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By JoAnn Meyer, Fredrikson Human Resources Consulting

In our consulting practice, we are often asked about team building. Do we do it? (The short answer is yes). What do we think about those outdoor adventure programs? Is there really substance to this idea of "team building?" What is a team, anyway?

There are few short answers to any of these questions. However, we can try to de-mystify this idea of teams and teamwork in the work setting by looking at the nature of the work that needs to get done. One true indicator of the viability of a team is to examine how dependent the individuals on the team are on each other in producing the final product or service. If there is a high degree of interdependency, a team is at work.

When we're asked to help a team with some 'team-building,' we look first at the team's performance objectives. Are there common objectives? Does everyone on the 'team' feel ownership of them? Sometimes our work in 'team-building' consists of helping team members or team sponsors clearly define performance goals. We work with the group to define performance measurements: how will the team know it's been successful? This work of clarifying mission and purpose of a team is sometimes called 'team-building.'

Teams can number from two people to over twenty. We find, however, that because of the clear and frequent communications that are required in teams, large 'teams' that work well actually are made up of smaller 'sub-teams.' That's another clue regarding teams: how dependent are the members of a group on communications with each other? If the answer is, very dependent, again a team is at work.

Frequently, individual communication styles, and the inherent conflict in different styles, are getting in the way of effective communications among team members. By helping people understand their own communication style preferences, and those of their team members, we can assist in unblocking those communication flows. This type of work is also called 'team-building.'

Another aspect to team-building is when the team figures out how it will make decisions and manage conflicts. There are a number of ways in which groups can do these things. Unless there is explicit agreement among the members on the 'ground rules,' individuals will make up their own. So, sometimes the 'team-building' we do requires helping a team to define what decision are in its domain. We facilitate the team's resolving how it will make the decisions it owns, and how conflicts will be channeled and used constructively. As we work through these issues with groups, we help them keep an eye on definite results.

Effective teams know they didn't get there by accident. Teams take hard work to develop and maintain, on the part of all their members. At the same time, many individuals with whom we work say they find being on a team fascinating, fun and rewarding. We say the same thing about 'team-building.' Despite its numerous aspects, team-building can have a huge impact on the performance of a team. ctives, establish measures of success, work hard at communicating among their members, and establish ground rules for decision making and managing conflicts, stand a great chance of reaching superior levels of performance.