Team building is an ongoing process consisting of policies and practices that establish a healthy workplace culture and bolster right relations, communication, trust, and loyalty.

“86% of business leaders say that a lack of collaborative teamwork is the reason for failure in the workplace,” according to HubSpot.

Organizational leadership must take a proactive approach to managing the needs of all departments and team members while implementing targeted, top-down team-building strategies that “encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).”

Team building is often focused on how to improve team engagement, cooperation, and collaboration (i.e. what my employees can do for me). In reality, these engagement metrics are the results of intentional, long-term leadership strategies. In other words, leadership development is the chicken and team building is the egg.

Sustainable team building strategies do not require a large budget and should emphasize providing solutions for employee needs. While jean day and pizza parties are great, they aren’t always going to move the needle when it comes to building a cohesive, well-functioning team. Keep reading for sustainable ways to strengthen or expand your team building and leadership strategies.

True Team-building Strategies

Hands-on leadership - Lead by example by making your organization’s mission and values visible across all departments. If your mission statement or cultural strategy states one thing and your lead team exhibits conflicting behavior, you will degrade employee trust and respect overtime. Offer timely mentorship and act as a harmonizing influence by providing proactive feedback and being action-oriented. One way to do this is to establish purposeful multi-departmental committees that encourage creativity and problem-solving to improve processes and time-management for all parties.
Compassionate correction - A good leader learns how to edify others in a way that builds connection, not criticism. Unless we are micromanaging, it is likely that our team will occasionally do something that results in error or delayed output. The key to addressing performance issues is to focus on the person’s needs and not the problem. Aim for a humble approach that doesn’t minimize their significance, hard work, and dedication to the organization. The goal should be to work with the employee to create a co-active solution that empowers them instead of punishing or shaming them. Then offer necessary tools and support that fill any gaps that may have contributed to the performance issues.
Professional learning and development - Provide quality training sessions that allow your team to learn from each other and outside experts. Use this dedicated time to introduce new tools, models, case studies and shared experience and pair it with opportunities for team members to engage in a relaxed setting to discuss and practice new material.
Company assembly and recreation - Schedule meaningful and fun activities, games, and exercises that pose a challenge to team members in order to foster healthy competition, cooperation, and team work. The focus of these team assemblies should align with workforce culture, abilities, and interests (and should be offered during paid work hours).

Common Culture Pitfalls

One of the greatest barriers to team collaboration and communication is leadership dissonance; where different tiers or types of employees experience different treatment or privilege compared to the rest of the team. This cultural gap can also take place between different departments which can impede company-wide culture improvement efforts and interdepartmental collaboration. I have seen this in large hospital systems where nurse and office staff report physicians receive special exceptions and treatment, as well as in manufacturing settings where where blue collar and white collar workers may receive different treatment from the lead team. Of course, it is natural for different positions in the organization to receive different benefits and compensation; the tension arises when these are not clear job-related perks but rather social favoritism shown either intentionally or unintentionally by leadership.

In order to engage the greatest number of employees and see the greatest return on your investment, choose a team building approach that meets all people and positions where they are and unite them for a common purpose. Use engagement polls and surveys to gauge interest and learn what your team needs from you and what types of training, activities, and support they need to thrive in the workplace.