• Team building is an important component of getting together and keeping together a team.
• Successful team building sets the tone for team members' relationships and shared goals, and each person's part in reaching those goals.
• The skills needed for team building revolve around clear communication, mutual support, and taking a hands-on, goal-oriented approach to solving problems.

Team building clarifies roles and improves social relations among team members. Unlike team training, which serves to improve efficiency, team building helps with interpersonal relations, and may have improved efficiency as a byproduct if it's done just right.

There are four key goals that team building seeks to achieve. The first is aligning the team around specific goals. This means leveling off so that everyone understands what success would mean for the team. As they work toward these goals, it's also necessary to reduce ambiguity about each team member's role - the second goal. That way, there won't be any work left undone.

The third key goal of team building is to build effective working relationships – that is, increasing productivity by making sure that everybody is getting along well and the environment is an open, friendly one, not one where you're scared to ask questions and make mistakes. Finally, team building aims to find solutions to problems within teams.

This is a hefty, but not impossible, set of goals. Reaping these benefits doesn't require a huge investment. It mainly takes a commitment of time and energy, and some skills to back up your team building exercises.

Motivation

Sometimes, the office can be a hectic, stressful place. When your team is feeling the pressure, it may feel like a challenge to keep morale high and prevent burnout. Flexible work policies can be helpful on this front, as can organizing get-togethers for everyone to blow off steam and just enjoy themselves. Words of encouragement are another simple but meaningful way to motivate your team.

Some companies recommend group meditation to combat stress in the workplace. You can do it right there in the office, and a session can be as short as a few minutes. There are plenty of guided meditation tracks and videos available online. Alternately, you could put on some soothing music and read out the instructions yourself. Meditation doesn't just relieve stress – it also sharpens your intellect and makes you more productive.

Communication

Good communication skills are essential for working well together. A team with a positive communication flow is much more likely to work efficiently than a team that is constantly exchanging mixed messages. In order for everybody to get on the same page, communication should be clear and frequent. This applies to everything from official memos to quick updates between coworkers.

Aside from understanding the members of your team, effective communication also requires self-awareness to understand your own style of communicating. This is especially important in making a lasting first impression on other people.

Active Listening 

When you listen to fully understand and not just to come up with a response, you are practicing active listening. Active listening will help you know and appreciate your team members' needs, beliefs, worries, and hopes. It will also lessen misunderstandings, or at least equip you with the tools you need to resolve them.

Not sure if you're doing enough active listening in the workplace? You can start by making a conscious effort to hear the "complete" message when being spoken to. Don't allow yourself to get distracted by other things going on, and don't start thinking up counter-arguments while your coworker is still speaking.

Interpersonal Relations

Having good interpersonal relations means developing trust among team members.  Although this won't completely eliminate conflict, it will make it easier to deal with. When team members aren't feeling down because of disagreements and personalities clashing, they can focus on the task at hand.

Warby Parker, a company that designs prescription glasses and sells them directly to customers, is highly committed to interpersonal relations among teammates. They use creative team building strategies to foster good relationships like sending employees out to lunch and insisting that everybody do their part to keep the break areas clean.

Support 

As with anything in life, we need to have a support system at work. This comes in the form of reliable leadership and mutual support among workmates, especially those who work on projects together. Support may manifest as positivity and encouragement when your peers are struggling; it may also be constructive criticism when your peers need guidance to produce the best possible work that they can do.

An important part of leadership is building up your team's confidence. Even team members who seem to have everything together can benefit from their work being acknowledged. On the other hand, those who doubt their own potential can always use a gentle push from a figure of authority to let them know that they're on the right track.

Building a Creative Atmosphere

When it comes to running a business, some people think that the best way to conduct your team is to be tough, strict, and no-nonsense. However, this attitude can put employees under a lot more pressure than is necessary. Creating and maintaining a strong team is more of a balancing act between holding each member accountable for their duties and allowing them the freedom to work in a way that suits them best.

By cultivating a creative atmosphere in the office, you give each team member the opportunity to use their own skills and abilities in the most productive way possible. You give them the chance for personal growth and learning.

Aside from the everyday culture that you build at your office, you can also offer your team other venues for creativity. Leadership trainings, for example, are a great way to help them with character development and expanding their skillsets.

Problem Solving 

One of the most basic skills needed in any workplace is problem solving. Some teams are specifically made to resolve key problems that come up with the company and its dealings with clients. From identifying problems to coming up with creative solutions to executing those solutions, everyone can play a part in making the process flow smoothly.

The team behind the mattress firm Casper have a creative yet practical approach to problem solving. They first break the problem down into smaller, more manageable parts, then each member of the team applies their unique skills to do what they can to resolve it. Mattress expert Philip Krim handles flaws in the design of the product, while Luke Sherwin continuously improves and refocuses their branding. Web designer Gabriel Flateman is in charge of the company's online presence, and Jeff Chapin is the stylist.

Setting Goals

Individual members and the team as a whole should have clear, realistic, well-established goals. Collective goals should be planned for together. This includes identifying what tasks the team would like to accomplish and what success or failure would look like based on these goals. Goal setting is also an assessment tool for measuring progress.

Getting everyone involved in setting and pursuing goals gives them a sense of shared ownership and responsibility, and makes it all the more satisfying when goals are achieved. The camping and outdoor company REI has clearly defined team building goals. In its mission to equip customers for outdoor adventures, it gives employees "challenge grants" where they can win camping equipment for themselves by creating proposals for challenging outdoor activities.

Responsibility 

Every member of the work force has certain responsibilities to fulfill, from their simple day-to-day tasks to big team projects. Responsibilities entailed by one's job are those mentioned in their respective job description. These can be used to evaluate performance and determine what kind of training might be needed to help the employee fulfill the responsibilities they neglect or struggle with.

Team members also have mutual responsibilities to one another. These may be explicitly work-related, or they may include things like reporting violations of company policy and keeping each other in check on ethical matters. This comes with the understanding that upholding these responsibilities is always done in the interest of everyone at the company – not out of personal spite.

Focusing on Team Success

Each team member has their own goals to work towards. While it's important to be supportive of these goals, we must never lose sight of collective goals, and never forget to celebrate collective success. Likewise, it feels even better to celebrate personal achievements when they come about alongside successful team projects.

There's a great satisfaction that comes from being a part of a winning team, most especially when you know that your contribution was one of many that made that win possible.

The skills needed for team building aren't exclusively applicable to leadership roles. Although not everyone has an official position of leadership, anyone can practice leadership in their respective role. Taking initiative to improve yourself and help others is a vital team building skill – and a leader’s quality that you can hone no matter what your job title is.

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