What is team building in leadership? Team building is the constant strive to enhance the relationships between employees and help them collaborate in the most effective way possible. And team leaders play a key role in this. Essentially, leaders are responsible for taking individual employees and bringing them together as a cohesive team. Why is team building important in leadership? It builds trust, mitigates conflict, encourages communication, and increases collaboration. Effective team building means more engaged employees, which is good for company culture and boosting the bottom line. 10 Reasons Highlighting The Importance Of Team Building 1. BUILDS TRUST Trust plays an essential role in building effective teams. For teams to work together, they need to know they can trust each other. 2. REGULATES COMMUNICATION When employees work as a team, they communicate. They talk to each other about the task at hand and the best way to achieve the desired result. They strategize, divide themselves into smaller groups, hold discussions and try to finish the task in the most efficient manner. 3. INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY Teams share the workload. This means that if one member has relatively less work, she can help another team member complete their work. This allows the project to be finished faster, thereby increasing productivity and improving the overall bottom line. 4. BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER As Margaret Carty rightly said, “The nicest thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” One of the most important benefits of team building is that it improves interpersonal relationships between employees. When people work together, they share experiences and both failures as well as victories. It brings them closer and makes them trust each other. 5. FOSTERS CREATIVITY AND LEARNING Successful team building motivates employees to learn from each other and build on each other’s talents. 6. HEALTHY COMPETITION It’s proven that when you make a task a competition, people achieve more. In the workplace, conducting team building activities can be a great way to bring out the competitive side of your employees. Team building exercises are fun games where employees participate in completing their challenges while competing with other games. 7. MAKES PEOPLE MORE ACCEPTING The race to achieve success should be equal. Everyone should be given the same importance, resources, and equal opportunities to reach their goals. With workplaces becoming more inclusive towards cultural and gender diversity, your employees need to do their bit too. It is always a good idea to form teams with people from different ethnicities and backgrounds. 8. RESOLVES CONFLICTS When people work together, there are sure to be disagreements. It's up to team members to resolve the conflicts amicably and not let them turn into full-blown disputes. 9. EMPLOYEES CAN ACQUIRE SKILLS Team building is important. It enables employees to learn from others and develop new skills. Working in a team helps employees take on leadership roles and see their team members fulfill their responsibilities. 10. IMPROVES COMPANY CULTURE When teams work together, it fosters creativity and innovation in the workplace. Employees communicate and collaborate more. This improves their performance and efficiency, resolves conflicts and misunderstandings and makes people more accepting towards each other. EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES 1. Leading by example a) Take responsibility 2. Praise employee’s to motivate others b) Support your team 3. Communicate objectives and goals early on to c) Listen to your team ensure d) success Recognize your employees e) Be genuine 4. Identify and address employee dissatisfaction 5. Let others speak first 6. Ask Employees 7. Focus on respect rather than popularity.