Team Building - A Common Goal - Leadership Article

By:Cathy Warschaw

We’ve all heard the saying, “There’s no ‘I’ in Team.” Team building has been a goal of the workplace for many years because of the numerous benefits it brings. Team building is a great way to have fun and energize coworkers, build and strengthen coworker and employer relationships, and improve productivity in the workforce.

With all these great benefits, it’s easy to see why developing collaboration in the office is usually one of the top five business priorities of an employer!

Being part of a great team sounds like fun – but what actually makes a team productive and worthwhile? Good teams share some common traits:

-Members depend on each other
-Each member believes that his or her opinion is important
-Every person has a role
-A safe environment exists that allows members to feel comfortable sharing ideas
-Members can move past setbacks and overcome challenges together
-An ability to effectively cooperate with each other to problem solve

Fortunately, establishing great teamwork in the workplace is not an impossible task. There are many activities and games that specialize in building cooperation and mutual dependence, such as icebreakers and scavenger hunts. In fact, many businesses provide these team building services to other businesses.

If you believe that your workplace could use a little group TLC, consider discussing further with your supervisor or even colleagues. Conduct some research on team building activities and locate service providers. Identify the personality of your workplace and decide which activity would best suit its needs.

While you’re seeking ways to team build as a group, also think of actions that you as an individual can take to promote collaboration.

For example, offer assistance with a task that a coworker appears to be struggling with, or at the next group meeting, ask for the opinion of a colleague who is normally quiet. Make an effort to practice open and honest communication with your coworkers. There are many opportunities available to demonstrate your commitment to working as a team.

Team building offers many benefits in the workplace that empower employees to create a work environment to which people want to belong; however, don’t let all the hard work overshadow the most important thing – team work is also about having fun!

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: team building activities, team building, teamwork, team, workplace, success, cooperation, collaboration

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Written by Cathy Warschaw, Director of the Warschaw Learning Institute. Offering cds, eBooks and online training for the dental and medical field. Register for our newsletter at http://www.WarschawLearningInstitute.com ©2005

Top Leadership Articles
1). Execution or Exit By : Graeme Nichol Execution leads to results. Planning is a step in the right direction but execution is what counts
2). Why Leaders Always Follow Their Instincts By : Daegan Smith What separates a rich person from an ordinary person? The answer to that question is attitude. If one believes that the individual is capable of succeeding, it will happen. All it takes is some hard work and patience for everything to fall into place for that dream to become a reality.
3). Employee Recognition Awards Create Progress By : John Morris In difficult situations, when companies are in crisis and can only be saved by major effort, group morale often rises to far higher levels than before...
4). Run the Business / Change the Business – Dual Perspective Proves Key to Success By : Dutch Holland Change Management is a lot like heart surgery – the surgeon must keep the patient alive while the surgery is under way. Likewise, change managers must maintain the business at the very time they are engaged in changing that business. Many initiatives fail to appreciate the need for this dual perspective – at their peril!
5). 7 Critical Steps to Formulating Your Annual Strategic Business Plan By : Graeme Nichol Having a plan to execute leads to success. Failing to plan is planning to fail
6). What is a Shared Vision? By : Graeme Nichol Having a vison others buy into leads to success
7). No One is Born a Leader By : Daegan Smith There is a saying that goes, leaders are not born, they are made. This line is very true as it was in the olden times and is still applicable today. Before a King turns over the throne to the prince, the young man is trained in various subjects.
8). Leadership in Network Marketing By : Sanjay Johari Everyone has the potential to be a leader and live on his own terms. Network marketing provides the right atmosphere to bring out the leadership qualities.
9). Lead the Field to Guarantee your Success; Tips to become a good Leader By : Daegan Smith Being a good leader is more than just being able to manage your employees or having better skills than your subordinates. Oftentimes leaders arenít very skillful or very smart, but they earn respect from their underlings and therefore earn their cooperation. Being a good leader entails responsibility and willingness, not just skill and intelligence.
10). How to Easily Unlock Your Leadership Genius By : Daegan Smith In psychology, a famous doctor said the mind is like an iceberg with only a tip visible above the water and the larger part is submerged. Studies show that humans only use 10% of the brain in doing the various tasks everyday. The other 90% is just kept in storage.

New Leadership Articles
1). Mentoring with a Mission By : Kimberly King Being a strong and effective mentor requires very specific behaviors. Most of the time we tell our Supervisors to "go coach" but we do not observe their coaching to determine if they are demonstrating the behaviors that will drive change. Focus on the behaviors of your Mentors and you will change the results of your businesss!
2). Business Coaching; Learning to Change with the Market and Times By : Kris Koonar Business Coaching is all about doing the best with the best tools.
3). How To Hire The Right Person For The Right Job By : John Nicholas Part of good leadership requires skill in the hiring process. Good leaders know that employee turnover is costly. Retention of productive employees affects the bottom line as well as morale and growth. The key to this is hiring the right person in the first place.
4). Leadership in Network Marketing By : Sanjay Johari Everyone has the potential to be a leader and live on his own terms. Network marketing provides the right atmosphere to bring out the leadership qualities.
5). Five Essential Principles to Improve Your Leadership Skills By : Abbas Abedi Without these points covered you can’t be a good leader. So read this article carefully.
6). Being the Leader in Your Own Life By : Janette Marie Freeman Were you trained as a child, to be a follower or a leader? Many of us were trained to surrender our power early in life. In usually subtle ways we were taught to live by the rules imposed on us by parents, society, religious leadership and educational training, and taught to be followers- not leaders. Do you recognize a few of these rules?
7). Success Means Making a Significant Contribution By : Liane Bate In our businesses we must do the same if we wish to achieve success. By this I mean making a significant contribution of value, going above and beyond the call of duty, and thinking beyond the monetary rewards at the end.
8). Lead the Field to Guarantee your Success; Tips to become a good Leader By : Daegan Smith Being a good leader is more than just being able to manage your employees or having better skills than your subordinates. Oftentimes leaders arenít very skillful or very smart, but they earn respect from their underlings and therefore earn their cooperation. Being a good leader entails responsibility and willingness, not just skill and intelligence.
9). No One is Born a Leader By : Daegan Smith There is a saying that goes, leaders are not born, they are made. This line is very true as it was in the olden times and is still applicable today. Before a King turns over the throne to the prince, the young man is trained in various subjects.
10). How to Easily Unlock Your Leadership Genius By : Daegan Smith In psychology, a famous doctor said the mind is like an iceberg with only a tip visible above the water and the larger part is submerged. Studies show that humans only use 10% of the brain in doing the various tasks everyday. The other 90% is just kept in storage.