Team Building: When to do it

You have inherited a team and based on your workload, you're wondering whether or not you need to do some team building. 

First, let's review what is a team. By definition a team is a group of interdependent individuals.  They have complementary skills and are committed to a shared and meaningful purpose or at the very least, specific goals. 

Ideally, they have a common collaborative work approach with clear roles and responsibilities.  They hold themselves mutually accountable for the team’s performance. 

When effective, teams display confidence, enthusiasm and seek continuously to improve their performance.  

When to do Team Building

It doesn’t matter whether or not your team is effective, now that you are leading the team, team building is required.  Below is a list of when to do team building:

• Building strength into an existing healthy team
• Building strong teamwork between two or more functions
• Formation of a new team
• New people joining an existing team
• Revitalization of a stagnant staff or staff in trouble
• Poor task execution
• Troubled interpersonal relationships
•  As a response to strategic challenges, impending or actual change
• Signs of team distress by team members
• various diverting dysfunctional behaviours - the more widespread, the greater the urgency.  

     What does team distress look like?  

• Poor decision making
• Absenteesim / Presenteeism
• Apathy or lack of interest
• Undermining others' efforts
• Complaints about lack of empowerment
• Increased conflict
• Complaints about other team members
• Avoidance of team interaction
• Irritability
• Decreased communication 
• Reduced trust
• Decreased directness / openness 
• Defensive behaviour
• Protective behaviour
• Blaming others
• Reduced risk taking

These two list illustrate that team building is not a one-time task. Even your most effective team can benefit team building if for no other reason than to build strength into the team. 

Next steps

Give this some thought.  Next we can discuss the stages of team development, building a successful team, your responsibilities as a leader, common team challenges, and a number of resources. At a later time, I’ll post an overview of when NOT to do “team building.” There are a number of issues that can be addressed as opposed to team building.