Building and Using Good Teams in the Workplace

At the MIT Human Dynamics Laboratory a research study was conducted in an attempt to find out what factors make an effective team. Researcher Alex “Sandy” Pentland (2012) first sought out companies with multiple teams that were comparable, but had fluctuating performance. He then outfitted these teams with socio-metric badges. These badges, which are also known as sociometers, automatically measure face-to-face interaction, body motion, and vocal features among other things. Through multiple studies and the analysis of this data Pentland suggests that communication is the single most important factor of an effective team.

The study goes on to detail some of the observable communicative characteristics of these successful teams. Active listening, face-to face energetic conversation, and engagement were some of the traits found. Improving the quality of organizational communication should be a priority when building a team. Providing employees with opportunities to engage one another, and the freedom to communicate frequently are a couple of ways to accomplish this.

Teambuilding Activities

Teambuilding activities can be defined as engagements that develop cooperation and trust within a work unit, with the ultimate goal of increased productivity in the workplace. These activities commonly referred to as teambuilding exercises can range from icebreakers, company outings, and brainstorming sessions to bringing in a motivational speaker. A mini industry full of companies exist that offer B2B teambuilding services.

Below is a chart illustrating some of the common teambuilding activities of major corporations, information was gathered from company websites.

One question that arises when a company contemplates involvement in team...

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