Team Building Takes Time – Time Together
These days there is a lot of talk about the power of teamwork, and rightly so. Teamwork is what allows a flock of geese to survive migration, a pride of lions to hunt food, a pod of orcas to raise their young – and it is the key determinant of what allows your organization to thrive.
At Kwela we teach and facilitate team building using Patrick Lencioni’s “5 Dysfunctions of a Team” model. Central to the model is that teamwork is build on a foundation of trust. No trust – no teamwork.
But what is trust? It is the ability for people to be vulnerable with each other while being consistently accountable, respectful and ethical with one another. It is also based on knowing about each other on a personal level. In order to achieve this, it’s important to spend quality time with co-workers, focusing on things outside of work.
Kwela Shoreline Cleanup, Summer 2019
What started as a team building event turned out to be so much more. Littered plastic (including the most common item – cigarette butts) creates so much suffering and death for marine creatures and this was a small step towards raising awareness while doing something about it with a group of special people who were not afraid to get their hands dirty.
When one looks closely at the ground and is willing to stoop to pick up trash left by others it changes you in a positive way, and over our lunch which followed there was a closeness that no “corporate” program can deliver. A number of Kwelans have already come forward asking if we can do more of this type of thing.
Russel Horwitz, Principal
russelh@kwelaleadership.com