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.
****Working in a team means, that individual members need to possess not only expertise in their own field but also expertise in teamwork, in general.* This notion is especially important as employees are generally expected to work in teams without receiving specialised training in this area. “Being a team player” is often seen as a requirement in job postings for various positions, however what does that mean specifically? Teamorama assessment specifically addresses topics relevant to team communication, coordination, and relationships and allows team members to express their opinions. Aggregated on the team level, one can then see how the whole team perceives those topics.
