Team Building has been my focus for quite a long time. First, at the early beginning of my professional managerial steps, I participated in the sessions devoted to forming teams. Those very initial business pieces of training were both challenging and exciting. The sessions were conducted on behalf of business owners by mostly ex-military titles and aimed at C-level managers of big newly established or merged groups of companies located across Eastern Europe. Were those effective? Definitely.
To form professional teams from experts of divergent backgrounds and diverse types of personalities
It was, in fact, an attempt to form the professional teams from the experts of divergent backgrounds and diverse types of personalities.
When my career led me to be in Western Europe, I realized that the accepted attitude toward team formation differs completely. The main effort of the hiring parties mainly focuses on finding the profile that must fit the others while others in a department, division, or section remain to be non-united by common goals and values.
Team Building versus “A New One Must Fit the Others” | Julia Karmaz Larsen
Certainly, there exists a mission and a vision of a business in general but so seldom (never) anything similar at the structural level. It appeals to me that specialists are gathered in the functional zone but far from being united by a shared vision.
It was a real discovery that participation at the events of any social character is perceived as teams’ forming events yet nothing as professionally organized for the purpose.
Team Building versus “A New One Must Fit the Others” | Julia Karmaz Larsen
While conducting the consultancy collaborations I experienced so obviously “disrupted spirit” of the groups of people who used to think that they were team players, and, nevertheless, each of them was acting as an individual seizing their personal even non-professional goals.
It is so commonly advertised in openings that the wanted specialist is supposed to be “a team player.” Controversially, that team he or she should join does not even exist.
Commonly accepted misperceptions
What is that? A corporate misleading? Or commonly accepted misperceptions? In my professional opinion – it is related to both.
I can observe that everything related to team building starts with a leader.
Team Building versus “A New One Must Fit the Others” | Julia Karmaz Larsen
A leader who shall initiate a process of team formation
That is a leader who shall initiate a process of team formation. Does he or she as a leader want to manage just a group of good colleagues or is it a professional wish to lead a team where everyone without any exception can rely on each other to approach the common goals?
Certainly, it is easier and faster to close the opening by fitting a job description. Nevertheless, it is more profitable to add a new team player to a team. The main challenge is – that the team must be built up already. Exactly that factor requires time, devotion, and corporate interest in people first, and only afterwards – functions.
Discover how to build up a professional team!
