Ditch Digging and Teambuilding
I once had a boss that thought going to a health club was a waste of time. He believed that if people wanted to be physically fit, there were more practical ways of accomplishing this goal.
His theory involved achieving fitness in conjunction with another goal. “Why make it a separate activity?” he would say. His prescribed workout included cutting the grass, shoveling snow, splitting firewood, and my personal favorite…digging a ditch.
He had a point. Physical fitness did not have to take extra time and money. Opportunities to achieve it were readily available in everyday life.
Team fitness can be achieved in the same manner. Companies regularly request teambuilding. They usually want to do an all-day, off-site session engaged in experiential learning activities. In other words, they want to take the group to the “teambuilding health club.”
While a day out of the office doing some teambuilding might be an effective solution, it often is not an efficient solution. There are better ways of achieving the goal, if you have identified it.
Ask yourself, “what should this team be able to do that it isn’t able to do now?” When you arrive at the first answer, ask yourself “why do I want them to be able to do that.” Keep pushing yourself along this line of questioning until you get to a problem that really matters.
For example, when I first discuss teambuilding with a potential client, the conversation often goes something like this:
“Why do you want to do teambuilding,” I inquire.
“So that people get along better” comes the usual response.
“And why do you want people to get along?”
“So that they communicate more” I am told.
I probe further by asking “Well why is communication important in your department?”
“Because stuff falls through the cracks and customers get really angry.”
It’s at this point that we are getting to something that matters. We’ve discovered our ditch that needs digging. I suggest, “Well then let’s work together on solving the hand-off problems in the department and then see how that addresses your other reasons for doing teambuilding.”
Teambuilding done as a stand-alone activity may or may not solve the real problem. In either case, there is a better way of accomplishing the goal. Address the real issues, and let the teambuilding occur naturally.
