Team Building

A true team is more than a group of people who work together in close proximity on the same project. A team implies relationships within the unit and focuses on equality, cooperation and communication. A team is most likely headed by a team leader, but this role may be filled by a series of individuals or it may be self-directed. Although these activities may help in some instances, they probably wouldn’t serve as your tantamount solution to a communication problem you would genuinely wish to fix. These activities would serve to assist in the “bonding” process you’re undertaking with that individual in addition to some serious work on the foundation of your relationship.


Team bonding generally involves a team taking part in an extra-curricular activity outside of the office. This event may serve as an annual reward or event with its main purpose being to allow members of the team to interact outside of the normal, everyday work setting. Team bonding activities may take the form of lunch at a restaurant, bowling, a cooking class, golf, white water rafting, a scavenger hunt or laser tag (just to name a few). It is hoped that people will have the opportunity to communicate in non-work related conversation and learn more about one another. Many of these activities also take people outside of their comfort zones and allow them to create new avenues of trust with their fellow teammates.


However, team bonding activities are generally not facilitated or focused towards any specific workplace issues. Thus, quite often the members that interact the most with one another within the office are naturally drawn to those same individuals outside of the office and new relationships are rarely formed. Further to that, if true consensus is not reached by the team for their team bonding event, those who are disappointed by the choice of activity may actually develop feelings of resentment towards the company and the individuals who championed that choice of event. Thus if the team bonding coordinator is not careful, the exact opposite of the day’s objectives may be attained.


Team “building” on the other hand can still be a lot of fun, allow for new lines of communication to be formed, build trust, etc. etc., but there is also a bit more “work” involved. True team building does not need to be dry and boring, as today’s professionals have identified that the best way for learning to take place is in a dynamic and fun setting. From my experience, people love learning more about themselves and what it is that makes them tick. Personality tests and lessons on leadership and conflict management can be a lot of fun if presented in the right manner. Team bonding activities are also usually scattered throughout the process to keep the overall format lively, dynamic and fun.