Most teambuilding doesn’t. Most “team builders” aren’t. And, while just “doing something fun together” has value for real teams, it doesn’t build them. Period.
Fun is great. Who doesn’t want their team to have fun? An energizing afternoon or day together can have a refreshing effect on a team for a short span of time. And it is convenient; almost anyone can lead fun.
However if you want to build a team, you will want to look past the games leaders and tour guides for a trained professional who can produce positive enduring change in attitudes and behaviors. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that fun has to go out of the window!
An experienced team developer will intertwine the lessons the team needs to experience with an exciting, challenging set-up that produces an impactful experience amidst the fun. They will also have the skills to guide the team through the difficult moments, hard conversations and “aha” moments so that the lessons stay with the team back at the office.
How can you tell the difference?
- Search for teambuilding or team development companies that guarantee that people will learn specific curriculum that you specify. Yep, you heard me, an actual, no-gimmick money-back guarantee if you don’t think they achieved the learning/behavioral objectives.
- Ask specifically what participants will learn & how you’ll be able to prove that they did. And don’t fall for nebulous words that don’t have meaning without specifics: bonding, teamwork, communication, trust.
- Have they been vetted by a recognized accreditation program?
- Is there an actually curriculum? Or just activities? Can you see a sample participant manual? How about “take-aways” and follow-up to make sure the lessons are integrated into the corporate culture?
- See how they propose to measure the team development that occurred.
You can’t “buy” team. You can’t outsource it, you can’t take a “teambuilding pill”, and you can’t just write a check. (We all WISH that weren’t true; but, down inside, most of us suspected it all along!)
But you CAN work with proven professional trainers to help get your team:
- Working off the same page,
- Focused on the same organization-wide goals, and
- Excited to be working together.
And they can have a great time getting there together!
If your operations are working at 90% and your people are at 50% effectiveness, you’re leaving money on the table. Optimizing the human performance of your teams is an investment that pays BIG returns. Depending on your needs, this may be a targeted team development session, where the focus is on how the team works within the team. Or it may be a skills-based training, where the focus is to educate, refresh or renew your employee’s skills.
Many teams are ready for or need more than a Team Development session. The best “bang for the buck” for these teams is a skill-based training course at their meetings.
As an example, P4 Consulting has 25 interactive and engaging training courses to educate, refresh or renew your employee’s skills. Participants in these two to six hour courses will leave with specific tools and methods for achieving success, along with the skill to confidently use what they have learned. Examples include:
- Trust as Competitive Advantage
- Achieving the Impossible
- Profiting from Change
- Harnessing Creativity & Innovation
- Achieving the Impossible
Contact P4 Consulting to see what they can offer for your next meeting or group gathering.
