Team Building
July 17, 2007 · by Tammy Adler
Why is it so important to encourage team building within an organization?
Team building is a very important and vital aspect within organizations. It encourages innovation, empowers team members and creates long-term and lasting relationships.
This spring while trying to think of a team building exercise that would excite everyone, I had the harebrained idea of attending an afternoon Brewer’s game. Now the interesting part; does everyone like baseball, would everyone want to attend, and would everyone be willing to take a day of vacation if the company sprang for the tailgating and ticket expenses?
I struggled and struggled with the answers to these questions. I finally decided to put the struggle to rest, and decided the company would also spring for an extra day off as an incentive for team members to participate. Much to my pleasure, 95% of the team decided to partake.
We left our office at 8:30 a.m. for a 1:05 p.m. opening pitch. Upon arriving at Miller Park (with parking passes in hand), we parked in the fifth row outside of the stadium and began setting up our chairs, coolers, and grills.
The weather was beautiful, tailgating was fun, each team had a grand slam, the Brewers won, and we had a wonderful time. One of the greatest parts was there was no shop talk, team members got to know one another, joked around, laughed, and had a downright fun time.
I believe these types of events are essential for building a culture where team members are excited and passionate about their work, innovation is rewarded and everyone strives for excellence, team members are empowered and their judgment is trusted, team members are supported, and the team as a whole unselfishly serves and supports our communities.
You see, there is more to business than counting the number of billable hours and constantly cracking the “you have to bill” whip. While we all need to remain good business people, it is incumbent upon us to recognize the importance of leading by example and letting everyone know we value them as team members.
Team building reinvigorates the team, lets them know you really care about them, and is an integral part of building the type of culture where everyone thrives. That’s the type of company I want to nurture.
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