Team building can drive company success in more ways than one. It can build trust, increase productivity, create healthy competition and help employees acquire new skills, to name a few.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Concentration in Leadership program prepares graduates for leadership roles in business, including the skills necessary to cultivate and manage team-building efforts.
What Makes a Strong Team?
Strong teams aren’t created by simply hiring the right people to fill certain positions. Often, a strong team is curated, trained and properly managed to forge the best results for a business.
According to The New York Times, to manage a successful team, there are five main objectives to keep in mind:
- Make a plan
- Create a clear set of rules
- Show respect
- Keep the team in mind
- Have frequent conversations
If done well, these behaviors can significantly impact companies, big or small.
Top Team-Building Activities
With an array of team-building activities, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the options. Ultimately, it’s best to choose activities that are culturally consistent with your company and your specific group of employees.
SnackNation suggests the following workplace team-building activities, among others:
- Scavenger hunt: Helps build collaboration, critical thinking and decision-making skills
- Escape room: Helps develop problem-solving, teamwork, trust, communication, leadership and collaboration skills
- Charcuterie night: Helps relationship building, communication, creativity and trust skills
- Make a team playlist: Forms creative thinking, collaboration and empathy skills
These team-building activities can be successful because they bring employees together in creative ways to increase engagement.
Working remotely doesn’t mean leaders should forgo team-building efforts. In fact, they should focus on it more regularly since employees don’t see each other face-to-face daily.
Museum Hack covers the following examples of remote team-building:
- 100% virtual tiny campfire: Creates unique shared memories, good vibes and strong employee engagement
- Team dinner: A good way to relax and bond without a strong focus on team-building
- Book club: An opportunity for like-minded team members to connect, especially if part of a large team
- A Slack channel to post pics of pets: An easy and fun way to boost culture
These remote team-building activities help because they get employees to communicate with each other about something other than work. When employees are remote, it can be a good break for the team.
Next Steps to Become a Successful Team Leader
Staying informed of industry trends, like team-building activities, is key to being a successful team leader. Equally important is pursuing the proper education to reach your career goals and prepare yourself for a role in management.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online MBA with a Concentration in Leadership program equips you with the skills and knowledge of different leadership styles to lead teams in various industries. For example, the Team Development Behaviors course assists students in understanding factors that influence team-building. With the flexibility of online learning, you can complete the program in as few as 12 months.
Learn more about Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online MBA with a Concentration in Leadership program.