When I was in high school, I dreaded team projects. I was the one who usually ended up doing all of the actual work, only to have another team member insist on giving the final presentation and, essentially, stealing all of the credit. Looking back, I realise that there was one major flaw with the team presentation concept – none of our teachers taught us how to work as a team. They just threw us together an expected us to know what to do.

Effective team building means more than finding a group of people who will work well together on a regular basis. A real team can work together and everyone will contribute equally when it comes time to give a presentation.

In preparation for a team presentation, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Will everyone participate in the main presentation, or will one person be responsible for this task?

2. If the answer to the first question is one person, are you able to identify one person on your team who has the skills necessary to give an effective presentation?

Regardless of the route you choose, your team must still work together. Giving the main presentation doesn’t make one person responsible for its success or failure. Every other member of the team must understand the entire presentation, be on hand to help support the speaker, be prepared with supporting documents, and help to respond to any inquiries the audience may have.

Effective team building involves knowing the answers to these questions in advance. A good team will be able to quickly and easily make these decisions, without developing feelings of jealousy or animosity towards each other. Your team will always work together as one unit, and your presentations will always run smoothly!

Thanks again,
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Building a strong team is essential to the success of your business. Start by taking a close look at your organisation in order to understand exactly what type of teams you already have or need to form. There are several definitions for the word “team” and one or more may apply to your situation.

First, the entire office may be considered one team. This is especially true if your entire organisation consists of a small group and each person has a specific task to perform. Everyone must work together to achieve an end result.

Your organisation may be broken down into departments; for example, sales, marketing and advertising, accounting, customer service, etc. Each of these departments has a specific function and operates independently as a team without much input from the other departments.

Lastly, each department may be broken into teams to handle individual tasks or projects. Teams may be formed on a permanent basis, or might be formed on a case by case basis for special projects.

Team building can be incredibly difficult, regardless of the type of team you form. It’s important to keep your team structure in mind as you search for and hire new employees. In the end, you’ll find forming a team to be beneficial for a number of reasons:

- Team members will work together in a synergetic, energetic, and creative manner.

- Your team members will bring new skills to the table while picking up skills from other members of the team. Their shared efforts will increase the overall knowledge base.

- Teams are more flexible and are better able to adjust to organizational change.

- Over time, you’ll find that team members will become committed to their teams and fellow team members. No one member feels overwhelmed, but they all get to take credit for a job well done!

The difficult part of team building comes when, as a manager, you attempt to find a group of people that will get along well as far as personalities and work ethic are concerned. While this takes time, you’ll eventually appreciate the efforts you put into your team building exercise. It is much easier to delegate authority and work creatively with a fabulous team!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”