What the Heck is “Team Building,” Anyway?

TrivWorks has been billed as the industry-leading trivia team building expert forever. I’ve personally been doing this for over fifteen years, after all, and before that I was a corporate scavenger hunt writer, producer and guide. I’ve produced over 2,000 events for corporate clients, been interviewed on the subject by all sorts of top-tier trade and consumer media, and have published upwards of a thousand posts here on our Website.

So why can’t I – or anyone, for that matter – define exactly what “team building” is?

There’s no universally agreed-upon meaning for the term, nor is there any real way to say what does or doesn’t qualify. There’s also no official certification or licensing process to become a practitioner. It’s just this amorphous, ambiguous monicker, which people kind of get what it is – but not really.

Let’s see if we can describe what “team building” is a little bit better. Seeing how I’m (ahem) a trivia expert, I’ll take a shot at this by asking some questions!

What is Corporate Team Building?

In my opinion, team building is nothing more than an activity or event that helps people bond and feel more connected. Folks tend to assume that there’s a method to the madness here; that there’s a ton of analytics and measurement and whatnot, all carefully calibrated and designed to address specific workplace issues. However, I’ve always taken a different approach, which is that this is just supposed to be a BLAST. I believe if people are having fun, if they’re relaxing and letting their hair down, if they’re laughing and enjoying themselves around a shared experience, that they’re going to bond. Full stop.

What ISN’T Corporate Team Building?

Here’s where things can get murky. Where does one draw the line when it comes to a shared activity that helps people bond? Is a passive activity like watching a show technically team building? Does anything even remotely interactive pass muster? The range is huge, from trust falls to building bikes to survival role play, there’s just a staggering number of activities out there claiming the moniker. Honestly, most of them stink.

I think it’s important to differentiate between a structured, professionally-produced and facilitated activity, and simply having a good time. You can’t really say that happy hour down at the local watering hole counts, can you? Surely it’s gotta be something a little more involved than that. I think it has to be something done with intent and purpose; something that’s planned, that’s well thought-out, and that fits both the audience as well as the goals. In fact, let’s talk more about goals.

What Are the Goals of Team Building Activities?

You really can’t achieve any objectives without clearly defining what they are. Otherwise, you’re just wasting the company’s time and money. So…what are they? Setting these out in advance is vitally important, because once you do, you can then find the right activity to match. Generally speaking, however, these events are intended to achieve several of the below outcomes – if not all of them:

• Improving workplace collaboration and communication
• Boosting office morale
• Easing tensions/power struggles and reducing conflict
• Increasing trust

Ultimately, all of these outcomes are meant to achieve one thing only: boost revenue. Let’s talk about that, too.

How Does Corporate Team Building Boost Revenue?

Ah, the big one. At the end of the day, company leaders only care about one thing: profit. I could chime here on my blog night and day about the virtues of people getting along in happy workplaces, however that’s not the purpose of business. The real reason businesses exist isn’t to make their employees happy, it’s to make money.

Team building activities do more to achieve this than you may realize. Engaging a group of co-workers at all levels with a well-executed, enjoyable shared experience can be highly impactful. Suddenly, people feel more comfortable with one another. They are able to share some vulnerabilities, perhaps learn about each other in a new way, and realize they have more in common than they thought. This makes going to work much easier and more fun, which naturally boosts productivity and efficiency. And what, pray tell, do you think that leads to? You guessed it: more money.

Conclusion: What is Team Building?

Besides the name (which I hate – it’s got such a poor reputation), team building is something that’s not easy to describe, but you know pretty quickly whether it works or not. It’s a positive shared experience, that when executed intentionally and professionally can have some pretty awesome results. I don’t think it’s worth getting caught up in the weeds arguing what does and doesn’t qualify. Rather, I think it’s a far better use of time to think about what activities your specific group would respond well to, in order to boost positive workplace behaviors – and with them, the bottom line.

For further reading, you might enjoy my recent article, “Why Does Trivia Work for Corporate Team Building?”