WHEN WE GOOGLE TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES, WE SEE ALL THESE GAMES.
BUT ARE THESE REALLY TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS BY DEFINITION?
AND DOES MAKING YOUR EMPLOYEES PLAY THESE GAMES ONCE OR TWICE PER YEAR REALLY LEAD TO
IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR WORK PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY?
WHAT DOES EMPIRICAL RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN PEER REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS SAY ABOUT
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS?
AND WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS THAT MANAGERS HOLD REGARDING TEAMBUILDING
AND TEAMBUILDING EFFECTIVENESS?
WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE ANSWERS TO ALL THESE QUESTIONS.
COMING UP.
1.
TWO TEAMBUILDING EXAMPLES
LET'S BEGIN BY LOOKING AT 2 RATHER STRANGE AND MISGUIDED EXAMPLES OF TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS.
IN THIS FIRST EXAMPLE, WE SEE A HIRED TEAMBUILDING FACILITATOR SPANKING BANK EMPLOYEES WHO UNDER-PERFORMED,
TAKE A LOOK.
THE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE STANDING ON THE STAGE ARE THE WORST PERFORMING EMPLOYEES AND THEY
ARE BEING 'MOTIVATED' BY A HIRED TEAMBUILDING FACILITATOR.
AND IN THIS SECOND EXAMPLE, A MANAGER OF A REAL-ESTATE FIRM IS SLAPPING THE WORST PERFORMING
EMPLOYEES, IN A SUPPOSEDLY MOTIVATIONAL TEAMBUILDING EVENT.
WHEN I SHOW THESE 2 CLIPS IN SEMINARS AND PRESENTATIONS, I ASK ATTENDEES WHAT THEY THINK
IS WRONG WITH THESE 2 TEAMBUILDING EXAMPLES AND WHAT THEY THINK IS RIGHT WITH THEM?
WELL, THERE'S PLENTY ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM -- UNETHICAL, POSSIBLY ILLEGAL
DUE TO THEIR VIOLENT NATURE AND THE PHYSICAL HARM THEY CAUSE, AND MOST LIKELY THEY ARE
INEFFECTIVE IN THE LONG-TERM.
NOW, WHAT'S RIGHT WITH THEM?
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT IS RIGHT WITH THE ABOVE 2 TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES?
WHAT'S RIGHT WITH THEM IS THIS -- THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE MANAGEMENT'S INTENTION IS RIGHT.
THEY WANT TO, THROUGH THESE TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS, IMPROVE EMPLOYEES' WORK PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY.
SUCH INTENTIONS ARE PERFECTLY IN LINE WITH HOW TEAMBUILDING IS DEFINED IN HRM & OB LITERATURE.
SO, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MANAGEMENT'S INTENTION BEHIND THESE TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS.
THE PROBLEM IS WHETHER THESE TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS CAN ACTUALLY FULFILL THOSE INTENTIONS
AT ALL.
AFTER ALL, WE DO SEE VERY OFTEN PEOPLE MAKING TERRIBLE DECISIONS AND DOING VERY WRONG THINGS,
DESPITE THEIR VERY GOOD INTENTIONS.
2.
NORMAL TEAMBUILDING
NOW, LET'S GO FROM CHINA TO THE WEST.
IF I WERE TO ASK YOU TO NAME WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE NORMAL AND TYPICAL TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES
IN THE WEST, WHAT CAN YOU COME UP WITH?
YOU KNOW WHAT, WHY DON'T WE JUST GOOGLE IT.
ACCORDING TO GOOGLE IMAGES, THESE TYPES OF THINGS ARE PROBABLY THE MOST STEREOTYPICAL
TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES IN THE WEST -- VARIOUS OUTDOOR AND INDOOR GAMES WHICH EMPLOYEES CAN
PLAY IN TEAMS.
IN ADDITION TO THESE GENERIC EXAMPLES, SOME SPECIFIC EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE TRUST FALL IN
WHICH ONE EMPLOYEE FALLS BACKWARDS AND OTHERS CATCH HIM, FIRE WALK (WALKING ON COAL), VARIOUS
ROPES GAMES, DRUMMING TOGETHER, ESCAPE ROOM (WHERE EMPLOYEES ARE LOCKED IN A ROOM AND
THEY NEED TO WORK AS A TEAM TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ESCAPE), ROPES COURSES, OBSTACLE COURSES,
PAINTEAMBUILDINGALL GAMES, JUST TO NAME A FEW EXAMPLES.
IF YOU WISH TO SEE MORE EXAMPLES OF TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES AND GAMES, JUST GO AND SEARCH FOR
IT IN GOOGLE OR ON YOUTUBE, THERE ARE PLENTY MORE EXAMPLES.
NOW, COMPARING THESE EXAMPLES TO THE TWO CHINESE TEAMBUILDING EXAMPLES WHICH WE SAW AT THE
BEGINNING OF THIS VIDEO, WE CAN AT LEAST SEE DIFFERENCES IN TWO MAIN RESPECTS.
FIRST DIFFERENCE IS THAT THESE RATHER STEREOTYPICAL TEAMBUILDING EXAMPLES GENERALLY RAISE NO ETHICAL
AND LEGAL ISSUES, THEY ARE NOT SO OBJECTIONABLE AS THE TWO CHINESE EXAMPLES.
THE OTHER MAJOR DIFFERENCE IS THAT THESE TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES OFTEN ARE NOT PERFORMED FOR THE
SAKE OF IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY AND WORK PERFORMANCE, AT LEAST, NOT DIRECTLY.
IF WE LOOK AT THE WEBSITES OF TEAMBUILDING FACILITATORS, COMPANIES WHO SELL TEAMBUILDING,
THESE PEOPLE DO NOT CLAIM THAT BY MAKING YOUR EMPLOYEES DO THESE TEAMBUILDING GAMES, IT
WILL LEAD TO ANY MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENT IN WORK PERFORMANCES AND PRODUCTIVITY.
WHAT THEY SELL IS -- A CULTURE OF GROWTH AND SUCCESS THROUGH MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION;
THEY SELL -- ENTHUSIASM AND ENTERTAINMENT WHILE ENCOURAGING COMMUNICATION, COOPERATION,
AND POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS.
SO, WHEN WE READ THEIR WEBSITES CAREFULLY, CLEARLY THESE TEAMBUILDING COMPANIES KNOW
WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT -- THEY APPEAR TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THESE TEAMBUILDING
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES AND INTERVENTIONS, THE BEST THEY CAN ACHIEVE IS SHORT-TERM SOFT IMPROVEMENT
-- ATTITUDINAL AND PERCEPTUAL IMPROVEMENT, NOT DIRECTLY IMPROVING WORK PERFORMANCES AND
PRODUCTIVITY IN ANY OBJECTIVELY MEASURABLE MANNER.
3.
WHY DO MANAGERS STILL BELIEVE IN TEAMBUILDING?
SO, WHY IS IT THAT MANY MANAGERS GENUINELY BELIEVE THAT TEAMBUILDING GAMES WORK IN IMPROVING
WORK PERFORMANCE AND THAT THEY SHOULD MAKE THEIR EMPLOYEES GO TO TEAMBUILDING EVENTS?
IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO MANAGERS' MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
TEAMBUILDING?
MAYBE IT IS GOOGLE?
IF WE GOOGLE -- TEAMBUILDING EFFECTIVENESS, THIS IS WHAT WE GET.
WE GET THE WEBSITES OF TEAMBUILDING FACILITATORS TELLING US THAT TEAMBUILDING IS SO IMPORTANT
AND SO BENEFICIAL.
WE GET TO READ ABOUT WHY TEAMBUILDING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENT WE'LL MAKE; OR THE
MANY, MANY BENEFITS OF TEAMBUILDING; OR THAT TEAMBUILDING IS EFFECTIVE FOR REAL WORLD AND
FOR VIRTUAL TEAMS.
SO, THIS IS WHAT WE GET WHEN WE GOOGLE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, EMPIRICAL RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS TELL
A DIFFERENT STORY -- A DIFFERENT AND A MUCH MORE COMPLETE STORY.
SO, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME BORING RESEARCH ARTICLES, BEAR WITH ME HERE.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT -- NEITHER TEAMBUILDING NOR TEAM MEMBER CHARACTERISTICS
WERE FOUND TO BE A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF PERFORMANCE; MANAGER'S SUPPORT FOR FUN HAD
AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE; AND THE META-ANALYTIC FINDING THAT OVERALL, THERE
WAS NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF TEAMBUILDING ON PERFORMANCE.
SO NOW THE QUESTION IS -- WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?
DO WE BELIEVE ALL THESE WEBSITES WHICH SHOW UP IN GOOGLE WHEN WE SEARCH TEAMBUILDING EFFECTIVENESS,
OR DO WE BELIEVE ALL THESE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC
JOURNALS?
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY -- WHICH DO YOU THINK A BUSY MANAGER WOULD BELIEVE?
A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH?
OR RESEARCH ARTICLES THAT MOST MANAGERS IN THE BUSINESS FIELD PROBABLY DO NOT EVEN HAVE
ACCESS TO?
COULD THIS BE A REASON WHY MANAGERS ARE MISINFORMED?
ANOTHER REASON WHY MANAGERS IN THE BUSINESS FIELD MIGHT BE MISGUIDED ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF TEAMBUILDING IS A SOCIO-POLITICAL ONE.
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN REPEATEDLY THAT EMPLOYEES TEND TO REFRAIN FROM TELLING THEIR MANAGER
THE TRUTH IF THEY BELIEVE THE TRUTH WILL UPSET OR OFFEND THE MANAGER.
JUST IMAGINE THIS HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO, IF I HAD TO GO TO A TEAM DAY THAT MY MANAGER
ORGANIZED AND MANDATED, AND THEN THE FOLLOWING DAY, MY MANAGER ASKS ME -- HOW DID YOU LIKE
THE TEAM DAY YESTERDAY?
NOW, EVEN THOUGH I THOUGHT THE TEAM BUILDING EVENT WAS COMPLETELY USELESS AND IRRELEVANT,
THAT IT HAD NO POSITIVE IMPACT ON ANY PERCEPTUAL, ATTITUDINAL, COGNITIVE OR PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES,
HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT I WOULD TELL HIM THAT?
IT IS MUCH MORE LIKELY AND MUCH EASIER IF I JUST SAID -- IT WAS GREAT!
FURTHERMORE, THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF SOME MANAGERS ARE LIKELY REINFORCED BY PUBLISHED BOOKS LIKE
THESE -- ALL THESE BIG BOOKS OF TEAMBUILDING GAMES -- LEAD MANAGERS TO BELIEVE EVEN MORE
THAT JUST BY MAKING THEIR EMPLOYEES PLAY SOME GAMES, IT IS GOING TO IMPROVE WORK PERFORMANCE.
WELL, UNLESS YOUR TEAM IS MADE UP OF KINDERGARTEN KIDS AND THEIR WORK TASK IS SO SIMPLE AND
UNSOPHISTICATED, THIS IS MOST LIKELY NOT THE CASE AT ALL.
FINALLY, THIS IS SOMETHING WE ALREADY TOUCHED ON WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE WEBSITES OF TEAMBUILDING
FACILITATORS WHICH SHOW UP IN GOOGLE WHEN WE SEARCHED FOR TEAMBUILDING EFFECTIVENESS.
LET US NOT FORGET THAT THE SO-CALLED TEAMBUILDING IS AN INDUSTRY.
THERE ARE COMPANIES, FIRMS, CONSULTANCY AGENCIES, AND ALL KINDS OF "EXPERTS" WHO SELL TEAMBUILDING
AS A PRODUCT, AS A SERVICE, AS A MERCHANDISE, FOR PROFIT.
THESE PEOPLE KEEP ON SAYING THAT TEAMBUILDING IS VERY EFFECTIVE AND VERY BENEFICIAL.
THEY POINT OUT THAT MANY HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL AND HIGHLY PROFITABLE COMPANIES ALL DO TEAMBUILDING
AND THEY TRY TO CONVINCE YOU THAT THE REASON THOSE COMPANIES ARE SO SUCCESSFUL IS BECAUSE
THEY DO TEAMBUILDING, WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE.
BUT AS LONG AS THESE EXPERTS ARE STILL IN THE TEAMBUILDING BUSINESS, THEY WILL CONTINUE
TO CLAIM AND TRY TO CONVINCE YOU THAT TEAMBUILDING GAMES ARE EFFECTIVE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO
SELL IT.
4.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE RESEARCH ARTICLES THAT INDICATE TEAMBUILDING DOES WORK?
MANY CITE KLEIN ET AL. 2009 AS CONCLUSIVE PROOF THAT TEAMBUILDING DOES WORK.
BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT KLEIN ET AL.
SHOWED AT ALL.
KLEIN ET AL. IS INDEED THE MOST EXTENSIVE META-ANALYSIS ON TEAMBUILDING EFFECTIVENESS
AND THEIR META-ANALYSIS, WHICH WAS QUITE NICELY DONE, WAS BASED ON ONLY EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
PAPERS AND PRE-TEST POST-TEST PAPERS, SO, NO CORRELATIONAL STUDIES.
AND THAT'S ALL VERY GOOD.
HOWEVER, THEY DID NOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ACTUAL EMPLOYEE SAMPLES AND ADULT-STUDENT
SAMPLES.
THEY ALSO DID NOT CALCULATE THE EFFECTS OF THE 4 DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEAMBUILDING ON THE
4 DIFFERENT TYPES OF OUTCOMES SEPARATELY.
THEY COULD NOT DO IT BECAUSE THE STUDIES ON WHICH THEIR META-ANALYSIS WERE BASED DID NOT
ALWAYS DISTINGUISH THE 4 TYPES OF TEAMBUILDING AND THE 4 TYPES OF OUTCOMES.
SO, INSTEAD, WHAT KLEIN ET AL.
DID WAS THEY COMBINED THE 4 TYPES OF TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS AS ONE COMPOSITE PREDICTOR ON
THE 4 TYPES OF OUTCOMES AND THEY LOOKED AT THE 4 TYPES OF TEAMBUILDING AS 4 PREDICTORS
ON A COMBINED OUTCOME -- SORT OF A COMPOSITE DEPENDENT VARIABLE BASED ON THE 4 TYPES OF
OUTCOMES.
THIS MEANT OBVIOUS LIMITATIONS IN THEIR CONCLUSIONS.
AND THE AUTHORS CLEARLY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT LIMITATION AND STATED IN THEIR PAPER REPEATEDLY
THAT THEIR FINDINGS WERE SUGGESTIVE AND NOT CONCLUSIVE.
SO, WHILE THE KLEIN ET AL.
PAPER IS A GREAT PAPER, IT IS SIMPLY NOT EMPIRICAL PROOF THAT TEAMBUILDING IS EFFECTIVE, AS THE
AUTHOR THEMSELVES ACKNOWLEDGED.
SO, PLEASE READ THE FULL PAPER.
NOW, THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL PAPERS WHICH EMPIRICALLY SHOWED, THROUGH AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN OR
A PRE-TEST POST-TEST DESIGN, USING ACTUAL EMPLOYEE SAMPLES, AND WITH THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE
BEING WORK PERFORMANCE MEASURED BY AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE INSTEAD OF A SUBJECTIVE SELF-REPORT,
SUCH PAPERS ARE VERY, VERY RARE.
BUT THEY DO EXIST.
I WILL SHOW YOU TWO EXAMPLES.
THE FIRST ONE IS A STUDY PUBLISHED IN 1986 IN THE ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL.
THE TYPE OF TEAMBUILDING CONDUCTED WAS GOAL SETTING AND WORK-RELATED PROBLEM SOLVING,
DURATION OF TEAMBUILDING WAS 10 WEEKS, AVERAGE TEAM SIZE WAS 3, EFFECT OF TEAMBUILDING MEASURED
WAS WORK PERFORMANCE AND IT WAS MEASURED VIA OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS.
PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY WERE UNDERGROUND MINERS.
THE OTHER STUDY WAS PUBLISHED IN 1973 IN JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE.
THE TYPE OF TEAMBUILDING CONDUCTED WAS WORK-RELATED PROBLEM SOLVING IN THE FORM OF PARTICIPATIVE
DECISION-MAKING, DURATION OF TEAMBUILDING WAS 18 MONTHS, EFFECT OF TEAMBUILDING MEASURED
WAS WORK PERFORMANCE AND IT WAS MEASURED VIA OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS.
THIS STUDY ALSO MEASURED AFFECTIVE OUTCOMES VIA A SELF-REPORT SURVEY.
PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY WERE HOSPITAL LAUNDRY STAFF.
BOTH STUDIES REPORTED THAT THE CONDUCTED TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS LED TO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT
IMPROVEMENT IN OBJECTIVELY MEASURED WORK PERFORMANCE.
THESE TWO STUDIES ARE RELIABLE AND CONVINCING.
THEY USED A PROPER CAUSAL DESIGN AND THEY WERE CONDUCTED ON ACTUAL EMPLOYEE SAMPLES,
NOT STUDENT SAMPLES, THE OUTCOME VARIABLE WAS PROPERLY MEASURED, AND THEY WERE MEASURED
IN THE REASONABLY LONG TERM AS WELL -- INDICATING THAT THE EFFECT OF TEAMBUILDING ON THE MEASURED
PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES WAS RELATIVELY LONG LASTING.
SO YES, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY CONSIDER THESE 2 STUDIES TO BE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE THAT TEAMBUILDING
INTERVENTIONS CAN HAVE SIGNIFICANT AND POSITIVE EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES.
BUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO BEAR IN MIND IS WHAT THEY DID AS TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS.
NEITHER OF THESE 2 STUDIES MADE EMPLOYEES PLAY ANY OF THESE SILLY OUTDOOR GAMES FOR
LIKE ONE AFTERNOON AND CALL THAT THEIR TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTION.
WHAT THEY DID WAS CLEARLY WORK-RELATED AND IT TOOK MONTHS.
THE ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL STUDY TOOK 10 WEEKS AND THE J. OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL
SCIENCE STUDY TOOK A PERIOD OF 18 MONTHS.
IN FACT, IF ANYTHING, THESE 2 STUDIES SERVE TO HIGHLIGHT -- ONE, WHY WHAT WE CALL TEAMBUILDING
TYPICALLY DOES NOT WORK AND TWO, THE VERY FACT THAT WHAT WE CALL TEAMBUILDING IS ACTUALLY
NOT TEAMBUILDING BY DEFINITION.
5.
WHAT IS TEAMBUILDING, BY DEFINITION?
IF I AM SAYING THAT ALL THOSE SILLY OUTDOOR GAMES ARE NOT TEAMBUILDING, THEN WHAT IS?
WHAT IS TEAMBUILDING REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE?
ACCORDING TO HRM&OB LITERATURE, TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS (ALSO SOMETIMES REFERRED TO
AS TEAM DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS OR TEAM TRAINING INTERVENTIONS) ARE HIGH-INTERACTION
ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO ENABLE WORK TEAMS TO BETTER ACHIEVE RESULTS, MEET TEAM GOALS, AND
ACCOMPLISH WORK TASKS (THIS IS FROM THE KLEIN ET AL., 2009 META-ANALYTIC PAPER).
(ACCORDING TO ROBBINS AND JUDGE, GREENBURG AND BARON, SALAS ET AL, AND KLEIN ET AL) TEAMBUILDING
SHOULD FOCUS ON 4 MAIN COMPONENTS: (1).
ROLE-CLARIFICATION: TEAM MEMBERS DISCUSS AND ANALYZE THEIR OWN ROLES AND THE ROLES OF OTHERS
IN ORDER FOR DISCREPANCIES AND DISAGREEMENTS IN PERCEPTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED AND SOLVED,
(2).
GOAL-SETTING: TEAM MEMBERS CLARIFY THE VARIOUS GOALS TOWARDS WHICH THEY ARE WORKING AND IDENTIFY
WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM, (3).
PROBLEM-SOLVING: TEAM MEMBERS SYSTEMATICALLY IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS WAYS OF SOLVING TASK-RELATED
OR PROCESS-RELATED WORK ISSUES, (4).
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS: INTERACTIVE, GROUP BASED ACTIVITIES OR INTERVENTIONS DESIGNED
TO BUILD TRUST, ENCOURAGE OPEN COMMUNICATION, AND INCREASE TEAM COHESION.
WHAT IS SHOWN IN THESE GOOGLE IMAGES IS NOT REAL TEAMBUILDING BY DEFINITION.
THESE ARE JUST GAMES PRIMARILY MEANT FOR SOCIALIZATION PURPOSES.
AT BEST, THEY ARE TEAM BONDING EXERCISES OR SOCIALIZATION GAMES, NOT TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS.
>>>
SO, LET'S SUM UP THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES THAT MANAGERS MAKE ABOUT TEAMBUILDING.
THE FIRST ONE, THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE, IS NOT KNOWING WHAT TEAMBUILDING ACTUALLY IS.
TEAMBUILDING IS MORE THAN JUST SOCIALIZATION AND GAMES AND TEAM BONDING EXERCISES.
IF WE ONLY GO BY WHAT WE FIND ON GOOGLE, WE MIGHT ACTUALLY THINK THESE OUTDOOR GAMES ARE
TEAMBUILDING.
WELL, THESE GAMES DON'T BUILD TEAM EFFECTIVENESS.
THESE GAMES ARE JUST -- GAMES.
THAT'S ALL.
NOW, OF COURSE, IF YOUR EMPLOYEES WANT TO PLAY THEM AND YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THEM,
THEN GO AHEAD AND DO IT.
THESE GAMES COULD SERVE A LEGITIMATE PURPOSE -- THEY CAN BE PLAYED FOR INTRODUCTORY PURPOSES;
OR SOCIALIZATION; OR AS AN ICEBREAKER.
HOWEVER, CHANCES ARE THESE GAMES WON'T BUILD TEAM EFFECTIVENESS AT ALL AND THEY WON'T IMPROVE
PRODUCTIVITY AND WORK PERFORMANCE EITHER.
SECOND MISTAKE: EFFECTIVE TEAMBUILDING IS NOT JUST ONE AFTERNOON.
FOR TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS TO ACTUALLY LEAD TO IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES,
IT TAKES TIME.
THE TWO ARTICLES I CITED IN THIS VIDEO, ONE TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTION TOOK 10 WEEKS AND
THE OTHER TOOK 18 MONTHS.
REAL TEAMBUILDING IS AN INVESTMENT THAT REQUIRES TIME, RESOURCES, AND LONG-TERM COMMITMENT.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE JUST ONE AFTERNOON PER YEAR, THEN FINE, MAKE YOUR EMPLOYEES PLAY SOME SILLY
GAMES FOR ONE AFTERNOON PER YEAR, THERE ARE PLENTY OF FIRMS SELLING THOSE SO-CALLED TEAMBUILDING
GAMES, BUT AGAIN, DON'T EXPECT THESE GAMES TO ACTUALLY IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND WORK
PERFORMANCE.
MISTAKE NUMBER THREE: BELIEVING EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE WEBSITE OF A TEAMBUILDING
FACILITATOR.
THESE ARE BUSINESSES THAT SELL TEAMBUILDING.
IT IS ONLY NATURAL AND IN THEIR BENEFIT TO TELL YOU THAT TEAMBUILDING LEADS TO ALL KINDS
OF IMPROVEMENTS.
BE CAREFUL WITH WHAT YOU READ; ALWAYS QUESTION WHAT YOU READ.
(FEEL FREE TO QUESTION MY CLAIMS IN THIS VIDEO.)
>>>
NOW, TO GET TO THE NEXT MISTAKE, A LITTLE ANECDOTE.
A LITTLE WHILE AGO, I WAS GIVING A SEMINAR ON TEAMBUILDING EFFECTIVENESS.
I WAS DOING A PRESENTATION, SHOWING EXAMPLES AND VIDEOS OF TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS AND
PRESENTING RESEARCH FINDINGS CONCERNING TEAMBUILDING AND ITS VARIOUS MEASURED OUTCOMES.
AFTER MY PRESENTATION, DURING THE DISCUSSION PORTION, A MANAGER WHO WAS PARTICIPATING IN
THE SEMINAR ASKED ME -- IN MY DEPARTMENT, I REALLY SENSE THERE TO BE SOME ISSUES WITH
COMMUNICATION AMONG EMPLOYEES.
I WAS PLANNING SOME KIND OF A TEAMBUILDING EVENT, SOME SORT OF A TEAM OUTING, IN ORDER
TO TRY TO FIX THIS COMMUNICATION ISSUE.
IN YOUR OPINION AND ACCORDING TO YOUR PRESENTATION, WOULD YOU SAY THE LIKELIHOOD FOR THAT TO WORK
IS LOW?
WHAT KIND OF TEAMBUILDING EVENT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT?
I ASKED.
OH, SOMETHING SIMPLE, JUST HAVING A GOOD TIME TOGETHER.
MAYBE BOWLING FOLLOWED BY A NICE TEAM DINNER IN A GOOD RESTAURANT.
DO YOU THINK IT WOULD WORK?
SHE SAID.
THIS COMMUNICATION PROBLEM IN YOUR TEAM, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS CAUSING THIS COMMUNICATION
PROBLEM?
I FURTHER INQUIRED.
I AM NOT SURE, I DON'T KNOW.
SHE SAID.
NOW, THAT IS EXACTLY THE POINT HERE.
IF THIS MANAGER DOES NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING THE COMMUNICATION PROBLEM IN THE TEAM,
WHEN SHE DOES NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM IS, WHY WOULD SHE EVEN
ASSUME OR PRESUME THAT A SO-CALLED TEAMBUILDING EVENT OF BOWLING AND DINNER WOULD FIX IT.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS OFTEN HOW TEAMBUILDING EVENTS ARE ORGANIZED.
FROM WHAT I SEE AND HEAR AND EXPERIENCE, MANY MANAGERS ORGANIZE TEAM EVENTS FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES
WITH GREAT INTENTIONS – LIKE THIS MANAGER WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, OR LIKE THAT CHINESE
BANK EXAMPLE WE SAW AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS VIDEO.
BUT HAVING GREAT INTENTIONS IS NOT ENOUGH.
THAT IS, HAVING GREAT INTENTIONS DOES NOT MEAN THE TEAMBUILDING EVENT WHICH YOU INTEND
TO WORK WILL WORK.
BUT AT LEAST, THESE MANAGERS HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS, SO THAT IS NICE.
IN OTHER CASES, HOWEVER, THE MANAGER'S MOTIVES AND INTENTIONS BEHIND ORGANIZING TEAMBUILDING
EVENTS ARE NOT EVEN CORRECT, AT LEAST, NOT IN LINE WITH THE DEFINITION OF TEAMBUILDING.
PER THE DEFINITION OF TEAMBUILDING, THE INTENTION OF ORGANIZING SUCH THINGS SHOULD BE -- TO
ENABLE WORK TEAMS TO BETTER ACHIEVE RESULTS, MEET TEAM GOALS, AND ACCOMPLISH WORK TASKS.
BUT IN ACTUALITY, WE DO SEE MISGUIDED MOTIVES ON THE PART OF THE MANAGER WHEN ORGANIZING
TEAMBUILDING EVENTS.
SOMETIMES WE SEE MANAGERS ORGANIZING A TEAMBUILDING EVENT SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IT IS THEIR
JOB TO ORGANIZE SOMETHING, ANYTHING.
AS LONG AS THEY'VE ORGANIZED A TEAMBUILDING DAY FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT, THEY'VE PERFORMED
THEIR DUTY, THEY CAN CHECK IT OFF THE LIST AND BE DONE WITH IT.
OTHER TIMES WE SEE MANAGERS ORGANIZING A TEAMBUILDING EVENT FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THE MANAGER
HIMSELF WANTS TO FEEL IMPORTANT, HE WANTS THIS TO BE HIS DAY WHERE HE CAN BE CENTRAL-STAGE
AND BE THE IMPORTANT PERSON THAT HE ALWAYS IS.
ANYWAY, SO THIS ANECDOTE BRINGS US TWO MORE MISTAKES.
MISTAKE NUMBER FOUR: HAVING THE WRONG REASON OR MOTIVE FOR ORGANIZING TEAMBUILDING EVENTS
FOR THEIR STAFF.
MISTAKE NUMBER FIVE: NOT KNOWING THE CORE CAUSE FOR PROBLEMS AT WORK AND ALREADY AUTOMATICALLY
ASSUMING TEAMBUILDING WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.
AND NOW THE LAST POINT (MISTAKE NUMBER SIX: TEAMBUILDING IS NOT A MAGICAL SILVER BULLET)
-- A CASUALLY PUT TOGETHER TEAMBUILDING EVENT FOR ONE AFTERNOON, AS WE HAVE ESTABLISHED,
MOST LIKELY WILL HAVE NO LONG LASTING EFFECTS ON ANYTHING -- NOT ON ANY ATTITUDINAL, AFFECTIVE,
PROCESS, COGNITIVE, PERCEPTUAL, OR PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES.
IN FACT, SUCH A LOUSY TEAMBUILDING EVENT IS LIKELY TO BE NOT JUST UNPRODUCTIVE, BUT COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE
BECAUSE THEY CAN TRIGGER RESENTMENT AND DISSATISFACTION ON THE PART OF THE EMPLOYEES.
SO, BAD TEAMBUILDING EVENTS ARE TRULY BAD.
BECAUSE IT IS NOT THAT THEY HAVE NO POSITIVE EFFECTS, IT IS THAT THEY HAVE NEGATIVE ONES!
BUT EVEN THOSE TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE PROPERLY DESIGNED AND CONDUCTED,
WHICH TAKE A LONG TIME, MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT WORK.
EVEN REAL TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS ARE NOT A MAGICAL SILVER-BULLET.
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS IS NOT THE RESULT OF ONE OR TWO THINGS, IT IS THE RESULT OF THE SYNERGETIC
EFFECTS OF MANY FACTORS.
ACCORDING TO RESPECTABLE HRM AND OB LITERATURE, FOR A TEAM TO BE EFFECTIVE, THERE NEEDS TO
BE ADEQUATE RESOURCES, A STRONG AND FITTING LEADER, A FAIR AND GENEROUS APPRAISAL AND
REWARD SYSTEM, TEAM MEMBERS NEED TO POSSESS THE NECESSARY ABILITIES, EXPERTISE, KNOWLEDGE,
EXPERIENCES AND MOTIVATION, AND THE FIRM OR ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO HAVE A HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE WHICH IS IN LINE WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S STRUCTURE AND ITS VALUES AND ITS MISSION AND
VISION, ETC.
ETC.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE CATEGORIES OF FACTORS WHICH, TOGETHER, CONTRIBUTE TO TEAM EFFECTIVENESS.
CHANCES ARE NO STAND-ALONE TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTION IS ABLE TO ADDRESS ALL THESE FACTORS REGARDLESS
HOW PROPERLY DESIGNED AND EXECUTED IT MIGHT BE.
SO, WE SHOULD ALL STOP TREATING TEAMBUILDING LIKE THIS MAGICAL SILVER BULLET.
THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET.
IN THE POPULAR MANAGEMENT LITERATURE, NUMEROUS THINGS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED OR PORTRAYED AS
A MAGICAL SILVER BULLET -- TEAMBUILDING, OR EMPLOYEE DIVERSITY, OR LEADERSHIP, OR OPEN
PLAN OFFICES, OR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.
BUT THE TRUTH IS -- ANY OF THESE THINGS ALONE WON'T FIX A COMPANY.
WE SHOULD NOT EXPECT TO JUST DO ONE LITTLE THING AND THEN SEE THAT ONE LITTLE THING MAGICALLY
CHANGES A COMPANY.
THAT HAPPENS ONLY IN MOVIES AND FAIRY-TALES, NOT IN REAL LIFE.
I UNDERSTAND -- SIMPLE PROPOSALS THAT PROMISE TO SOLVE COMPLEX PROBLEMS SELL, BUT THEY HARDLY
WORK.
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE.
>>>
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TEAMBUILDING INTERVENTIONS.
WHAT DO YOU AGREE AND DISAGREE WITH WHAT I PRESENTED IN THIS VIDEO?
I INVITE YOU TO LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS DOWN BELOW, BUT PLEASE KEEP THEM CIVIL AND
RESPECTFUL.
AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS RR VID, PLEASE LIKE AND SUB, SEE YOU NEXT TIME.
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