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Mariana Cersosimo

Sharing my perspective about key strategies for effective team building brings an enlightening energy to my heart. And I say that from a place of humbleness and breadth and depth of experience at the same time.

I would almost for sure risk saying that at a given point in time in our HR careers, we ourselves have questioned if team buildings (TB) serve their purpose. I was once on this side as well, but fortunately enough, I was able to unlock some of the biases that might enter the way.

First and foremost, I would like to share why I am a firm believer in team building;

● Normally, if you are requested to design and deliver a TB, that means that the senior leader of an intact team has the bare minimum willingness and openness to invest in their team's cohesiveness and in the quality of their relationships. That´s a critical starting point. Having said that, I´d always step back if this is a top-down initiative.

● Different from other developmental initiatives, it can be very focused on that specific team in their current context and environment. So, you meet the learners where they are. And the tip here is to dive deep into their world, challenges, and opportunities. You can do that by holding 1:1 conversations with each team member to validate (or not) the view shared by the requestor. I have had both experiences: one in which the diagnosis was totally aligned and the other in which the team members brought a whole new perspective, allowing us to promote a different path. That opened another great opportunity to work with the Senior Leaders as an additional coaching engagement.

● You can curate the experience from scratch, balancing theory and practice (that would represent the majority of your time)

● In order for team building to work, the foundation is to create a safe environment where every member feels appreciated, valued and considered. So, if you want your target audience to freely express what's in their mind, trust is the most important element to start. By enhancing trust, you are also helping them build one of the key skills for leaders and teams to succeed going forward.

Practical and simple tips to apply:

● Relevancy and Personalization: Although there are tons of tools and exercises that we can immediately plug and play (and honestly, several of them are great, so why not use them), always customize and adjust for the team you are working with. People learn to the extent they feel it´s relevant for them and it is made for them. One recent example that I was very interested in was when I was thinking about an activity I wanted to propose around empathy, and I ended up being inspired by exploring the ‘Empathy Museum.’ There´s a world of possibilities if we broaden our horizons.

● Always get back to the question: ‘What are we trying to solve?' as we might fall into the trap of falling in love with our own great creative ideas, but remember the session is for them.

● This is a process, not an event, so we don´t need (and we shouldn´t) address everything in that one session. It's always good to have some commitments from the team to continue the discussions and debates on a regular basis, especially when you notice the heat.

● One strategy we use in the company I work for right now is to have an umbrella of team activities which are divided into three categories: the first one is directed and made available to the team Leader, who can self-serve ideas and suggestions depending on what he wants to work on (ex: team integration), the second one is directed to the HRBP who can facilitate sessions for their internal clients (normally a bit more complex situations) and the third one which is managed by my team as Development & Culture headed to more senior teams and the ones that might require a more sophisticated degree of facilitation skills);

● Last but not least, I would share one question that I always add to my list in the briefing phase, which we normally don´t ask so frequently: ‘What do you want for this team building?’ So, my invitation is a follow-up question: what do you not want for this session (and this includes team style, preferences, and former experiences)? For me, this question adds a lot and is taken for granted! Don´t assume, just ask!