Various terms like synergy, group of people, whole, co-operation, having one goal, reporting to one boss and working together are used to represent a team.

Some of these terms also represent particularly good teams. An easy definition of a team is a group of individuals working towards attaining a common goal.

Team building is a wide-ranging process to enable a group of individuals working together to accomplish their common objective. It is one of the most vital subjects covered by management studies.

Team building carried out in the form of management consultancy has proven to be the most effective form of team building. Pure training has also been used in building teams but management consultancy has proved to be more successful.

There are three fundamental stages in the team building process:

1. Defining the objectives the team is working to achieve.

2. Identifying any barriers in reaching those goals.

3. Dealing with the situation, removing the barriers and paving ways for the achievement of those goals.

The necessary skill desired here is the ability to tackle issues, find the solution and solve it in proper order. Team building can take different forms depending upon the nature and the size of the team.

The foundation of good teamwork is embedded in the effectiveness of the team building activity. No team building activity can be effective unless the team has a shared dedication to pursue the common objective.

So, before applying any other team building activities, the presence of shared commitment in a team must be assured.

Team building is neither a single event nor an activity to be carried out by someone outside the team. Although management consultants can help greatly in facilitating the team building process, the primary responsibility to perform this task goes to the team manager or leader, and the team members.

The foundation of common commitment can be built by following these guidelines;

1. Clearly describing the objectives of the team and establishing a collective ownership of those aims in the team.

2. Identifying the issues blocking the team and removing such issues.

3. Positioning enablers in the team to achieve the goals with high standards.

4. Using the right sequence to help the team climb the ladder of success and accomplishment.

There are four basic kinds of teams and each one of these necessitates different team building activities;

1. In the case of projects where the tasks keep on altering, the team building process ought to focus on building individual skills and commitment.

2. In the case of small teams comprising 2 to 12 members, the team building activities should focus on removing the difficulties like personality differences, inter-personal associations, and individual dynamics etc. by overcoming them though working together and team bonding.

3. In the case of team islands i.e. the relations of different teams, the inhibitors are more persistent and difficult to remove. Building a relationship and bridging the differences ought to be the focal point of team building in such circumstances.

4. The largest scale of team building is the managerial culture. The culture of an organization is a larger whole which absorbs the individual differences of the component teams.

Different sorts of activities are used in team building for different sorts of teams.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with team building examples. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Small Team Building Activities

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