Training within the business world no longer involves hours of boring conferences. Psychologists have found that the most-effective methods for training groups are team-building exercises. Most employees already have what are referred to as “hard skills,” such as educational degrees, software experience, or machine operating skills. “Soft skills” like communication, cohesiveness, and problem-solving abilities are all taught during team-building. Below you will find solid reasons team-building activities should be included in your company’s training budget.

Improved Employee Communication

Team-building has been shown to break down barriers between individuals. Most employees interact with only small groups of coworkers to accomplish their daily tasks. Team-building exercises break people out of these groups and give them a chance to interact with different coworkers. Solving a problem together can have a lasting impact on employees’ communication abilities. The casual interaction will destroy barriers and eventually create better productivity in the office.

Make It Fun!

Many people roll their eyes at the mention of team-building days. Making the day “corporate” or including lectures will work against what you are trying to accomplish. If management wishes to have a follow-up to the team-building event, wait until everyone is back in the office.

Psychologists have found that happiness and learning are very closely related. When employees are engaged and having fun, they are more likely to retain the soft skills they are learning. Just as with hard skills, the more soft skills employees learn, the more successful they will be.

Mission: Teamwork

The goal of team-building exercises is the development of teamwork and cohesion in the office. Monotony can be a morale-killer, so breaking up the routine with a team-building day is always a good idea. Ideally, this team day will build new employee relationships and strengthen existing ones.

Strengthening employee relationships will directly increase morale. When employees have high morale, their productivity, effectiveness, and initiative also increase. If the team-building exercises are successful, your employees will return to the office more engaged and enthusiastic than ever before.

Sources:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-team-building-1979.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2014/10/14/the-power-of-pause/#30fca7717368

http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/10-benefits-of-corporate-team-building-activities/

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Each member of a group brings diversity and originality. Those facets can cause friction, or they can improve group strength and produce dramatic results. A sense of purpose and mission sets a group of people apart as a team working together to accomplish a shared goal. Instilling that ethos into a team changes the dynamic from a humdrum plodding to a purposeful endeavor. Here are three strategies for creating such an atmosphere.

Keep the Goal in Mind

A good team always has a compelling goal in mind. Knowing what you want to achieve and the steps you need to take to achieve it are what drive a team’s motivation. Achieving short-term goals provides the impetus to attack the next. Over time, this becomes a way of life and infects everyone with a determination to meet the next challenge. Create an action plan that makes clear long, medium and short-term goals and then regularly assess the team’s progress in achieving success.

Success Breeds Success

Setting clear goals gives you a benchmark with which to assess your team’s progress. While there are often times when you will need to address a shortcoming with someone or the team as a whole, the fact is that even in failure there is almost always some effort that you can encourage and support. By constantly playing up your team’s real victories and efforts, you create a sense of winning. This sets an expectation for succeeding in the future and a desire to try harder to reach the next objective. Encouragement enables everyone to see the value of their efforts.

Communication Is the Lifeblood of Teamwork

Set the example of clear communication. Make meetings events that move your objective forward rather than rambling messes that only promote confusion. Make critical feedback in person and make sure you are judging performance, not the person. Create an open pathway for communication to flow both ways. People rarely accept criticism from people who are not themselves open to criticism. By welcoming feedback yourself, you create an environment where everyone is free to communicate.

The post 3 Strategies for Converting Groups into Teams appeared first on ClarityOK.com | Executive Leadership Coach.

William Shakespeare was a legendary playwright, but he likely would have made a terrible accountant, and anyone who employed him as such would have suffered as a result. Everyone has the potential to stretch beyond their natural abilities and grow, but if you want to see your team really succeed, it pays to play to their strengths. Follow these steps to identify, utilize and maximize your employees’ strengths.

Identify Strengths

During interviews, prospective employees might describe themselves in terms like detail oriented or self-motivated, but that only gives you a small peek into their true abilities. To make the most of each employee’s potential, employers and managers can identify their strengths in some of the following ways:

• Be open yourself. Have transparent conversations about your own strengths and weaknesses and listen carefully to how they respond.
• Research their interests. Most people make a lot of information public in their social media profiles. Employers can find an indication of their personality strengths, interests and the skills they might not have thought to include in their resume.
• Observe their actions with others. If employees tend to lead naturally and communicate effectively when they talk with their team before the meeting, or if they offer co-workers creative solutions to personal concerns, this gives you key insight into their abilities.
• Conduct employee skills assessments.

Tell Them What You Know

A Gallup News publication says when people know their strengths and use them on the job, they’re six times more likely to be engaged.  Just learning where they’re strong makes employees 7.8 percent more productive on average. Once you’ve assessed their talents, let them know what you’ve found.

Provide Frequent Feedback

When managers have daily, affirmative conversations with their employees, the workers feel empowered. Prioritize frequent, positive interaction that focuses on reinforcing their strengths. Don’t just tell them they’re doing a good job, talk specifically about their ongoing projects and their daily activities. Link their work to the company’s vision to point out the value of what they do, and acknowledge how they contribute to your organization. Provide regular encouragement so employees feel satisfied and engaged.

The post 3 Strategies for Making the Most of Your Employees’ Strengths appeared first on ClarityOK.com | Executive Leadership Coach.