The Program

Smart businesses want to develop positive, productive teamwork. That's good. It's smart. But team building has to be approached correctly to work.

Step 1: Goals

You need specific goals. Of course you'd like everyone to work well together as a team. But why? Poorly executed  teamwork can actually slow a project down and kill creativity. Done right, teamwork can take your team to the top.

Step 2: Team Type

It's important to consider the players of the many teams and sub-teams within your business. Some people just are not good team players. That's not necessarily bad, however. There are two kinds of teams and you must consider which type of team you are building.

Type One is a collaborative team. This a team of individuals supporting other team members to produce a single result. This is like a baseball team. Different players have different functions and the product is a high score leading to victory. A team formed to solve a particular problem, or to work through a specific project, is a collaborative team.

Type Two is a contributing team. In a contributing team, each member contributes his individual effort to the team's total. A track team works like that. Someone wins a race and someone wins the high jump which gives the team enough points to win the track meet. The high jumper doesn't really help the runner but their combined effort wins the event. Competitive people who don't like teamwork do very well on contributing teams. Your sales force is a contrubuting team. You want them to support and assist each other but it's the comined total of their individual efforts that adds up to a sales increase.

Have you considered which type of team you want to build? It matters. It matters because the different types of teams require different developmental training. There are many teams of both types within a business.

Step 3: Issues

When people are involved, there are always issues. If you don't work through the major issues before any teamwork exercise, the team will fail.

Step 4: Develop Individuals

Each team member needs to "train" to perform their best for the team. It is absolutely imperative to correct individual deficiencies before throwing a group together as a team. Training builds confidence. I know of no other team building program that handles this key step.

Step 5: Rules

Since the team has goals and is made of strong individuals, you'll need to set some rules. Every team needs a set of rules. Rules should not be assumed or "unspoken". Rules should be discussed and maybe written. For example, if all members are allowed to disagree with the boss and to voice their view without fear of retribution, write it out. Doing that builds trust. Trust opens communication. Never assume people know they are free to disagree. Unless it's stated, they won't believe it. You will get more from your team if you establish rules.

Step 6: Continually Evolving Strategy

Your team needs a strategy. And your team's strategy needs to be flexible. The market is always changing. Competitors introduce new products. Stuff happens. Successful teams change tactics fluidly and they aren't afraid to try new things.

	Teamwork: Before you spend money on a team building seminar, please spend a little time on the phone with me.