How Does Team Building Improve High Performance


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Recent studies show that team building is one of the most effective tools for improving employee performance. More and more companies are incorporating group activities into their workplace, creating an environment where teamwork is reinforced.
Studies have shown that groups with higher levels of cohesion perform better than those with lower levels of cohesion. When people work together in settings that emphasize trust and collaboration, productivity increases because employees feel like they can rely on each other.
As we know, individuals who work as a unit perform better than those who do not. Because of this, team building is considered to be a powerful tool for enhancing overall organizational performance.
Many professionals believe that attending team meetings and sharing ideas outside of work hours is the greatest way to promote team bonding. However, you don’t need to hold a meeting every day to achieve success. Two or three times per week is enough to make a difference.
There are many ways to conduct the team-building activity. Some people prefer working out together, while others enjoy playing games such as badminton or basketball. What matters is that everyone has a chance to provide input and that everyone feels welcome.
This article will talk about some easy ways to organize a small group activity that will boost employee morale and help them connect at the workplace.
Reasons why team building is important
One of the main reasons why team building is such an integral part of workplace culture and performance improvement is because it gives you something. It gives you a sense of unity, trust, and connectedness.
Team building activities are usually focused on creating fun experiences for people. This can be through planning games or exercises, sharing stories, or just being together.
By doing these things, teamwork is stimulated. When you have people working together towards a common goal, incredible results can happen.
Steps to take when planning a team building event
When organizing a team activity, there are several key steps you should consider before proceeding. These include defining your group, determining the timing of the event, deciding what activities to do, finding an appropriate venue, buying snacks, and lastly, preparing for the event!
Step one is to determine if this activity is allowed under company policy. For example, if your organization allows brainstorming events then having a conversation or debate is an ideal team-building activity.
Next, you will want to find out how many people it would take to organize the event. If only two people are needed then choosing this activity is not a good idea because you will need at least three to play effectively.
Finding someone to facilitate the meeting can be tricky so make sure to check with your department leader, a member of the staff’s supervisor, or the manager of the area where the event will occur.
Once those things have been taken care of, choose your date and time wisely. You don’t want to pick a day with poor weather conditions or that is already in use.
Ways to boost team morale
Teams that work together are more likely to put in extra effort toward achieving their goals. They may even survive longer because of it.
Team building is an important part of creating a high-performance workplace. It increases employee engagement, productivity, and overall quality of life at your company.
It also helps you achieve your business’s goals by enhancing communication and trust.
Many companies offer various types of activities for their staff, but some are much better than others.
Here we will discuss eight easy ways to do free team-building exercises that will improve employee well-being and teamwork. Some require more equipment or preparation time than others, but they all bring lots of benefits!
1. Flash mob
What you need: A way to start the activity (like walking down the street or going outside). An open area where people can gather (for example, a park, empty floor space, or a large room with no other purposes). Some music that everyone knows.
How to do it: Have someone pick a song that everyone loves. Then, when the music comes up, everyone should sing along loudly and proudly.
Make sure there is enough silence between each verse so people have time to connect with their songs. Keep singing until people begin dancing around or jumping up and down.
The next step is choosing who joins in. You could choose a random person, a group of people, or one special individual.
Ways to be a better leader
As a leader, you need to know how to motivate your team. You also have to understand what types of leadership are needed in different situations. What kind of motivation does each member of your team require?
As a leader, you must develop relationships with people on your crew, as well as external crews. This is important because people look up to you for guidance and help when they cannot perform their jobs.
Your success as a leader depends on the trust that members of your crew give each other. If this trust is not there, then your career can quickly come to an end.
Team-building exercises are great ways to strengthen these relationships. They also use nature as a springboard for conversations about teamwork and leadership.
Projects such as cooking or cleaning together using natural resources and lessons from past teams are good strategies to apply. Having a potluck lunch or hosting a game night are perfect ways to promote casual conversation.
These activities should focus more on having fun than getting work done.
Encourage team members to share their thoughts and feelings
A few years ago, I was working with an organization that had very high levels of employee turnover. It took them several months to find someone new, which only contributed to the workload for people staying around longer.
As we conducted group interviews, I would ask if anyone else shared this feeling or thought – and almost every person did. Even though they didn’t work together outside of the office, everyone felt like there wasn’t much unity in the department.
No one seemed to feel comfortable sharing what was going on inside of them, and so no one ever did. This made for unhappy employees who kept quiet about things that affected them negatively at work, and it also left their colleagues guessing as to how well-informedHigh-Performance they were — and whether those colleagues could trust them.
It is important to note that while most people are not aware of these internal struggles, others can tell when you aren’t quite yourself. Your colleagues will notice your lack of energy, your need to go home early, and maybe even comments that don’t sound quite right.
If you're too distracted to do your job properly, look into why that's happening.
Be consistent
Consistency is one of the most important things to be in a team setting, especially when it comes to leadership. As the leader of this team, you will need to show up every day, at every meeting, and for every activity as expected.
This includes showing up at work, arriving early so that you can get settled into your routine, leaving work on time, and being able to focus exclusively on work for the rest of the night or morning.
It also means staying focused during meetings, assignments, and events, instead of getting distracted by other tasks or activities.
Consistent leadership helps create an environment where people have trust in you, and look forward to working with you. This improves performance and productivity, and overall job satisfaction.
Take breaks
A few years ago, I was working as a project manager for one of the biggest tech companies in the world. We had just completed an internal team-building event where we took a weekend trip to Disney. It was great!
But what made it even better was that my colleagues and I got back into our jobs two days later. That’s not always the case – unless you work for The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.
So how did they do it? They broke up after the event and then each worked on their projects before coming together again several weeks later for a new team meeting.
They invested time in relationships outside of work. And that paid off by helping them keep focus at work and strengthen bonds within the department.
It's hard to maintain momentum when you're spending half your day waiting for other people to be ready. Research shows that professionals in offices without break rooms are more likely to suffer from stress-related illnesses such as heart disease and sleep disorders.
Be optimistic
When things are going great, keep them that way! Too often people get nervous or discouraged when things aren’t perfect, which can sometimes be due to external factors like budget cuts or pressure from management to close out this project.
When these situations occur, staff members may also feel stressed out and overwhelmed because of all the work they have to do.
These emotions tend to breed negative thoughts and behaviors. It is your job as a leader to ensure that your team stays motivated and engaged, even during difficult times.
By being aware of the reasons why employees might be feeling down, you will know what needs addressing and how to address them.
It could be something internal like personal issues, or it could be related to the work they are performing — none of which should matter unless there is a performance improvement opportunity.
Keep an open mind about potential changes, and don’t assume anything about anyone else on the team. Sometimes someone who seems fine has a lot of stress and would benefit from some outside help.
Stress is a normal part of life, but for professionals in the workplace, it can become too much.