4 Types of Team Building Techniques for Modern Organizations

Many organizations today hire diverse teams and rely on the team members’ collaboration to reach business objectives. It’s critical that managers reduce conflict among team members and ensure their teams are working to their full potential. Team building activities are a great way to bring team members together and educate them on the different personalities, strengths and weaknesses of their coworkers. Effective team building strategies can help employees work cohesively and play toward each individual member’s strengths. There are four types of team building techniques leaders can choose from that help their teams achieve various goals.

Personality-Based Team Building Techniques

One way to learn more about coworkers is to start with a personality test. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a respected psychometric exam that classifies people into one of sixteen different personalities, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Learning that some employees are more introverted than others may lead managers to assign them specific creative tasks, while extroverted employees may benefit more from tasks that involve engaging with people and presenting new ideas. Each personality type has a role to play in an organization. Team building strategies that incorporate each team member’s personality type, with an understanding of how each individual interacts with others, can help businesses better appreciate what everyone has to offer.

Activity-Based Team Building Techniques

In an activity-based approach to team building, team members participate in a series of challenging tasks designed to take them out of their comfort zones. In many cases, these tasks are completed outdoors and can include ropes courses, boot camps, rafting or survival events.

While it may seem irrelevant to take teams out of the office, in truth, it can be highly rewarding for teams that need to learn to work together and trust each other. Activity-based approaches can work particularly well with younger employees who may be eager to try their hand at something different.

Skills-Based Team Building Techniques

For managers concerned that activity-based team building may not be developing specific job skills, a skills-based approach may be beneficial. Here, team members participate in workshops to develop important job skills, such as how to negotiate effectively and give helpful feedback. The types of skills honed in a skills-based workshop can immediately be relevant to the job and can be highly useful for boosting team performance.

Problem-Solving-Based Team Building Techniques

Sometimes, it is best for teams to look specifically at their internal dynamics and discover problems within the workplace, such as process strategy, poor morale or a lack of communication.

The problem-solving-based team building technique is designed to do exactly that. This approach often takes place in a retreat setting and involves an external consultant. The team leader navigates teams through a series of exercises that help them narrow in on issues and work to resolve them. By directly addressing problems the group is having, this approach can be an excellent way to help teams relax and improve interpersonal bonding.

The Importance of Team Building

These four types of team building techniques are only a taste of the different approaches organizational leaders can take to encourage workplace cohesion. Some managers may also choose to experiment with group-building activities for virtual teams. Here, social networking tools can help fill the gap and help bring distant employees together.

Whatever the approach that works most effectively for your organization, team building exercises are good ways to ensure that teams are working to their full potential. When team members understand the differences in communication styles, thinking approaches and other strengths and weaknesses of their coworkers, they are more likely to respect the value each team member brings to the business. It is only when all team members are included and working to their strengths that the whole team can truly grow and excel.