What Makes A Great Team?

It’s very obvious when a team works well together. They all contribute towards a common goal, and it can often feel as though you’re operating a well-oiled machine, with all the parts moving synchronously with one another. So, what are the elements that make these teams function so well?

• Excellent communication. Communication is the foundation and backbone of great teamwork. Every person within that team will understand the best methods of communicating with one another and how to mitigate and handle conflict when it arises.
• Everyone knows what they’re doing. Great teams work so well together because individuals understand their own strengths and weaknesses and those of their team members. Each person is assigned tasks accordingly, so they are well-equipped to achieve the group goals.
• They set clear expectations and goals. Without goals to achieve, teams can often feel lost or aimless. Great teams know precisely what it is they’re setting out to achieve, so they can plan on the best course of action to get there. They also understand what is expected of them as a contributing team member and strive to meet those expectations.
• There is a capable leader in charge. Every great team needs a great leader to stay on track. One of the foundational skills an excellent leader must have is professional communication. If you want to support and develop brilliant leaders in your workplace, Presence Communications can help your team enhance their leadership and communication skills.

Getting To Know Your Team

To improve professional communication and run beneficial team building activities, you first need to understand the types of personalities that make up your team. Once you know the values, beliefs, and characteristics of the people in your team, you can build effective communication with them and help them work better as a group. Presence Communications run True Colors personality profiling workshops to help leaders and team members become better communicators.

• Conflict mitigation. The True Colors personality test helps your team to understand the causes of conflict and provides them with the skills to recognise, navigate, resolve, and mitigate conflict in the workplace.
• Better collaboration. When you have an in-depth understanding of the personalities that make up your team, you’ll be better able to delegate tasks to meet people’s strengths and challenge your team professionally to enhance their collaboration skills.
• Run more engaging team building activities. Rather than organising the same old team building activities like the annual paintball skirmish or scary trust exercises, let’s reveal your team’s True Colors in action.

5 Team Building Exercises That Will Change The Way Your Team Collaborate

If you’re looking for a few excellent team-building exercises to help your team communicate, collaborate, and achieve their goals, here are a couple of suggestions.

• Collaboration Quickstep. Presence Communications can run a fast-paced exercise designed to encourage your team to think quickly and work innovatively with others.
• Scavenger hunts. The old fashioned scavenger hunt is a great way to encourage teams to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal. You can use the findings from the True Colors personality test in assigning tasks to meet individual strengths such as:
  • Team Leaders: Gold personalities will likely enjoy leading the scavenger hunt, so put them in charge of keeping track of time and organising the other individuals in the group.
  • Problem Solvers: Green personalities will thrive in the role of the problem solver. They can handle any riddles or puzzles along the way.
  • Photographer and record keepers: Blue personalities love interacting with others and having fun with other people, so place them in charge of taking group photos and recording the day’s events.
  • Navigators: Orange personalities like taking action and are comfortable with risks, so let them choose the order in which their team ticks off the tasks.
• Escape rooms. Escape rooms are excellent for teams to develop their professional communication skills working together to escape the situation. You’ll quickly see the different characteristics of each personality arise when tasked with getting out of an escape room!
• Lunchbox Learning sessions. Presence Communications offers bite-sized learning for teams that want to focus on specific skills. Each session runs from 30-90 minutes, and I can develop the learning session around team-building.
• Silly debates. This exercise is a little bit outside the box, but it addresses so many key communication skills. Pick a silly argument (should the office invest in an in-house bar or a jumping castle room, or whether an office dog or an office piglet would be a cuter mascot) and have your team debate each side. In doing this exercise, teams practise actively listening to one another they can recognise and resolve conflict. Your team will also have a chance to see each other’s creative processes and collaborate to develop well-rounded arguments.

Choose Presence Communications For Team Building In Brisbane And The Gold Coast

Since 2013, I’ve been empowering clients to develop and refine their professional presence, both in person and on paper. I established Presence Communications, a training and services consultancy, to help individuals and organisations communicate effectively and gain recognition for their efforts, achievements, and innovations. I’ve worked with hundreds of clients from public, private, and profit-for-purpose sectors, and gaining a reputation for professionalism, dedication, and credible results.. If you’re interested in team building on the Gold Coast or in Greater Brisbane, contact Presence Communications today.