Action Steps
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Seek continual leader training for team building

Skilled team leaders are able to build teams with a common purpose and a sense of camaraderie, so together they work as one. These skills come from experience and education, so constantly seek ways to educate your leaders and help them learn from their experiences.

I recommend: The Leaders Institute offers seminars and courses to improve leader skills within a team environment. For a directory including a wide variety of companies that offer leader training, see The Training Registry website.

Provide member training to improve team building abilities

To deepen the capabilities and success of team members, regularly seek opportunities that provide continued team development in all areas of team building. There are a wide variety of team building programs that offer team building ideas and the training necessary to improve team collaboration and success.

I recommend: For corporate team building training that includes team building activities, contact Professional Teambuilding. If you are looking for a more specialized team-building workshop, Total Adventures customizes their training adventures to meet your company's needs, and they continually seek challenges that are new and different to improve team performance.

Avoid team building problems by improving communication

Often small details are the biggest barriers to team success, so pay attention to possible or current problems within your team. Some of the biggest barriers include unclear goals, unhealthy communication, playing it 'safe', individual goals and poor leadership. Be able to identify the barriers to your team's success and move forward with team building solutions.

I recommend: In every aspect of these barriers, there is one common denominator - communication, and luckily, InterLink Training & Coaching provides training as well as referrals to suit your team needs. If you need help aligning company goals with individual goals, SuccessFactors offers a free eGuide you can download.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Team building is a work in progress, so keep your eyes and ears open for new, innovative training that enhances the abilities of your leaders and members.

Guide to Small Business Team Building

How to get employees to work together toward a single goal

By Tonya Vinas, Writer, Editor, Researcher, Tonya Vinas

Formal teams can be organized in several ways:

1. Product teams: Taking a cue from cellular manufacturing, these teams are organized around products or services.
2. Short-term teams: Teams can also be project-oriented, with a definitive start and end date. These can be organized around the needs of customers or shorter-term business goals, such as a relocation or annual company picnic.
3. Long-term teams: Businesses use these to keep momentum and continuous improvement alive in ongoing needs, such as safety and health, technology needs, etc.

Action Steps
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Train your team

A seminar, workshop or retreat may be the quickest way to kick-start your teamwork program.

I recommend: TeamBuildingInc.com offers dozens of team training workshops. Find a variety of team-building training tools at The Richardson Company.

Make it fun

When implementing a team-building program, consider injecting a little fun into the mix. When employees are having a good time, it encourages interaction and fosters teamwork.

I recommend: The Ant & The Grasshopper and Total Adventures specialize in team building programs that focus on games and play.

Use team-building exercises

Creating a team environment requires an ongoing commitment. Routinely engage your team in exercises that reinforce the team concept.

I recommend: Find detailed descriptions of common team-building exercises, available free of charge courtesy of Wilderdom.com.

Take it outside

Getting your employees outside the office offers a great opportunity to strengthen your team concept.

I recommend: Make it simple by planning a company picnic or going to a sporting event. If you want a full-scale outdoor adventure, check out the programs offered by Venture Up, the world's largest provider of team building events, including corporate campouts and climbing.

Reward teamwork

If building a team around results — units produced, cost reductions, meeting deadlines — include a monetary reward tied to the results. Money is a great motivator. Offer bonuses, compensation or other rewards for a great team performance.

I recommend: Find employee recognition rewards at Terryberry.com or EliteCorporateGifts.com.

Use meetings to build teamwork

Include team-building elements in your meetings. Use a quick ice breaker to encourage workers to open up and interact, especially when bringing a new team together.

I recommend: Find descriptions of several ice breakers that take only a few minutes at BusinessFundamentals.com.

Add team building to your holiday parties

Your annual holiday party presents a tremendous opportunity to promote team building. Having all of your employees together in a relaxed environment is the ideal situation for reinforcing your team concept.

I recommend: TeamBonding.com presents dozens of ideas for holiday parties that promote team building.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If your teams are organized around products, it's important for team members to be near one another. Some companies find that offices inhibit team development.
• •  How many people should be on a team? Some people advocate five. Some say eight to 10. A rule of thumb: the smaller the better. If you find the work is too much, add more people to the team later.
• •  Don't allow your teams to enter meeting-mania. Ask for a list of accomplishments or steps focusing on action at least once a month. Better — once a week.
• •  Make sure roles are clear within teams. Appoint a team leader only if needed, such as in cases that require direct accountability (product liability, finances, etc.). Don't appoint leaders just to do so. Some teams function fine without them.

Action Steps
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Choose a goal and leader to start team building

Have a clear, well-defined goal, and a leader who can clearly communicate this goal to the team. A goal of mutual interest within the team enhances the effectiveness due to desire for personal and group success. A team leader who involves individuals in their area of strength is leading for group success.

I recommend: For a free demo of goal management software, check out SuccessFactors. Whether you are looking for business team building, corporate team building, or individual improvement, contact Everest Training & Consulting for leadership training and consulting.

Build trust and positive interactions with team building activities

Trust and healthy interactions are a necessity when working with teams. These two components foster complementary relationships, utilize everyone's strengths, and meet goals as one cohesive unit. To develop trust and healthy interactions among your team, consider a corporate team building program, team building activities, and/or a team building workshop.

I recommend: Action Centered Training (ACT) offers corporate team building training anywhere in the United States with a variety of activities, and you choose the appropriate training for your group. For more team building programs and activities, Teambuildinginc.com has a plethora of options to consider and utilize to build trust and healthy interactions in your team.

Use assessment tools to gauge strengths and weaknesses before, during and after team building

Continual team assessment occurs in a productive, focused team on a formal and informal basis. Formal assessment involves the use of assessment tools or professionals, while informal assessment occurs constantly with observation skills. Whether you prefer to use available assessment tools or a professional depends on your individual business and employees.

I recommend: For a self-administered assessment tool for use before, during and after team building, consider a tool developed by the Nebraska Cooperative Extension. If you are seeking professional assessments, Profiles International offers very detailed assessment analysis, and you can download a sample of their assessments before contacting them.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Successful team building enhances your business' ability to meet goals, and adjusting to identified issues is a constant. Just remember - communication is the key.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Team-building leadership

This might seem like a given, but actually, defining a leader is an important part of team building. A leader and a goal give definition to the activities and aspects of teams that need to be nurtured.

I recommend: Get a detailed description of leadership roles in team building from Team Building for Leaders.

Meyers Briggs personality testing

One way to determine team roles for team building is to use the Meyers Briggs standard, a set of basic personality type definitions used in a 'personality test' that many businesses rely on for learning more about cognitive roles in teams.

I recommend: Find out more about the Meyers Briggs at Personality Pathways.

DISC

Another kind of personality test is called DISC or Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance. This test can also fit neatly into a team-building structure.

I recommend: Read up on DISC for team building at DiscusOnline.

Wilderness adventure

This type of activity is often a way for managers to build teams; this can take place either 'out in the field' (in a wilderness area) or 'on paper' (part of a normal orientation or team-building seminar in an office). Teams work on problem solving and constructing solutions. The wilderness adventure is great practice for dealing with the challenges that an office team may face.

I recommend: Check out Wilderness Adventure to see what a real wilderness adventure might look like for a team-building exercise.

Shared purpose

One general team-building strategy that managers and leaders pay close attention to is the idea of a shared purpose. Teams with defined goals can tackle them confidently. Shared purpose also assists individuals in working together as a cohesive group.

I recommend: For a definition and description of shared purpose in team building, check out TeamBuildingInformation.com.

Ice breakers

Another tool in a team-building leader's tool kit is ice breakers. These small activities provide a segue to the main event. Basically, if team members do not know each other, ice breakers help forge basic connections before team members need to work with one another on a more intimate basis.

I recommend: Find out more about ice breaker activities at Team Building Guide.