It’s not unusual for me to get a call about developing teamwork. What the potential client is usually inquiring about is my availability to lead a team retreat. At times that may be a high-challenge outdoors event, like climbing 100 foot vertical walls all tethered together, or flinging team members, one by one, over Army style obstacles. Sometimes leaders want some deeper, inner reflective work, or time to get away to strategize and plan. And sometimes it is a mix.
The hard reality is, that teams are not built in a day. And they are not built on an obstacle course or high ropes adventure. They are built in the trenches, doing real work that has real consequences. Some of the best teams I’ve been a part of faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge that required every single person to contribute more than they thought they had to give. Over time, day by day, with each task completed, each step taken – trust begins to form. Relationships gel. Pride blossoms.
Team retreats can have a valuable place in building a team, but think of them as a dress rehearsal rather than the real event. You can take teams out of their work environment, and when presented a challenge – like high ropes – they bring along their tried and true work patterns, both functional and dysfunctional. Watching teams tackle a challenge like this is a mini-study in how they operate back at work. As such, retreats with team challenges can be very effective in understanding your team’s unique dynamics. They also provide time, space and a process to reflect on what is working and what is sabotaging the team’s efforts.
But if you really want to develop teamwork – put some thought into your work in the trenches. Is your team challenged to do something that is meaningful and that stretches them? Are all team members needed to be successful? Are they clear about the goal and supported in getting there? Do you find some informal time to deepen relationships and just have fun?
If so, taking some “time out of work time” – to talk about what is working on the team, what is getting in the way, and how you might get better – is time well spent. Even 30 minutes every few weeks can contribute to building a stronger and stronger team – perhaps one that is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Well maybe not that amazing – but pretty doggone good!
