OCTOBER 2010 — BUSINESS TRENDS 3 Build teamwork in the workplace TEAM Continued from page 1


said. People’s natural behaviors come out when they are having fun, so the question then be- comes, “how can we adapt these behaviors based on our group dy- namics to enhance our team?” “Sometimes a group just needs


that release. Sometimes they just need to get out of the office,” Backal said. “In the office, every- body is very focused on their daily tasks. Sometimes they just need to go out and have fun. That’s with every relationship; you don’t want to get caught in a rut.”


On the other end of the contin-


uum are companies in the 7-10 range that need more develop- mental team building that may include working out specific per- sonality or communication is- sues. “It’s really a range. When our


clients come to us, they in their own mind have an idea of what team building is, and we explain to them this continuum,” Backal said. Team Builders Plus often gets


clients who say they want to do a specific team building exercise. And while they could just give the company what they’re asking for, Backal said what a company re- quests may or may not accom-


Special to Business Trends


Employees from Glaxo Smith Kline built team character and camaraderie during The Amazing Race Philadelphia.


plish what they really need. Some companies may be looking for a fun team event but they may have larger issues that need to be worked out first. Team Builders


Plus conducts a review of each client to investigate the dynamics of the group so they can create a personal team building plan. “You’re going to get more done,


more effectively, more efficiently if you have a group of people working together,” he said. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”


Twenty years ago, team build- ing consisted solely of low rope activities. Today, there’s a wide variety of team building pro- grams. The latest trend incorpo- rates philanthropic work – com- panies do something positive for the community while focusing on building their own teams. One of Team Builders Plus’ best-selling programs is called “Wheels for the World.” Employees work through team building activities that earn them bicycle parts throughout the day that they eventually use to build several bi- cycles.


At the end of the day, the bikes


are given to a group of underpriv- ileged children, providing a serv- ice to the community and allow- ing the team members to see first- hand what good their teamwork has done. At its core, today’s definition of


team building begins with under- standing behavioral styles. Learning and understanding not only your co-workers but also yourself has become a key focus of much of what Team Builders Plus does. “It’s the foundation of team de-


velopment,” Backal said. “Once people start learning about them- selves, they want more. If you’re trying to create a learning organi- zation, and all of a sudden your people are wanting to learn more, that’s allowing your organization to really grow.”


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