Team-Building Best Practices
April 22nd, 2009
In a February 2009 interview with the New York Times, Raymond Bickson, CEO of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, acknowledged that team-building exercises are especially critical to the success of a brand, and he would know—his flagship hotel in Mumbai made headline news worldwide when it was attacked by terrorists last November.
Indeed, team-building programs are vital for organizations that are enduring difficult times, be they recession-related or otherwise, as employees that don’t work in unison are less productive and less motivated. That said, contrived exercises that emulate summer camp-esque activities for children (think trust falls and wall climbing) do little to facilitate true cooperation and collaboration.
In this vein, a recent Harvard Business Review Management Insights column identified a few effective team-building tips that don’t require a jungle gym, which I added to below:
- Present real-world problems: According to the column, focusing on real-life scenarios is crucial. Managers should develop simulations of challenges that their employees face on a regular basis, such as crisis management after a natural disaster or a scandal, problem solving around a difficult client request, or leadership of a complex initiative. The simulation should be as realistic and robust as possible, will a fleshed out situation that teams are presented with. Hold back on a few details that you can then introduce throughout the exercise to see how the teams handle curveballs. Beyond promoting teamwork during the exercise itself, this approach gives employees relevant experience they can apply on the job.
- Account for different styles and personalities: This applies both to scenario-development and to the composition of the teams. Don’t create groups with like-minded personalities, as this isn’t realistic. On the other hand, don’t put people together who wouldn’t ever have to collaborate in “real life;” doing so may create good theoretical challenges, but it won’t have a real-world application. Then, develop a diverse set of scenarios to promote different skill sets, such as leadership, problem-solving abilities and creativity.
courtney
Just in case the tidal wave of stories about the US health care reform debate hasn’t induced narcolepsy—or driven you to the emergency room with high blood pressure—we start off this midsummer posting with a couple of articles from Nate Silver at 538 Blog. Nate’s specialty is quantitative analysis of public policy options and, more to the point, the political implications of the debates around them.
