. They may question whether it has any effect, or whether "team building" is simply a buzz phrase with no real meaning whatsoever.

The concept as it is understood by most is that team building is a way of bringing members of an organization together in such a way as to get to know one another better, to recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses and ensure that everyone gets a fair say in a sector of the organization. The term carries echoes of sport, which is no accident. Any large or small group of individuals working towards the same goal can be compared to a sporting team. There are the members whose role is to facilitate, and those whose role is to elaborate. Some people are best at delivering the ultimate result, while others play a better role in the preparatory element of the team. Each, however, is utterly essential to the way a team works. And it is only by learning about one another that a team can really work effectively.

One concept of team building is for a "team" to go away for a weekend and take part in exercises that will define who works well together, and allow members to get to know one another. Often derided as simply being opportunities to get out into the country and get drunk, these weekends can work excellently as a way of developing a team ethic. The exercises, as diverse as paintball shooting, archery and other such outdoor pursuits as well as indoor elements based on discussion and "sharing", allow an individual to be seen in their best light as well as in their most human state. When individuals know each other, and know their best qualities, it allows them to hold together as a team better than before.

It must be said that team building has to be handled responsibly by all, as a badly developed team building exercise can end up ostracizing people and thus having the opposite effect from that which was intended. Team building is important. It can take place within the office, on a weekend away, or during lunchtime - the key point is that it brings members of the team together and allows them to get to know one another better. As well as bringing an entire team together, it can forge particularly close bonds between two or three members of the team - bonds which can help the team as a whole as well as benefiting the individuals in a real, tangible way.