Team Building Strategies: 15 Examples

You found our list of team building strategies.

Team building strategies are practices that organizations use to get their teams working well together. For example, defining team roles and rewarding excellence. These methods contribute to creating an environment where employees feel empowered to do their best. The singular form is “team building strategy.”

These strategies are similar to team building methods, team building techniques, and team building process. Many of these strategies appear within team building books.

Specifically, this list includes:

• team building proven strategies for improving team performance
• multicultural team building strategies
• team building strategies in the workplace
• team building proven strategies
• team building strategies for the workplace
• effective team building strategies

Let’s get into it.

List of team building strategies

When running your team, it helps to have strategies for building an enjoyable workplace. Check out our list of team building strategies below:

1. Promote a respectful environment

One of the most basic strategies for developing a welcoming workplace is to promote a respectful environment. You can create a respectful environment by showing every team member that they are valued and by treating everyone decently, even if times are stressful or if team members make a mistake.

2. Open the lines of communication

Another way to make the workplace more comfortable is to open the lines of communication. You can demonstrate this principle by instituting an anonymous feedback system. However, leadership should also confirm its dedication to transparency by guaranteeing availability, in case team members want to reach out.

Here is a list of ways to improve team communication.

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3. Articulate a clear, achievable vision

What sets great leadership apart is a leader’s ability to articulate a clear, achievable vision. Without a reasonable goal to coalesce behind, teams have a harder time realizing what they are working to achieve and why they are working so hard to do it. Keep your team up-to-speed on your company’s focus by holding regular all-hands meetings, where you update your team on the status of various projects.

4. Define team roles

Defining team roles and ensuring that your team members do not inadvertently step on each other’s toes also contributes to building a more cohesive team. By establishing well-defined roles for each team member, your people will know what responsibilities are within their purview and also have a firm grasp on who runs point on each task.

5. Trust in your team’s efficacy

Most teams dislike micromanagers. To prevent yourself from becoming this kind of control freak, remind yourself to trust in your team’s efficacy. During the initial hiring process, you saw value in your future employees. Thus, let your team do what you hired them to do, and give new approaches a chance even if the method seems off to you at first. Your team will respond positively when they see that you trust them and their judgment.

Here is a list of ways to improve trust in the workplace.

6. Lean on your team’s strengths

A valuable after-effect of learning more about your team is figuring out your team members’ strengths, even if these strengths were not originally part of your team member’s job. As a manager, it is important to track team members’ competencies, and delegate tasks based on these strengths. Not only will your team members feel that you understand them, but they will also feel more fulfilled and confident in the tasks they receive.

7. Reward and acknowledge excellence

Another team building strategy for the workplace is to reward your team’s successes. Celebrating your team members’ accomplishments brings your people together because recognizing incidences of your employee’s excellence helps make their work feel worthwhile. These acknowledgments can take the form of shoutouts, bonuses, or promotions.

Here is a list of employee appreciation day gifts.

8. Create a safe space

Creating a safe space is crucial, especially as a multicultural team building strategy. To do this, introduce policies that let your team work without fear of discrimination stemming from race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. You can also appoint committees to handle cases and authorize your HR or People Operations departments to mediate between coworkers and to plan events that demonstrate your commitment to these causes.

9. Encourage mentorship

One of the most effective ways to elevate your team members is to encourage mentorship. Not only can a mentor teach junior colleagues how to advance their careers, but they can also use their considerable network to help them along the way. You can encourage mentorship by creating a program where potential mentors sign up to be paired up with a newer team member. Then, encourage these mentors to schedule regular check-ins with their charges.

Here is a list of ideas for mentorship programs at work, and a list of books on mentorship.

10. Master conflict resolution

When team members come into conflict with each other, it is imperative for leadership to properly handle the resolution. During mediation, make sure that both sides feel heard and express viewpoints without laying blame.  Then, when taking appropriate steps towards reconciliation, explain consequences and reasoning before outlining a forward path and a plan for avoiding the recurrence of similar conflicts Here is a list of conflict resolution ideas for teams.

11. Engage in collective activities or retreats

One of the most effective team building strategies is to remove your team from the workplace by engaging in collective activities or retreats. These company offsites give organizations the opportunity to reflect on recent achievements and plan ahead, while also placing your team in a fun, relaxing environment. Not to mention, these company retreats let your team bond and create shared memories.

Here is a list of ideas for online company retreats.

12. Hold employees accountable

As previously mentioned, if team members commit a misstep, you should still treat them with respect. However, treating team members with respect does not exclude you from holding employees accountable. If people continuously get away with mediocre work, then the subpar performance  affects the rest of your team’s feelings of investment and motivation to turn in top quality work.

Here are tips on how to give employee feedback.

Conclusion

Team building is often not an automatic process, but rather, the result of smart strategy and careful execution. These strategies provide proven methods for getting groups to cooperate and form healthy relationships, and can be a helpful roadmap for leaders looking to improve camaraderie and organizational efficiency.

Next, check out this list of employee retention strategies, this guide to employee engagement best practices and these best practices for team building.