Leadership and team building have long been closely related. Team building is one of the most effective and commonly used ways to develop leadership skills and create an environment that encourages strong leadership.
Strong leadership teams are absolutely essential for organizational success. Effective leaders help drive teams forward, push them to innovate, and create a workplace that fosters the attitudes necessary for achieving goals.
However, building high-performing leadership teams is often a challenge. Leadership can be a difficult skill to master, teams may be reluctant, and changing workplace culture can be an uphill battle.
Today, let’s make building high-performing leadership teams possible by looking at the relationship between team building and leadership. We’ll cover how to assemble the right team for leadership, how to nurture their skills, and the role team building plays in building effective leaders.
Assembling a High-Performing Leadership Team
The first step in building a high-performing leadership team is assembling the right people. Not everyone is a natural leader—and that’s okay! But for leadership teams, there are certain things you need to look for.
Here are a couple of the key things to keep in mind while assembling a leadership team:
Selection: Choosing the Right People
When it comes to identifying people with leadership potential, there are certain qualities that you should be looking for.
One of these is the ability to communicate. Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively with their team members and others within the organization. Whether it’s discussing concerns over a project or talking with upper management, leaders need good communication skills.
They also need to be able to collaborate. Collaboration is essential in any team, and leaders in particular have to work with everyone on the team. Good leaders are capable of collaborating with those around them as needed, and they need to be an example of how to collaborate.
On top of that, leaders also need to think strategically while having a visionary mindset. They have to drive innovation and have a vision of the future, but they also need strategic thinking to realize that vision.
Assessments and evaluations are very useful tools for finding those qualities. They can help you identify which candidates have those leadership styles that will be a good fit for the role.
Diversity and Inclusion
While traits and skills are important, diversity and inclusion are also an important consideration. Though it may seem frivolous, a diverse leadership team brings in a broader range of perspectives that can improve decision-making.
Everyone sees things differently, and that’s a strength you should take advantage of. A diverse team of leaders will see and identify strengths, weaknesses, and issues that a more homogenous team might miss.
So do your best to foster an inclusive environment that encourages diversity. Ensure people have their voices heard and that different perspectives are valued, not tossed aside.
Nurturing a High-Performing Leadership Team
With the right team members selected, the next step is nurturing them into a high-performing leadership team. From professional development and soft skills to goals and communication, there’s a lot to consider. So let’s break it up section by section.
Goal Setting and Alignment
As with anything in business, goals are crucial in nurturing a leadership team. You want clear, shared goals for the leadership team to unite them around a common cause.
Leadership and team building activities can be useful here. They can help bring your team together, understand the importance of goals, and see the bigger picture when it comes to goals and their purpose for the organization.
It’s also important to make sure that team and organizational goals align with individual goals. When they are all aligned, team members feel much more connected to the organization and are more motivated to work towards those goals.
Again, leadership and team building play a role here. Team building can help you learn more about your team members, allowing you to more accurately align team and organizational goals around individual goals.
Effective Communication and Collaboration
This should come as no surprise, but effective communication and collaboration are also key for nurturing a high-performing leadership team. Communication and collaboration are necessary for teams to share ideas, work together, and achieve common goals.
Open communication channels and regular team meetings can ensure that communication is open and frequent. This spurs trust and connections, allowing everyone to voice their opinion.
It’s also important to encourage healthy debate and a respectful exchange of ideas. Team members need to be able to share their opinions without fear of being ridiculed. This allows everyone to express themselves, bringing in more varied perspectives and ideas.
Don’t forget to utilize emotional intelligence here as well. Understanding your emotions and the emotions of those around you can improve communication and collaboration skills.
Professional Development
High-performing leadership teams are always growing, so professional development is essential for creating and adding new members to your leadership team. Your team should always be learning, developing, and growing.
Courageous leadership drives success by encouraging team members to consistently challenge themselves and improve their skills. You don’t get better by staying in your comfort zone, and good leaders need to be able to push themselves.
Provide opportunities for continuous improvement, whether it be through training, leadership and team building activities, or other methods. The main focus is that you should always help your team learn more and grow as people and employees.
Building Trust and Psychological Safety
Last but not least, you need to build trust and psychological safety in the workplace. Employees only reach their full potential when they have trust in those around them and feel safe at work.
This ties back into communication; employees need to feel safe sharing their ideas and taking risks, even if those ideas and risks don’t pan out. People-oriented leadership can help you create a safe work environment that encourages free thinking and calculated risk-taking.
You also should reward success and help employees view failures as learning opportunities. This shows them that taking risks is a good thing; those risks may lead to success, and if they don’t, they’re opportunities to learn and grow.
Leadership and team building can help here as well. Team building is a great way to build trust amongst team members, as well as build a psychologically safe environment.
How Team Building Activities Can Help Create High-Performing Teams
We’ve talked a lot about leadership and team building, but let’s focus on the main question more directly—why is team building important in leadership?
Team building, such as leadership activities at work, focuses on the specific qualities and traits necessary for strong leadership teams. They allow you to develop and improve the specific skills leaders need, making it an incredibly useful resource.
That said, finding leadership team building ideas is a struggle for some. For inspiration, here are some team building activities and ideas that can help create high-performing teams.
Activities that Promote Collaboration and Problem-Solving
Team building is incredibly effective when it comes to collaboration and problem-solving. There are numerous events and activities—like scenarios, simulations, and strategic challenges—that promote collaboration and problem-solving.
Leadership Stories for example is an event that focuses on cultivating leadership skills. By working together through a series of scenarios that require intelligent leadership, your team members can improve their abilities as leaders.
And for something a little bit more fun, Corporate Crime Scene Investigation is a great choice for leadership and team building. This event involves working together to solve a mock crime, promoting collaboration and problem-solving.
Activities that Foster Communication, Trust and Conflict Management
If you’re looking to foster communication, trust, and conflict management, there are lots of team building activities for leadership teams that are a perfect fit. Games that emphasize teamwork and communication in particular are a perfect choice.
Beat the Box will have your team working together for a series of mind-bending escape room challenges, putting their collaboration to the test. It also helps identify individual strengths, which is a big part of working together as a team.
Focusing more specifically on identifying strengths, Team Leadership DNA is another option. This is a highly-targeted event that builds high-performing teams, maximizes working relationships, and helps people become more self-aware.
Understanding your fellow team members is key too, and DISC Assessment Training is a good option for that. This event is all about improving communication and cooperation by learning more about each other.
Activities that Encourage Innovation and Creativity
Finally, let’s talk about innovation and creativity. One of the areas where leadership and team building are most connected is innovation and creativity. These events can really challenge your team to think outside the box and drive innovation.
Bridging the Divide is a great event that has teams working together and being creative to build a physical bridge for an RC car to drive over. Your team will have to communicate and innovate to accomplish their goal.
Rube Goldbergs might be a classic activity for kids in school, but they can bring out that same level of creativity in adults too. The Chain Reaction Challenge involves teams designing fun and complex Rube Goldberg devices, bringing out their creativity while emphasizing teamwork.
Using Team Building to Create High-Performing Leadership Teams
Strong leadership teams are essential for any business, and team building is one of the best ways to foster the skills and environment necessary for them to thrive.
Leadership and team building are closely connected; team building can help you improve leadership and develop skills like communication and collaboration, all while bringing your team together.
If you’re ready to take your leadership to the next level and foster high-performing leadership teams, consider partnering with TeamBonding.
In our 25+ years of experience, we have gained the knowledge, experience, and tools necessary to help your leadership teams achieve their full potential. So take a look at our events and get in touch with us today to get the ball rolling and better your business.
