Mistakes to Avoid When Building a Team

Business owners sleep peacefully through the night when they know that their team functions as one solid unit. They know that when a team is united, it will not only work against the odds but also give a befitting reply when a challenge comes knocking at their door.

For competitors, it is teams like these that work silently in the background, not just keeping the company afloat in light of stiff competition but also making the business a force to be reckoned with.

It takes a lot of time and effort to stitch such a team together. A lot of money needs to be spent too, be it in the form of appraisals, company dinners or team building activities.

But despite the best intentions, sometimes these efforts do not pay off. In this blog we will take you through the various mistakes that must be avoided when building a team:

Assuming that each individual is equal

Think of your team as a class of students in a school. Some may be good at academics, while some may lean more towards sports. Just like there cannot be a class where every single student excels, there cannot be a team where members do not have varying temperaments, skills and learning curves to experience.

As a leader, you are in the best position to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of different members and to devise strategies accordingly – whether they are related to office targets or building a team.

Encouraging teams within the team

If you have a group of individuals who are always found together and do not mingle much with the rest of their team, you must do what you can to dislodge such cliques immediately.

It defeats the purpose of uniting your team as members may begin to harbour resentment against each other. The teams that perform the best are the ones that like and respect each other fully.

The Avalanche way to go about it would be to give them guns and make them shoot each other whilst placing them in different teams in a game of Paintball. This way, any allegiances soon get dissolved as ultimately, everyone loves to win.

Undefined Goals

A team which is not directed towards a clear goal is setting itself up for failure. It is the responsibility of the team leader to convey to the rest of the team what their organisational goals are and what the contribution of each member of the team towards achieving those goals is.

Publicly scolding team members

Discipline is important and effort must be taken to build a disciplined workforce. But it is not justified to be so obsessed with discipline that team members are offended in the process.

Scolding team members publicly in front of other team members is certainly not the right approach to instil discipline and respect within a team.

If certain members of your team are repeat offenders, you can take them aside and give them a healthy dose of discipline in private. Publicly shaming them will only make them want to rebel more.

Fostering unhealthy competition

A healthy level of competition is important to build a successful team. Where there is no competition, members may just become complacent and not strive to achieve personal or professional growth.

But excess competition can be unhealthy too as it often results in heated situations which make the team prone to disintegration.

Lack of trust

When others are approached with a feeling of distrust, one only has more reasons to not trust people. A team wherein members do not trust each other will never be able to achieve the level of performance which it otherwise has the potential to reach.

A blindfold driving activity at Avalanche Adventure puts you in a position where you have no choice but to trust each other.

Secret celebrations of excellence

If some members of your team have delivered an excellent performance, they should be celebrated openly so that they can serve as an inspiration to the rest of the team.

The remaining members of the team will then be incentivised to work harder and a message will be sent across the team that good performance is more than just valued in your organisation – but rewarded too.

To avoid the mistakes which have been mentioned above and to bring your team closer together in an effective manner, book a Corporate Day out at Avalanche Adventure today.