Team building
& team training
Team building encompasses a variety of events, from an in promptu after-work social activity to a professionally facilitated event.
Team building is a very commonly used term and encompasses a variety of events, from an in promptu after-work social activity to a professionally facilitated event. The scientific term is “team development intervention” and includes team building or team training.
Team building aims to enhance interpersonal relations and social interactions among team members ( utilizing strategies such as goal setting, interpersonal relationship management, role clarification, and problem solving)
Team training is more formal and systematic and aims to improve specific team competencies such as communication or coordination.
Scientifically supported, methods of team training include
- team self-correction (the diagnosis and correction of team problems and team coordination)
- adaptability training (focuses on training the skills underlying effective coordination)
Many programs intertwine team building and team training, incorporating interpersonal aspects as well as teamwork specific skills. It is crucial to understand the difference to be able to address the possible issues a team may face.
Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 517–531.
How much do team
members stick together?
Scientifically, the concept of how much team mebers stick together is called team cohesion.
Team cohesion (a shared attraction and sense of pride among team members) is widely regarded as an important aspect of overall team functioning and is also one of the earliest and most widely studied team constructs. A large number of studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between team cohesion and team performance.
It is also possible to distinguish between task and social cohesion. Task cohesion represents the team’s shared investment in achieving a common objective while social cohesion is driven by the team’s social and emotional elements. Research shows that task cohesion is more likely to enhance team’s performance.
Grossman, R., Nolan, K., Rosch, Z., Mazer, D., & Salas, E. (2022). The team cohesion-performance relationship: A meta-analysis exploring measurement approaches and the changing team landscape. Organizational Psychology Review, 12(2), 181–238.
Team Engagement
Employee engagement is a work-related, positive and fulfilling state (on both emotional and cognitive levels).
It is characterized by
- vigor (i.e., high levels of effort and persistence while working),
- dedication (i.e., a sense of significance and pride), and
- absorption (i.e., concentrating fully on one’s work)
As team’s work is interdependent and aims towards a shared goal, engagement at the team level becomes crucial.
Research shows that team engagement has important influences on team performance and is affected by team resources, demands and processes.
González-Romá, V., Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., and Lloret, S. (2006). Burnout and work engagement: Independent factors or opposite poles? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 165–174
Rodríguez-Sánchez, A. M., Devloo, T., Rico, R., Salanova, M., and Anseel, F. (2017). What makes creative teams tick? Cohesion, engagement, and performance across creativity tasks: A three-wave study. Group & Organization Management, 42, 521–547
Meyer, J. P., & Schneider, B. (Eds.). (2021). A Research Agenda for Employee Engagement in a Changing World of Work. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Do team members
trust each other?
Trust is one of the main concepts that enable true teamwork and has shown a strong link to team performance.
The two main components of trust (by a most widely accepted scientific definition) are positive expectations (i.e. an individual is expecting that his/her teammates are able to perform a task appropriately) and willingness to be vulnerable (i.e. to the actions of another team member. This concept is associated with an emotional investment and caring for the teammates.).
Both team trust components can influence how team members work together, how/if they monitor each other’s tasks and display backup behavior. Trust can reside at the individual, team and organizational levels – and is at each level associated with different outcomes.
De Jong, B. A., Dirks, K. T., & Gillespie, N. (2016). Trust and team performance: A meta-analysis of main effects, moderators, and covariates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(8), 1134–1150.
Feitosa, J., Grossman, R., Kramer, W. S., & Salas, E. (2020). Measuring team trust: A critical and meta-analytical review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41(5), 479–501.
