Teamwork and Team Building

Team building and teamwork skills are critical for your effectiveness as a team manager or team leader. Even if you are not in a leadership role quite yet, a better understanding of teamwork can make you more effective and give you an extra edge.

Team building success is when your team can accomplish something bigger and work more effectively than a group of the same players working on their own. You have a strong synergy of individual contributions. But there are two critical factors in building an efficient team.

The first critical factor is that all the team efforts need to be directed towards the same clear goals, the team goals. This relies heavily on good communication within the team and the harmony in member relationships. The other important element is the diversity of player skills and personalities. Where players can use their strengths in full, but can compensate for each others weaknesses as well as different personalities balancing out and complimenting each other.

Here are some additional tips to consider:

1) Make sure that the team goals are totally clear and completely understood by every team member.

2) Make sure there is a complete understanding of who is responsible for what. Do your best to avoid overlaps of authority. If there is a risk that two team members will be competing for control in a certain area, try to divide that area into two distinct parts and give each more complete control in one of those parts, according to those individual's strengths and personal preferences.

3) For issues that rely on the team consensus and commitment, try to involve the whole team in the decision making processes. For example, use group sessions with collective discussions of possible decision options or solution ideas. What you want to achieve here is that each team member feels his or her ownership in the final decision, solution, or idea. The more he or she feels this way, the more likely he or she is to agree with and commit to the decided action.

4) Communication, communication, communication. Make sure there are no blocked lines of communications and you and your players stay fully informed.

5) Allow your team members to build trust between each other in team building activities and events. Take all the opportunities you can to set up a scrim to further engage in an atmosphere that encourages open communication and builds team chemistry.

There are many more items that can be added to this list. Feel free to contribute if you have mature, professional information to add. I feel people in this game need to have a better understanding of what it means to be a Leader and how to better manage/build your team. Enjoy.