To be successful, a team must have certain characteristics. At the most basic level, effective teams have team members that are reliable and who understand their roles on the team. To develop these traits, teams must have clear expectations or goals. In addition, the most successful teams recognize and grow each individual’s strengths, develop an overall group identity and elicit a sense of commitment to the goals set forth and the team.
One example of a team working together would be a professional sports team. They spend their season working to accomplish a goal. For example, a professional soccer team aims to win the FIFA World Cup. They work together as a team to achieve their collective goal. The teams that do well put their personal agendas aside, help each other overcome obstacles, adapt to change and focus on the good of the team.
Similarly, for any team in an organization to succeed, they must have the following characteristics:
Members can depend on each other.
The team leader is committed to working with a team approach.
Each member feels comfortable and is willing to contribute ideas.
Members have developed mutual trust.
The team and individuals are prepared to take risks, such as learning new skills or adapting to change.
Goals are clearly communicated.
Each member is clear on his/her role on the team.
Members can make mistakes or examine errors and receive constructive feedback that helps them grow and develop.
The team can generate new ideas or suggest improvements.
Each member knows they can contribute to the team.
It takes time, patience and commitment to build an effective team. However, experts agree that the time spent building solid teams is always worth investing energy and resources – because great teams achieve more remarkable results. Team building exercises, such as those below, can help improve communication, collaboration and trust among team members.
Team building exercise #1: team talk
The goal of this game is to allow team members to communicate with one another by asking each other questions. Team members get to know each other and feel comfortable by asking each other about their opinions, concerns and maybe even their aspirations.
Instructions: Team members break into groups of two and take turns interviewing one another for 5-10 minutes each. Some possible questions include:
What qualities do you most value and respect in a team member?
What advice would you give to new members of the team?
Tell me about one of your work-related goals for the future? How will you achieve this goal? Will anyone help you?
Tell me about one of your personal goals for the future? How will you achieve this goal? Will anyone help you?
Other: ________________________________________________________________?
This exercise promotes good communication and allows team members to learn something new about each other and better understand one another, which in turn can break down communication barriers.
Team building exercise #2: the drawing game
While you may think you are a clear communicator, others may still have trouble understanding you. Everyone communicates differently due to contributors such as family, educational background, and culture. You can use team-building activities, such as the drawing game, to assess how clear of a communicator you are and to help you improve.
Instructions: Break into groups of two. In this exercise, you must explain to a teammate how to draw a picture using only words. This exercise asks you to break down and simplify a task that appears easy to you to someone else who may not find it that easy - something you must often do in a team scenario.
Each person takes a turn being the communicator and the illustrator. After the exercise, the leader will ask each team to describe their experience. What was most helpful? What was least valuable? How can you apply what you learned to the workplace?
