Team Building: Building So It Lasts

Learn To Do A Few Simple Things So Team Building Lasts  
Build It So It Will Stand

If you are like most of us I’m betting you purchased something and found the product was no good. It leaves you asking, “Where is the craftsmanship?”  Proper team building takes craftsmanship too.  

Little details need attending to in order for a team to hold up in the face of day to day pressures. In my earlier posts I called these important details bits and pieces.  

What all this means is, if you cut corners, or if you lack a craftsman’s knowledge of team building you’ll have problems. There are things you need to know to do. On the surface they seem nit-picky. Neglect them and suddenly their importance is obvious. 

If you are lazy and cut corners I cannot the help beyond this: You simply must possess the principle that says, “I’m going to do it right.” However, I can give you the right knowledge to be a craftsman at team building.  

If You Know What To Do During Team Building This Trouble It Is No Problem  

Consider this: You took the time you needed to get the right people together. They are a cohesive but diverse group of thinkers. On top of that you were able to secure the training and resources they need and so they are high performing team.   

Life looks rosy. However a key member of the team unexpectedly retires. No problem you were smart enough to ahead of time identify other people that possessed the necessary skill to step in.  

Here’s the rub. The problem is you didn’t plan for a new member transitioning into the team.  

Remember you put together a strongly cohesive team – that means a strong culture. Moreover this is high performing team that knows what it takes to get the job done.  

A concern of any high performing team is new members adapting to the cultural norms of the team (Findlay, McKinlay, Marks & Thompson, 2000). Their concerns are valid.  

We see it frequently enough in sports and business one player is lost and a star player is recruited; and, rather than the team benefiting its performance goes down.  

Often time the failure is attributed to the player not fitting in. Eventually the new member becomes an ex-member and is on a new team and soon is performing like a star again.  

Use This Strategy, Along With The Others, And Never Worry If Your Team Building Will Survive A Loss Of A Member 

But first a word of warning: it is typical even under the best circumstances for team performance to suffer during the transition stage of integrating a new member. The depth and length of its suffering is largely a part of early planning.  

Here Is What You Need To Do Early In The Team Building Process 

First Senior Management Prior To Team Building Needs To Decide This:  

• How much say, will the team have in selecting a new member? This can range from interviewing the team members to get their perspective on one or more candidates or having them give the final vote out of a selection of candidates.   

Second the Team During The Team Building Process Needs to: 

• Clarify the purpose and goals of the team
  
  
• Codify the rules of conduct
  
  
• Revising the rules of conduct (Believe me they will. See my post on norming and storming)
  
  
• Publish the purpose, goals, and expected conduct of the team (Kanaga, 2002).
  
  
• This provides the team with something to give a prospective member,
  
  
• It is used in essence, as a screening device. People will know what the requirements are and thus decide early if they can or want to take them on.
  
  
• Decide who is going to be responsible for bring new members up to speed
  
  
• Who will take on the additional duties until the new member is up to speed 

If you take time to pay attention to the details teams built will stand and repairing teams will be easier. The bottom line, it is easier to do it right than try and fix it later.  

What If You Could Have A Person To Research Your Questions About Leading Others? 

The fact is you do right here. Here is something to keep in mind, If you can’t find what you are looking for simply request a topic, of course related to my expertise.  

You’ll have confidence in knowing the advice you get is not what just worked for me. It will be advice researchers in psychology, business, and sociologists found to work in diverse environments.  

Keep getting up dates on team building, leadership development, and management styles by subscribing to my RSS feed. Also follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Quora.com, Twitter or Focus.com.  

Stay hungry for excellence, 

Alex  

References: 

Findlay, P., McKinlay, A., Marks, A., & Thompson, P. (2000). In search of perfect people: Teamwork and team players in the Scottish spirits industry. Human Relations, 53(12), 1549-1574. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. 

Kanaga, K. How to Form a Team : Five Keys to High Performance.Greensboro, NC, USA: Center for Creative Leadership, 2002. p 29. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/capella/Doc?id=10185403&ppg=30