Teambuilding refers to a wide range of activities, usually in a business context, for improving team performance. Team building is pursued via a variety of practices, and can range from simple bonding exercises to complex simulations and multi-day team building retreats designed to develop a team It generally sits within the theory and practice of organizational development, but can also be applied to sports teams, school groups, and other contexts. Team building is not to be confused with "team recreation" that consists of activities for teams that are strictly recreational. Teambuilding is an important factor in any environment, its focus is to specialize in bringing out the best in a team to ensure self development, positive communication, leadership skills and the ability to work closely together as a team to problem solve.

Work environments tend to focus on individuals and personal goals, with reward & recognition singling out the achievements of individual employees. "How to create effective teams is a challenge in every organization" Team building and can also refer to the process of selecting or creating a team from scratch.

Teamwork is a joint action by two or more people, in which each person contributes with different skills and expresses his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals. This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal. + Teamwork Is an old old wooden ship - -   In order for teamwork to succeed one must be a team player. A team player is one who subordinates personal aspirations and works in a coordinated effort with other members of a group, or team, in striving for a common goal.    

Businesses and other organizations often go to the effort of coordinating team building events in an attempt to get people to work as a team rather than as individuals. - - The forming-storming-norming-performing model  takes the team through four stages of team development and maps quite well on to many project management life cycle models, such as initiation - definition - planning - realization. - -

Teamwork has also become increasingly acknowledged as an essential skill for employees in companies both small and large. Today’s increasingly global economy places a premium on teamwork in the workplace. For companies that often produce goods on one continent and then over a matter of a few days must transport, store and deliver them to customers on another continent, teamwork is not just important, it is essential. Teamwork has become so valued that many large corporations have developed specific tests to measure potential employees’ teamwork abilities.

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Reasons for Teambuilding

• Improving communication
• Making the workplace more enjoyable
• Motivating a team
• Getting to know each other
• Getting everyone "onto the same page", including goal setting
• Teaching the team self-regulation strategies
• Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths and weaknesses)
• Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members
• Practicing effective collaboration with team members
• Retain valued staff
• Reinforce company relationships and unity
• Break down barriers between colleagues
• Build a co-operative environment
• Increase productivity
• Improve morale

“The secret to retaining valued staff has less to do with money—it is more about creating an office culture that people enjoy being a part of...”

Team Building help your companies retain and motivate staff?

Have you tried many different incentives and gifts to retain your skilled employees but they don’t seem to have the same effect as they did before? Research has shown that today’s employees are looking for more from their workplace. Team building can help by developing strong relationships between staff members and increases morale. It’s not only Generation Y that want a fulfilling and enjoyable work place, having a great team to work with is desired by all of your employees.

Fun Team Building Activities to Help Your Company Grow

Not all companies have team development for their workers, and depending on the managers, this may not be needed. However there are many large companies with departments that do not know one another, that could work better if they understood the work that others do, and if they all learn to work together, for the good of the company and ultimately for the good of everyone working there too.

Team development is something that is often overlooked by companies, especially in these tough economic times, but they need not take up much company or personal time, and they do not have to be expensive activities either to be successful. Simple fun activities can pay off dividends, with better communication between departments, staff that know one another a little more than at present, and a happier atmosphere in the workplace, as employees feel more appreciated. All these benefits can result from a couple of hours out of the office perhaps, doing some fun activity that mixes up groups, putting department members on different teams, so that everyone gets to know other members of the company that perhaps they have never even met before.

By having a couple of fun team building activities a year, that perhaps only last for a couple of hours at a time, you can help improve the atmosphere in any company, and the productivity level too. Staff will feel more appreciated, which means that they will in all probability work better, and perhaps even harder for the benefit of all at that workplace.

So what kinds of team building activities do work well for most businesses? Fun non-stressful activities are recommended. There can be enough stress in the work place without adding any more to it! And your employees probably deserve a little down time.

Taking a few hours off the work week can work very well, and act as a reward.

Team building activities should involve as many people from the company as possible, and many businesses have found that scavenger hunts work really well. Each team contains a member form each department, so that it is a social time to get to know members from these other departments while having fun. The idea of a scavenger hunt can easily be adapted to your needs, but one that works well is to use cameras to take photographs of the whole team, excluding the photographer, at particular locations or in certain situations. For example, the whole team may have to find a bike store, and have their photos taken there.  Or they may have to go to a used car lot, or the public library. The options are endless. But by taking photographs of the complete team, it reduces the chance of cheating, and you may find some people willing to cheat! You can set any time limit you want for this hunt, but it needs to be a realistic time for them to get everything required.

Then you could all take a class together, maybe learning archery, or some other activity that not too many people have tried before. This gives everyone the chance to have a new experience together, and if it can be an activity that needs team work then this is even better.

Obstacle races are good for this, and they can be indoors or out, depending on your location and the time of year. Twists can be added to the obstacle course so that team members do have to cooperate and help one another. After all the idea behind this is team development, so it's only right that there should be some cooperating, and communication in the team building activity.

The Top 7 Things Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Employees

1) They are not motivated by money alone

In numerous studies conducted over the last fifty or sixty years, researchers have concluded money is not the prime motivator for most people. Yes, people work for money -- but it is not their biggest motivator.

One famous model of behavior ? Maslow's hierarchy of needs ? yields a clue as to why this is true. In summary, Maslow's hierarchy says that all of us have five basic needs (physiological, safety & security, social, esteem, and self-actualization). According to Maslow, "a need once met no longer serves to motivate." If you have your physiological needs met (food, shelter, & clothing), more of the same will not inspire you to work harder.

Employers help people meet their physiological needs with money. More money will not necessarily get people to work harder.

It is true that some people work harder for more money, but many will not. If you want to inspire high-level performance, you've got to dig deeper. You must work to understand what motivates each person on your team.

2) They don't want their worth determined by the number of hours they are at work

I once heard a business owner say, "An entrepreneur is someone who will work 80 hours a week for themselves so that they don't have to work 40 hours a week for someone else." I have found this statement to be very accurate.

Many people believe that what motivates them also motivates others. When it doesn't, they often get frustrated and confused.

Remember that your business is your dream, not your employees' dream. They probably want to do a good job, but they don't want you to evaluate them based on the number of hours they spend in your business. Reward them based on the quality and/or quantity of work they produce. Reward them for the service they provide to customers. Don't use "face time" as a measure of their worth.

3) They want to feel like part of a team

Most people want to be part of something great. Create an environment where people feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, and they will respond favorably. Reward individual performance, but build the team. Avoid competition within your team at all costs. You want your team competing together to win your business competition. You don't want them fighting each other.

4) They want you to respect them

I've seen many entrepreneurs start a business to avoid an organization or a person who treats them with disrespect. Funny -- I often see these same people treat their employees with disrespect when they become the boss. What happened?

5) They want you to value their opinions

The studies that show money is not a prime motivator also find that people want their supervisor to show appreciation for their contribution at work. Show your appreciation and value their input. Your employees will truly be your greatest asset.

6) They want to make a difference

People like to do things that matter. People need to feel like their contribution helped the team. Show your people how their work made a difference to team results, and you'll likely tap into their internal motivators.

7) They want your business to succeed

Most people realize that they are unemployed if your business fails. They don't want that any more than you do. Listen to them. Learn from their insights. They may not have your monetary investment in the business, but they do have a big stake in your success.
 

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What are Team Building Exercises and what is their purpose?

Team building exercises consist of a variety of tasks designed to develop group members and their ability to work together effectively. There are many types of team building activities that range from kids games to games that involve novel complex tasks and are designed for specific needs. There are also more complex team building exercises that are composed of multiple exercises such as ropes courses, corporate drumming and exercises that last over several days. The purpose of team building exercises is to assist teams in becoming cohesive units of individuals that can effectively work together to complete tasks.

Who can benefit from Team Building Exercises?

Team building exercises are useful for all kinds of teams. Some exercises are designed for smaller teams, some for larger teams. Some are designed for new teams, others to focus on specific areas of an established team to be worked on. In addition to this, team building exercises also are for different age groups. In addition to this, some team building exercises are intended primarily for a specific age group.

Types of Team Building Components and its Exercises

3 components of teambuilding : Communications, Negotiation and Conflict

Communication Exercise  This type of team building exercise is exactly what it sounds like. Communications exercises are problem solving activities that are geared towards improving communication skills. The issues teams encounter in these exercises are solved by communicating effectively with each other.   • Goal: Create an activity which highlights the importance of good communication in team performance and/or potential problems with communication.

Problem Solving/Decision Making Exercise  Problem Solving/Decision making exercises focus specifically on groups working together to solve difficult problems or make complex decisions. These exercises are some of the most common as they appear to have the most direct link to what employers want their teams to be able to do.  • Goal: Give team a problem in which the solution is not easily apparent or requires the team to come up with a creative solution

Planning/Adaptability Exercise These exercises focus on aspects of planning and being adaptable to change. These are important things for teams to be able to do when they are assigned complex tasks or decisions. • Goal: Show the importance of planning before implementing a solution

Trust Exercise  A trust exercise involves engaging team members in a way that will induce trust between them. They are sometimes difficult exercises to implement as there are varying degrees of trust between individuals and varying degrees of individual comfort trusting others in general.  • Goal: Create trust between team members
 

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Methods for Team Building

Team building events often take participants out of their regular work context, and use the new context as an enabler of change and development - allowing team participants to get to learn more about each other in a new (nonwork) context.

3 Components of a Team Building Exercise

Part 1: Instructions

This part of a team-building exercise involves introducing the participants to the instructions for the exercise.

Part 2: Activity

This part of the team-building exercise is the exercise itself. This is when participants utilize the instructions and begin to participate in the actual activity.

Part 3: Debriefing

This is the most important part of a team building exercise. The facilitator will close the exercise with a review of the purpose for the exercise and how the team accomplished it.

For the debriefing portion of the team building exercise using open ended questions is a tool that a team building facilitator uses to bring participants to examine what was learned.

These questions have no right and wrong answer they are meant to trigger thought and insight in the team members. These questions can be used for front loading - setting up the thoughts prior to the beginning of a team building activity. These questions can also be used following an activity to reflect on the individual experience, team experience and actions plans for behavioral change within the team.

Team interaction involves "soft" interpersonal skills including communication, negotiation, leadership, and motivation - in contrast to technical skills directly involved with the job at hand. Depending on the type of team building, the novel tasks can encourage or specifically teach interpersonal team skills to increase team performance.
 

Experiential learning

Key Concepts of Experiential Learning

“Traditional” Model of Teaching 

In more traditional models of teaching and leading, the teacher is seen as the definitive source of all pertinent information. The teacher passes knowledge on, and the participants learn it. The participants are usually passive and are generally viewed as receivers rather than learners.

Experiential Learning Model of Teaching 

A holistic educational philosophy where carefully chosen experiences supported by reflection, critical analysis, and synthesis, are structured to require the learner to take initiative, make decisions, and be accountable for the results, through actively posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative constructing meaning, and integrating previously developed knowledge.

The Learner

Learners are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, politically, spiritually, and physically in an uncertain environment where the learner is free to experience success, “failure”, adventure and risk taking. Learning usually involves interaction between learners, learner and educator, and learner and environment. The learner is challenged to explore issues of values, relationship, diversity, inclusion, and community.

The Teacher

 The primary difference between experiential learning and the traditional model of teaching is the teacher doesn’t provide all the answers to the group - - the participants learn primarily from each other and through the experience or activity.

The teachers primary roles include selecting suitable experiences, posing problems, setting boundaries, supporting learners, insuring physical and emotional safety, facilitating the learning process,  guiding reflection, and providing the necessary information.

The Primary Goal  

The need for connection and love is the primary goal of all human beings (“The Six Human Needs” love & connections, significance, certainty, uncertainty/variety , growth and contributions) and because of this, the primary goal of experiential learning must be to help students connect at an ever-deeper level.

Experiential learning is learning through reflection on doing, which is often contrasted with rote or didactic learning. Experiential learning is related to, but not synonymous with, experiential education, action learning, adventure learning, free choice learning, cooperative learning, and service learning. While there are relationships and connections between all these theories of education, importantly they are also separate terms with separate meanings.

Experiential learning focuses on the learning process for the individual (unlike experiential education, which focuses on the transactive process between teacher and learner). An example of experiential learning is going to the zoo and learning through observation and interaction with the zoo environment, as opposed to reading about animals from a book. Thus, one makes discoveries and experiments with knowledge firsthand, instead of hearing or reading about others' experiences.

Experiential learning requires no teacher and relates solely to the meaning making process of the individual's direct experience. However, though the gaining of knowledge is an inherent process that occurs naturally, for a genuine learning experience to occur, there must exist certain elements. According to David Kolb, an American educational theorist, knowledge is continuously gained through both personal and environmental experiences. He states that in order to gain genuine knowledge from an experience, certain abilities are required:

1. the learner must be willing to be actively involved in the experience;
2. the learner must be able to reflect on the experience;
3. the learner must possess and use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience; and
4. the learner must possess decision making and problem solving skills in order to use the new ideas gained from the experience.

Implementation

Experiential learning can be a highly effective educational method. It engages the learner at a more personal level by addressing the needs and wants of the individual. Experiential learning requires qualities such as self-initiative and self-evaluation. For experiential learning to be truly effective, it should employ the whole learning wheel, from goal setting, to experimenting and observing, to reviewing, and finally action planning. This complete process allows one to learn new skills, new attitudes or even entirely new ways of thinking.  The reason why games are popular as experiential learning techniques is because of the "fun factor" - learning through fun helps the learner to retain the lessons for a longer period.

Most educators understand the important role experience plays in the learning process. A fun learning environment, with plenty of laughter and respect for the learner's abilities, also fosters an effective experiential learning environment. It is vital that the individual is encouraged to directly involve themselves in the experience, in order that they gain a better understanding of the new knowledge and retain the information for a longer time. As stated by the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius, "[t]ell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand."[need citation]

An effective experiential facilitator is one who is passionate about his or her work and is able to immerse participants totally in the learning situation, allowing them to gain new knowledge from their peers and the environment created. These facilitators stimulate the imagination, keeping participants hooked on the experience.

Comparisons

Experiential learning is most easily compared with academic learning, the process of acquiring information through the study of a subject without the necessity for direct experience. While the dimensions of experiential learning are analysis, initiative, and immersion, the dimensions of academic learning are constructive learning and reproductive learning. Though both methods aim at instilling new knowledge in the learner, academic learning does so through more abstract, classroom based techniques, whereas experiential learning actively involves the learner in a concrete experience.

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