The Science Behind Building and Managing an Exceptional Team

Team building is more than just a good time with your teammates — it’s an experience that has been proven and tested to build trust and camaraderie within the group.

Behavioral scientists around the world have been studying how team building has molded teams together and how it affected their performance after the event. In business, team building may be viewed as a waste of time, but studies can show otherwise. Team building is more than just going through rope courses, forcing people into award situations, or open forums — through play, we build each other’s potential and break through the barriers that separates your team members from one another.

Team Building — Human Behavior and Dynamics

Numerous researches and studies have already been conducted to prove that team building is indeed effective in improving team performance. In this article, we compiled several team building related researches that can convince you to book a team building event for your team.

Does Team Building Work? — Small Group

In Small Group’s research paper, they have tackled and discussed the perennial question that has been asked by many — Does team building work?

They have analyzed data collected from 103 studies in between 1950 and 2007. In their findings, they have provided the proof that team building does have significant, positive effects on team performance. They considered studying the effect of the “four specific team-building components” namely:

• interpersonal relations
• goal setting
• role clarification
• problem solving

These four team building components were gauged on how it affected the participants’ psychological, emotional, process, and performance results.

According to the study, team building activities have indeed a positive effect based on the correlation of the results. Specifically, team building strongly affects participants’ emotional and thought process — which we can relate to improve work performance and dynamics. Small Group also discovered that the effectiveness of each activity can also be attributed based on the participants’ team size.

Communication is the Key — MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory

On the other hand, this research by MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory proves that not all things can be built inside the office. In building a great team, they should have non-work communication. We all know how communication is an imperative aspect of improving teams and workflow, but this goes beyond the office space — it’s how your team members perform during their off-hours that makes them open for improvement.

While it is not necessary that teammates have to be friends outside of work, the management should create the opportunity for co-workers to bond during their free time at work. In the study, communication was highlighted as one of the most important factors in building a successful team. Communication is viewed as a “predictor” of a team’s success. Socialization is a must to mold these teams together, inside or outside of work.

A simple adjustment has improved the productivity rate of a call center as discussed in the study. They have asked the manager to adjust and align break schedules of every team to make it possible for them to socialize with each other. While it was initially frowned upon by the management, they have seen remarkable increase productivity, with forecasts around $15 million a year, and their average handling time (AHT) has improved among low-performing teams.

A Rockstar Needs His Band – Harvard Business

Everyone loves the star performer in the group. These individuals exceed expectations and rake in results for the team. While we generally believe that their star performance is out of natural talent and hard work, but a study from Harvard may have revealed that there’s something more to that.

Huckman and Pisano and their study, “The Firm Specificity of Individual Performance: Evidence from Cardiac Surgery” found out that the overall performance of heart surgeons improved over time as they measure the patient mortality rate of these surgeons. It turns out that they perform better when they consistently operate with their usual team at their primary hospitals, making them more efficient in terms of operations.

A rock star needs his band to perform well. Although this may be counterintuitive for some organizations that reshuffle teams every now and then, performance can still be accounted for how they do well with their team. It may be attributed to many factors like easy communication between teammates, intuitive response and better dynamics between teammates that makes it easier for the star player to finish tasks easily. If a team is on the same page as everyone else, productivity is increased. Individuals working together as a team bring different set of skills on the table, therefore covering more ground than just one performing individual.

Consider consistency and cohesiveness when evaluating your team members and before shuffling people around the office. Unfamiliarity may disrupt the workflow process and may decrease productivity as well. Team building eases out the knots in between members — making it easier for each team to work with each other. This shows that trust is still important in getting the job done; if not for everyone’s participation and contribution, the star player wouldn’t be able to perform at his peak.

Perks of A Wallflower – Academy of Management

People wear different masks, have different personalities, cope better than the other, etc. In a team, there will always be someone who’s the life of the party, and there will be someone who’d rather sit and observe the festivities. However, extroverts and introverts shouldn’t be labeled according to their social interactions. In a study featured at the Academy of Management Journal, it was discovered that personality shouldn’t be basis of performance in the office.

Extroverts were deemed as the star players, while introverts weren’t given the chance to express themselves or challenge themselves. In the long run, introverts’ status climbed up as they become more comfortable with their work situation, while extroverts have some lapses when it comes to meeting expectations set for them in the first place.

Don’t let their personality cloud your judgement; team building activities can bring the best out of an individual, extrovert or not. All it takes is the right opportunity and right timing to open up themselves in the team. Introverts are more likely uninterested in participating in activities, but setting up the right moment for them will help them loosen up with the team.

Here at Quest Adventure Camp, we make it possible for both personalities to enjoy our team building activities by proper facilitation during the whole event.

Team Building Through Play

With numerous studies conducted on the efficiency and effectivity of team building activities in forming solid teams, it is undeniable that team building does indeed positively affect team productivity.

Quest Adventure Camp has incorporated several research findings into its courses and activities. Our facilitators are well-trained and guarantee that you will have the best team building near Manila. Bring out the best in your team with Quest Adventure Camp here in Antipolo, Rizal!