Investing in Staff Development Activities Over the Long Run Pays Off
The process of staff development is exactly that – a process
High-performance teams are an incredible asset to any workplace. In most cases, these teams don’t organically form themselves-staff really have to work at it. By taking cues from fields of neuroscience and psychology we can glean insight into the elements and processes that help to shape a team that will fuel business to the next level.
Psychological research on teamwork has shown that team productivity drops when the number of people within the team grows. Instead, it’s small, close-knit teams that do best; kind of like having a work family. Within these small teams, the social needs of individuals are fulfilled, which helps with navigating the workplace and getting work done in the process.
Productive and successful teams are made up of people that have great interpersonal skills and qualities of:
- Clear communication
- Emotional Intelligence
- Trust
- A sense of psychological security within the team
- Inspiration. Which leads to motivation, and powers a high-performance team
In 2016 Forbes surveyed more than 66.000 team members in order to get an idea of the elements that make up a high-performance team. They found that high-performance teams had leaders who were inspirational, supportive, and trustworthy, resolved conflicts as they came up, and communicated the vision of the team members’ mission on a constant basis to keep them on track.
These qualities are the fuel that lights the fire and provides energy for team members to find their own motivation and work autonomously to reach the end goal. Individuals’ personalities and the way they click (or don’t) within teams add another dimension to the recipe for success. Personalities are more important than skills, experience, and technical knowledge when it comes to figuring out the team members’ roles within a team-which is why it’s important to really get to know one another when working together.
The importance of training and development in the workplace centres around human connection
Teamwork comes down to knowing one another. We have a plethora of devices and communication methods at our disposal to get us in touch with one another-but research shows that it’s in-person meetings that tell us the most about a person. There are three main reasons why 3D meetings are important:
- All of our senses are engaged when we meet in 3D
We as humans have a variety of sensory inputs that contribute to our perception of the world, and the people in it. Our 5 senses (plus our intuition) contribute to shaping our views of the people around us and contribute to our emotional intelligence.
2, Personalities shine in person
It turns out that this combination of sensory input and emotional intelligence are essential building blocks for creating trust and a sense of security within teams. The more people meet in person, the more their personalities show through-and this is another essential component to figuring out which people click best, and work together best within their teams.
3. Our brains have special cells that help us understand and empathise with people
The third reason why it’s important for teams to meet in person is that we’re human. We develop bonds with one another that are composed of a delicate balance of understanding, compassion, empathy, and respect. We need these things in order to be able to relate to one another-it’s in our biology, our chemistry, and in mirror neurons, we have in our brains. These brain cells are what the famous neuroscientist V.S Ramachandran calls the building blocks of civilization”. They are responsible for our empathy, compassion, and understanding of other’s actions and feelings. For example, if a coworker jams their finger in the door, we understand and feel their pain. This prompts us to help them-we know what this would be like.
As Henry Ford said: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success”.
Staff development team building activities form a high-performing team
Team building activities are shared experiences and challenges outside of the office that brings help to shape high-performing teams within the workplace. A number of studies have proven the effectiveness of activities such as 3D games and puzzles in developing trust and communication between teammates, especially task-based trust.
Teams get the most benefit from a program of team building activities that offer a diverse range of experiences. Different activities offer a platform for individuals to test individuals capabilities in a variety of situations and offer the opportunity for various facets of each team member’s personality and skills to show through.
Having held a variety of team competitions for various businesses, we can attest to the effectiveness of these competitions for ourselves. Teams come away at the end of each competition better connected, and with different perspectives of each other. Most importantly, their team leaders report positive results within the workforce which is exactly what we love to hear!
Our staff development activities have formed high-performance teams on a daily basis. Call now, and see the results within your business.
