You may have wondered, or even asked friends or co-workers “Hey, are teambuilding events effective?”
But you would probably NOT ask those same people “Hey, is food good for you?”
That is because clearly food is essential if you want to stay healthy and productive…
It may be surprising, but the questions are surprisingly similar – in that teambuilding is essential if you want your organization to be healthy and productive!
Just as there is a wide spectrum of differences in the QUALITY of food you can ingest, though, there is an equally wide range of quality in terms of team building experiences you can invest in.
If you want your body to be healthy, you have to stay away from eating too many “bad” calories, and should eat as many “good” foods as possible.
If you want your team to be healthy, you have to stay away from too many “bad” activities, and should focus on as many “good” activities as possible!
Let me explain…
There is a grand-canyon sized chasm of difference between eating a plate of fresh, healthy vegetables and eating a plate of gummy worms.
And there is a similar difference between investing time in intentional, relevant activities and investing time in recreational fluff.
Both food and team building are necessary to your team’s survival and development – but there are definite differences in the KIND of food or events you invest in…
When potential clients contact me, it is usually because they KNOW THEIR TEAM NEEDS SOMETHING TO PERFORM BETTER TOGETHER… they just don’t know what “it” might be.
Teambuilding is a nebulous, foggy, vague term
It is used to label an incredibly broad spectrum of activities… and so when I speak to clients, I often take a minute to discuss the difference between recreational and intentional team building.
Recreational team building includes things like going bowling together or playing laser tag or doing community service together or a company picnic.
These can all be valuable opportunities for people to spend some time together, and may inspire a few connections and conversations, but seldom do they have a lasting and significant impact on CHANGING BEHAVIORS.
Changed behavior is the result of changed awareness…
If you want your people to interact more profitably or to overcome specific issues such as trust or poor collaboration or personality conflicts, you will want to focus more on an intentional team building program.
Intentional team building events are FUN – your people will still laugh and spend time together building relationships and connecting – but even more importantly, the customized set of experiential activities will ensure that they leave with a better awareness of their tendencies and how their behaviors and attitudes impact the team performance…
And, as Abraham Maslow wrote, “the first step in changing anyone Is to change their awareness…”
But corporate team building events are an impactful way to change awareness… and to change beliefs… and to change behaviors.
You can even continue to grow connections in your meetings with a tool like slides with friends.
And to answer your question… YES – team building is effective.
And there is research and other articles from people who have seen its impact. But the most impressive evidence for team building is anecdotal…
If you are wondering “are team building events effective?” you should click on and read a few of my past client comments…
As a team leader, you want VALUE for your investment of time and resources – and an intentional team building program may provide the laughs and relevant learning insights that are exactly what your team needs to get unstuck and inspire a more positive culture!
