TEAM BUILDING - The Rules & Roles for Team Building

by Stacy Zeiger, Demand Media

Team-building involves building relationships among team members. Exercises are designed to improve productivity by helping team members communicate better. Team-building may also be used to set goals for a team and understanding the strengths of each team member to help reach those goals. Understanding the goals of a team-building session at the beginning is essential for making sure all employees benefit from and participate in the team-building process.

Setting the Rules

If not all team members participate in the team-building process, it may not be effective. Setting rules at the beginning of the process ensures that all team members know what is expected of them. Guidelines guide team members on how to interact to ensure the process is successful. If the team-building process will take place over a series of sessions, require that team members attend all sessions. Require that all team members show respect toward one another during team-building sessions and define what it means to show respect. Outline the roles and obligations of each group member to ensure all members are on the same page of the process.

Team Leader

At the beginning of the team-building process, the team should designate one member to be the leader. This person serves to delegate tasks during the team-building process and has the final say in any decisions that must be made. It must be established that because this is a team-building process; the job of the team leader should not take on the feel of a dictator. Instead, the team leader should effectively manage the group and encourage its members to work together as a team.

Recorder

The recorder plays the role of a note-taker or stenographer during team-building. This person documents all discussions and keeps other written records. At any time during the session, the recorder should be able to refresh the group’s memory with what has been discussed and be able to resolve any disagreements over what was said. After a team-building session, the recorder should send out minutes of the session to all team members.

Timekeeper

Meetings often get off-task or tend to run over. The role of the timekeeper is to keep team members on task and keep the meeting running on schedule. Before the meeting, the timekeeper works with the team leader to develop a schedule for the team-building session or meeting. This schedule is presented to all team members at the beginning of the session, and the timekeeper helps ensure transitions run smoothly, breaks do not last too long and the meeting ends on time.

Encourager

An encourager helps keep team members on-task and motivated during the team-building session. The encourager may motivate other team members through positive phrases, cheerleading or telling other team members they are doing a good job. When a task becomes cumbersome, the encourager reminds team members that the team is working toward a goal and keeps their eyes focused on the results.

Mediator

When multiple personalities work together, disputes are likely to arise. The job of the mediator is to help team members work through disputes so they do not disrupt the team as a whole. This may involve taking individual team members aside and hearing each side of a dispute or providing an objective voice when a decision cannot be made among team members.