There is a world of difference between a group of people who work together and a group of people who work as an effective team. Business leaders need teams that are effective at achieving their targets. Effective teamwork is defined as ‘coordinated and collective action’[1]. Research shows that effective teamwork is dependent on the ability of team members to:
- work together
- communicate effectively
- anticipate and meet each other’s demands
- inspire confidence
There are numerous psychological theories that describe the process of becoming an effective team and inform much team building delivery. These include Woodcock’s[2] model of the undeveloped, experimenting, consolidating and mature stages of team development and Tuckman’s 4 stage model[3] involving forming, storming, norming, performing, but neither help us understand the attributes of an effective team.
Attributes of a good team
The key attributes of effective established teams are[4]: I’m confused, is this Has or Boogard or both? I think it might be good to say, according to Haas & Mortison and/or Boogard
- Clear communication
- Trust and accountability
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Emotional intelligence
- Active listening
- Conflict resolution
- Goal alignment
- Delegation
- Problem solving
- Empowerment and autonomy
How can team building events support the development of these qualities in teams?
Many companies set fun and shared experiences as the top priorities for their teambuilding events. Nothing wrong with that at all …. except when that’s where the thinking ends.
Teambuilding is of course about having a great time together and sharing experiences. To create meaningful change however, the process must go further, it must include the softer skills associated with both personal and interpersonal change. It must be based on the key attributes listed above.
In considering what an effective Team building event might look like, I believe the following questions should be considered.
What are the essentials of effective teambuilding events?
To achieve sustainable and effective change, teambuilding must create opportunities to reflect on:
- one’s own role within the Team
- strengths and barriers in relating to one’s teammates
- connection and communication
- strengths and barriers to effective and collaborative working, both individually and within a group
- and, of course the emotional experiences of working as a Team member.
Feelings are often overlooked within the process of teambuilding but since they are essential components of human behaviour, they also comprise an essential element of an effective teambuilding event. Yet, how many events or organisers dare to tread in what might be seen as confronting and uncomfortable territory?
How do you encourage self-reflection and insight without undermining the fun?
I would argue that it’s not just possible but necessary to include the softer skills in teambuilding events, if teams are really going to make changes to the ways they work together. Productivity is unlikely to be sustained once everyone is back at work and subject to the same pressures and issues that existed before the teambuilding event, unless that is, reflection on feelings and behaviour, is built into the process.
Offsetting the risk of straying into uncomfortable and unchartered waters, which might undermine the important fun element of team building, involves good planning as well as a sympathetic process and environment. Key features of such an event include a relaxing, safe and fun environment where sharing and reflecting can be built into a non-threatening and yet revealing process.
What role does psychology play in teambuilding events?
An understanding of psychology is an essential foundation for teambuilding. Good quality teambuilding requires expert facilitators who are skilled at ‘holding’ a safe space for thinking and reflecting, a process that can be confronting and which may throw up feelings such as vulnerability, resentment and frustration.
Enthusiasm alone, whist important, doesn’t make an effective teambuilding facilitator. Ensuring that facilitators have a background in psychology, counselling or therapy is invaluable for supporting the safe processing of emotions such as vulnerability and frustration that might otherwise exist as undermining forces within teams.
The good news is that safely exposing and airing these feelings can disarm the power that they hold, remove barriers and enable greater connection between teammates.
How important is being outdoors?
There is much research, especially in relation to Polyvagal theory and the functioning of the autonomic system, to demonstrate the positive influence that being outdoors brings to wellbeing. This is because being outdoors provides an opportunity to connect with nature, become more relaxed and shift into a mindset with greater openness to insight, creativity and problem solving.
Being able to facilitate a mindset which operates outside of the normal pressures, action based and often stressful demands of the workplace and workplace relationships, can open up a completely different dimension to thinking and experience.
It is creating a mindset that is invaluable for learning within team building events.
Why would you involve horses in Teambuilding
I would argue that the above are the foundations to a successful and sustainable teambuilding experience, but when they are combined with the presence of horses, the power and impact is increased exponentially. When the idea of involving horses is first suggested, clients are often surprised, skeptical and confused, but the value that horses bring is obvious to all by the end of the day.
Horses enable a truly embodied experience. They demand mental and emotional presence and connectedness from those working with them, the same as any effective team might require. Communication must be confident, clear and concise, again the same requirement as effective teamwork. What is different however is their capacity to notice when that is not present and their ability to provide open and non-judgmental feedback in the face of these gaps. Their feedback may be confronting but it does not trigger the same defensiveness and shame as that delivered by a work colleague or boss. The feedback is difficult to argue with when delivered by a horse, and since horses do not hold grudges, there is always the opportunity to practice developing and applying these skills in order to reap the rewards from the equine teammates.
Unlike falling short with colleagues, practicing these skills with horses is inherently fun and rewarding. To top it all, communicating or providing instructions to a horse, as to a human team, requires maximum alignment, connection and cohesion. Team cohesion and cooperation yields amazing responses from horses, thereby providing a great incentive to work together effectively, whilst providing natural opportunities for all to reflect on ways in which working styles and practices can be enhanced.
Summary
Many teambuilding events miss the essential components that actually build effective teams. They may be fun, but the change isn’t always sustainable, with attendees reverting to the same behaviors once they are back in the workplace.
I would argue that sustainable change requires the teambuilding events to include fun, self-reflection, personal insight, interpersonal connection, professional psychologist facilitators, an outdoor environment…. and horses.
CEGR Teambuilding Days
Our teambuilding days are tailored around the specific needs of your team. They include a range of fun activities that promote the essential attributes discussed in this blog. Our teambuilding events are facilitated by our in house registered psychologists who also hold equine qualifications. No riding is involved, and no previous experience of horses is required.
Bibliography
- Boogaard, K. (2022). 7 essential teamwork skills. Work Life by Atlassian. Retrieved January 23, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/teamwork-skills-accelerate-career/amp
- Sawyer, K. (2007). Group genius. Basic Books.
[1] Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (2001). Teamwork and team training. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 15487–15492). Elsevier.
[2] Woodcock, M. (1979). Team development manual. Gower
[3] Tuckman, B. W. (1965.) Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384–399
[4] Haas & Mortensen, 2016; Steps to building an effective team, n.d.; Boogaard, 2022