Team Building
First let’s define the word team. Team is a group of people with a common, collective goal. A team is not based on one person. Like the saying “There is no 'I' in TEAM”. Forming successful teams can become a challenge. It’s a challenge because you have to get all the right people in one group. A bad apple can spoil the whole group. To have a successful team, a leader must have background knowledge of everyone on the team so that he will be able to help each one in a respectable manner, and it will help also later if a problem might occur among them. Team Building plays an important role in the workplace. Some team building experiences are successful and some are unsuccessful. Team building incorporates team work. Team work is when employees put aside their personal goals and preferences and work together cooperatively to achieve the team’s goal. Team Building also forms friendships and trust between employees. When the team is on the same page, everything runs smoothly. The steps a team leader takes to select workable teammates for a project can be challenging and frustrating task.
Leaders should follow the four steps to create an effective team building: 1. Assess, 2. Plan, 3. Execute, 4. Evaluate. Step 1: Assess the teams developmental needs base on strengths and weaknesses by creating a lists with different categories. Step 2: Plan team-building activities based on the needs identified; referring to the entire no’s the team had. Step 3: Execute the planned team-building activities immediately or the plans could be easily forgotten. Step 4: Evaluating the results to see if the activities have shown effectiveness. The evaluation should show progress, if not think of other ways to improve your team. (Chapter 15 pages 219-222) They are quick to decide and quick to take responsibility for their decisions - positive or negative. Project leadership requires a blend of soft skills, such as communication and motivation. Everyone knows the motto: “Don’t be a follower, be a Leader”. Leaders are there to set an example to the team so that their will have an effective leadership that will also create a positive impact on the work place. Leaders are should represent good role models to the company. Good leaders need to establish a good relationship among team members so that the job can be done effectively. Leaders make solid decisions and commit to seeing them through. Losers put off decisions and mess around with them once they are made. What is communication? Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. When people hear the word communication, the first word that comes to their mind is talking. Communication is more than just verbally talking to a person; it comes in different forms whether it’s written or sent via email or text messages. A challenge you can add to team building is, making the team communicate to each other via writing than verbal. This allows the team to become comfortable writing to each other instead of verbally talking all the time. As the role of the supervisor you should advise your team to watch how they choose they tone for the particular message there trying to convey. Emails and other form of writing can be judged base on the tone. Team members who understand each other’s' personalities can communicate better.
There are plenty workshops available to attend nationwide that covers the topic team building. To register and sign up for classes is very easy. A website you can visit is http://www.amanet.org/ . Once you get on the website you can type in team building in the search bar, and the seminar classes will appear. There is different types of seminars you can choose from. Select the 3 days you want to attend and how many attendees attending the seminar. The classes are not cheap but will be helpful for your business in the future. For this particular seminar “Project Team Leadership: Building Commitment through Superior Communication” Nonmembers are $2,345, AMA members are $2,095, and GSA members are $1,794.The seminar classes are all different prices. This workshop will teach you how to master the project leadership skills that can help you build team commitment and create a more predictable project environment. (amanet.org) I would excel as a supervisor or manager when faced with team building in the workplace very well. I’m a great team player and willing to listen to learn new things with my team members. That is the only way people will know that their leader care about them by listening to their complaints and suggestions. I wouldn’t just assume I know everything I’ll still ask for opinions and ideas to help the workplace run smoothly. I want my team members to feel very comfortable around me and won’t be scared to ask me questions or tell me when they have conflicts at the job. When I see my team doing well and all our goals are being accomplished, I would reward them at the end of the month. Whether it is a little extra money added to their checks, company outing, or small gift bags or cards to show my appreciation. Small things like that always put smiles on employee faces and helps encourage them to work harder. I love working in groups as long as everyone is on the same page. A good objective of team building: All the things learnt can be then adapted to working environment and the real life situations. At the end of the whole team building experience, the person should feel that they have accomplished a major task; self-progressed and have a greater understanding of self and there importance in a team. The whole experience should be fun and exciting, not boring and unproductive. Team building is not only used in the workplace it used in every society. Team building also takes place at schools, sporting events, home, etc. People help each out and sometime do not even realize it. Whether the help is physically or verbally the task is still getting accomplished. People who lack people skills and leadership skills should really participate in team building activities.
One important aspect of team communication is problem solving. Teams need to be able to communicate about what the problem is, why it is a problem and what they can do about it. Team building exercises that require teams to work together to solve hypothetical problems can encourage them to develop their problem solving communication skills. (Team Building Activities) Hands-on problem solving activities to highlight communicating when solving problems is also helpful. I enjoy doing hands on activities, it helps me remember and learn the lesson much easier. They are quick to decide and quick to take responsibility for their decisions - positive or negative. A simulation or game of some sort that allows the team members to learn more about each other and dynamics that shows up in the team or organization. Topics may be problem-solving, leadership, change, etc. Team building has several interesting games that bring the team together. After you form your team you can play a game called “I Have Amnesia” In this game, co-workers will get to know each other better. Ask employees to sit in a circle. Each person should take turns being the amnesiac and must pretend to not remember anything about his life. He must ask questions to discover his past, and co-workers can answer them. For example, he might ask if he is married, what his favorite food is and where he grew up. Allow each person a few minutes and then move on to the next player. Another game is “Round Robin Story Building” This game can help communication and brainstorming, as well as create a fun environment that will get everyone laughing. Start by setting ground rules, or your story could get off track. The leader begins with "Last night, I heard the loudest...” The next person adds a few words, and the story goes around the group with each person adding on, changing the story and creating something different. The leader should take notes and summarize the story at the end to see what the team has created together. (Team Building Ideas for the Workplace) You can also create games as well. If I was a supervisor I would enjoy playing these games and it would also take a stress from the workloads to ease the employee’s minds. Playing games seems to relieve stress because we all know work can be stressful. Quotes are posted throughout the workplace. Inspirational quotes and slogans can really motivate a person to do their best. A simple sentence can easily persuade a person. Some example inspirational quotes and slogans are: "A boat doesn’t go forward if each one is rowing their own way" ~ Swahili proverb "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success" ~ Henry Ford "One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team" ~ Kareem Abdul Jabbar "A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skill of the others" ~ Norman Hidle. (Team Building in the workplace) Some supervisors and team leaders post inspirational quotes and slogans around the job to help motivate the team. Seeing positive words around the workplace can bring set a positive attitudes. In conclusions team building plays an important role in the workplace. A team consists of more than one person. “There is no 'I' in TEAM”. Forming successful teams can become a challenge. To have a successful team, a leader must have background knowledge of everyone on the team so that he will be able to help each one in a respectable manner, and it will help also later if a problem might occur among them. . Team work is when employees put aside their personal goals and preferences and work together cooperatively to achieve the team’s goal. Team Building also forms friendships and trust between employees. Leaders should follow the four steps to create an effective team building: 1. Assess, 2. Plan, 3. Execute, 4. Evaluate. Good leaders need to establish a good relationship among team members so that the job can be done effectively. Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. Communication is very important!!! Everyone on the team has to be on the same page. If everyone is on a different page then the team will be uncoordinated and unorganized. If you or your company is interested in joining team building seminars, they are offered nationwide for 3 days. The prices are not cheap but everything you learn and get in the seminars will help your team become very successful. Learning team building doesn’t have to consist of lectures and rules to help you, games are also played to help you become familiar with your team members. The games are very fun to play and can also relieve stress and tension your team may have. The supervisors or team leaders sometimes post positive inspirational quotes or slogans around the workplace. Participating in team building can really be a good thing. It can bring out skills that you never you had. Whether its leadership, communicating, or being a team player. Having those types of skills can help you go far in your career. Often, a team-building event will focus on more than one aspect of team-building. At its most comprehensive, team building begins with an assessment process that looks at different areas of team effectiveness and then uses the data to determine the actions. After the activity is over make sure you recognize and reward the individuals and the team for efforts. Researching team building in the workplace really helped me.

References:

American Management Association http://www.amanet.org/training/seminars/Project-Team-Leadership-Building-Commitment-Through-Superior-Communication.aspx
Effective Supervision by Goetsch, David L., 2002, 11th Edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-031583-4.
Team-Building Activities for Improving Workplace Communication http://smallbusiness.chron.com/teambuilding-activities-improving-workplace-communication-22841.html
Team Building Ideas for the Workplace http://smallbusiness.chron.com/team-building-ideas-workplace-11589.html

Team Building in the Workplace http://www.atc2u.com/downloads/eddy/New%20Folder/team-building-workplace.pdf