MODULE 4 Team Building

MODULE 4
TEAM BUILDING
(CAPABILITY
BUILDING
TRAINING)
One could say that team building is
like coaching but for a group.
To be effective, people need to work
together toward a common goal in a
coordinated and cooperative way.
Therefore one could also say that team
building is a systematic process designed
to improve working relationships and team
functioning such as problem solving,
decision making and conflict resolution
that enables the group to overcome any
goal blocking
barrier
For many this result orientated mission
is the real purpose for team building. A
team building goal therefore could be
simply to identify and develop effective
communications.
The term team building
generally refers to the selection,
development, and collective motivation of
result-oriented teams
Why is Important?
We don't do team building simply
because it creates harmonious work
groups but primarily because it formalizes
the power of collaboration among what
otherwise might be disenfranchised
individuals. For many team building is a
way to blend talents, skills and inherent
creativity of diverse people.
With collaboration at its heart team building
leverages team skills, time and resources for their
benefit and that of the organization. The
consequence is that effective team building
produces better, faster
results and provides a
satisfying and motivating
experience for team
members.
Some reasons why team building is so
important are:
1. Most organizations are so complex and
with de-layering there has to be team
building for them to succeed
2. Everyone needs to be working towards
common goals (that team building will
generate and nurture) which need to be
attainable and clearly communicated
3. Team building environments will
outperform none team based environments
Let us consider further why team is building is
so important - team building will make favourable
impact in six key areas:
1. Task Achievement - teams are not designed

for dealing with simple, repetitive tasks, as
individuals will generally be quicker. However,
team building comes into its own when faced with
complex tasks, and associated problems, where
probably there is no single, correct answer.
2.Quality of Decisions - team building can generate
more ideas than any one individual therefore, it
has the choice of many possibilities before it and
the ultimate quality of the decision is likely to be
better than an individual's decision.
3. Accuracy of Decisions - judgments are far better

through team building than through individual
assessment of tasks that involve random error
because team deliberation tends to purge ill-
conceived notions and weak individual thinking.
4. Risk taking - it has been shown that team
building creates confidence to take greater, but
measured, risks (and seize opportunities) than
individuals would.
5. Motivation - team building enhances morale and

spurs individuals on to perform effectively at a
higher level.
6. Speed of learning - team building creates a
progressive, but nurturing, environment enabling
team members to learn faster than individuals
working alone.
Team building is important because it helps

the group to capitalize on their strengths and
minimize their weaknesses. The synergy that
comes from team building can be very powerful.
BUILDING GOALS
For many organizations team building has
become an integral part of their organizational
strategy. Their specific team building goals are to
provide team members with:
1. Clarification of mission and vision

2. Establishment of team members roles and
responsibilities
3. Faster start up for new teams or teams with new
leaders
4. Mechanisms for
resolving conflict
and elimination of
dysfunctional
behavior .
5. An appreciation of
differences in work styles
and preferences
For the team building to work, the roles and
duties contained within team working structures
have to be determined. Teams could, for
example, be:
 A small group (typically 5 to 15 employees)
which "owns" a distinct part of the process and
whose members are flexible within the group
 Aware of its customer's needs (both internal and
external)
 The instrument for maintaining quality levels
 Responsible for its own housekeeping
 Left alone to undertake routine maintenance of
plant and equipment
 Empowered to work out how its objectives fit in
with the company's mission
 Tasked with making decisions on issues affecting
the group
 Trained in problem solving techniques
 Responsible for safety issues
 Part of the selection process
 Self-determining on manning assignments and
covering absent members
 Involved in layout of plant and equipment
 Continually striving to improve the product, service
and delivery process
What is Process?
Everyone at work whether they are an
operator or the Managing Director have worked
with others in a team. Therefore all can express
views on what constitutes an effective team
building process. However, making team building
succeed is often not as simple as it sounds.
Problems with team building tend to be
caused by team members who do not know very
much about the team building process.
The task of team building is first to establish
what the team was established to achieve. The
team building process therefore must consists of all
the things which go to make up how the team
goes about achieving the task, and what
influences it whilst doing so.
There are many aspects to this team
building thinking and here are a few:
 The team building structure - if there is a large

number of a team member, it is often difficult to
get a reasonably fair discussion going. If there are
too few, there may be a series of silences. If some
of the team members are of a higher status in the
organization than others, then this could be
inhibiting discussion and therefore arrest the team
building process.
If there is insufficient expert knowledge in the team
then opinions rather than facts will be offered which
can often lead to
arguments and
therefore destroy
the team building
process.
• The nature of the individuals -
Differences in personality and
mood often show up during
team building - some people
can't seem to stop talking whilst
others keep quiet, and others try
to act as umpires or referees.
All team building discussions need to be
controlled by the individuals and by a
chairperson.
 The environment of
the team meeting -
The size of the
meeting areas, its
shape, heating,
ventilation, lighting,
seating, acoustics
and decorations can
all affect the
efficiency of team
meetings and
therefore the team
building process.
 The way decisions are made - For team building
behavior to take place, in a team meeting trying
to reach a decision, then the communication
process must cultivate listening and foster fairness
if commitment and consensus and with it team
building is to be realized.
A key to team building is that of creating a

shared vision but that takes time and requires the
full participation of all. If team members do not
have a personal vision or lack confidence to it
then team building will become difficult if not
untenable.
SELECTION FOR EFFECTIVE
To make team building effective, team
member selection is clearly very important. All too
often team building is dismissed as the assembly
of a group of individuals, calling them a team
and telling them to get on with it. (This may
explain why so many have difficulty getting the
team building process to deliver the potential
organizational benefits).
The essence of effective team building is that -
the members of the team work well together
either as a group from the outset or initially simply
compliments each other as individuals. In which
case, the team building process will progress
smoothly.
The potential compatibility of any particular
individual with the rest of the team is therefore
critically important for team building to succeed.
Individuals need to understand and learn the
skills that make effective team building possible.
Most people know how to work independently or
to give up uniqueness to aid team building, but to
maintain some individuality during the team
building process and subsequently during team
working is an evolutionary step to take. Team
members need to understand that team building
succeeds with diversity and creativity.
Characteristics of Effective
Mutual trust – it takes a long time to build and can
be destroyed quickly. It is established in a
team when every member feels free to
express his opinion, says
how he feels about
issues and ask questions,
which may concern
retaliation ridicule,
or negative consequences.
Mutual support – it results from group members
having genuine concern for each other’s
welfare, growth and personal success. If mutual
support is
established in a team,
a member need not
waste time and energy
protecting himself or his
function from anyone else.
All we give and receive help
to and from each other in
accomplishing whatever
goal the team is working on.
Genuine communication – it has 2 dimensions:
(1) the quality and openness and authenticity of the
member who is speaking;
(2) the quality of non – evaluative listening by other
members.
Open authenticity
communication takes
place when mutual trust
and support are so well
established that no member
feels he has to be guarded
or cautions about what he says;
Non–evaluative listening simply means
listening to what the other person is trying to
communicate, with bias – filters removed.
Accepting conflicts as normal and working them

through – individuals differ uniquely from one
another and will not agree on many things. A
good leader accepts conflicts as normal, natural
and as asset, since it is from conflict that most
growth and innovation are derived.
5. Mutual respect for individual differences – there are
decisions which, in goal – oriented team, must be
team decisions because they require the
commitment of most or all the resources of the
team and cannot be implemented without
this commitment. A
good team delegates
within itself.

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MODULE 4

1. Task Achievement - teams are not designed

3. Accuracy of Decisions - judgments are far better

5. Motivation - team building enhances morale and

Team building is important because it helps

1. Clarification of mission and vision

 The team building structure - if there is a large

A key to team building is that of creating a

Accepting conflicts as normal and working them

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