Team Building Tips

Learn New Team Building Techniques

Tip 1: Asking questions that facilitate discussion and creative thinking

Asking open-ended questions encourages everyone to think and to share their ideas, thoughts and feelings. What makes you say that? How do you feel about that? Can you tell us more about that? What causes you to feel that? What one thing can we do differently in our next team meeting?

You get the idea.

Tip 2: Creating a Safe Place

This is an especially important team building tip, one many leaders overlook. The group needs to believe that the team is a safe place — a place where they can let down their guard, get real, admit mistakes, and know that they will not be judged or gossiped about. So how do you create this safe environment?

Deciding your ground rules together, early in the life of your team, will encourage and develop trust, safety and mutual respect. Guarding confidentiality - "what's said here stays here" - is especially important. As a leader, be sure to model this commitment to confidentiality yourself!

Tip 3: Dealing with challenging team members

You will encounter "challenging people" on any team. Aim to approach them with respect and patience.

• The Quiet Person – who doesn't like talking much less sharing. Don't be afraid to give a little prompting—call on them periodically to share an opinion. Affirm their contribution big-time when they do respond!
• The Talker – is always the first to jump in and give an opinion or offer an answer. This person can irritate or intimidate or both! At the start of your meetings it may be helpful to remind the group that some people need time to think and process internally, and it's OK to be quiet for a minute. A one on one conversation with "the talker" may also be helpful asking for their help in encouraging quieter team members to contribute.
• The Very Opinionated Person – can want their own way, talk over, interrupt, or belittle other people's ideas. They can hurt or offend very easily and the team members will not feel very safe. Remind the group regularly of any ground rules that cover these issues, without singling out the offender. Remind them how important it's for everyone to feel respected, never embarrassed!
• The Track Changer – can lead the group along a rabbit trail and detract from the meeting's purpose. Affirm their idea or creativity and make a plan to return to that trail at a later time if appropriate. An occasional detour is not always negative if you can keep it brief and then confidently and respectfully bring the group back on track.

A team leader who knows how to encourage their team members, and makes them feel respected, will have much greater influence on the team's positive outcomes. These team building tips are just a beginning. Go to our store for more material.

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