Tuckman’s forming, storming, norming, performing model of group development was first developed in 1965 and formed the backbone of team-building for decades. 

Indeed, when I first entered the world of full-time work on Marks and Spencer’s graduate scheme nearly 30 years ago, team building was a core part of our training. The purpose of any people manager was to create conditions for the team to thrive together and deliver results. 

How has team building changed?

Understandably the pandemic put paid to teams coming together in person and working through the essential steps of building a highly effective working group. But post-pandemic, we have not returned to the habit of prioritising this work and investing the necessary time to do it well.

In our culture reviews with clients, ‘relationship with team members’ and ‘relationship with line manager’ consistently come up as the most significant impact on someone’s level of engagement. Most of the organisations we work with have some form of hybrid working across multiple sites or geographies, and people are craving more time to build relationships and improve ways of working. 

This is not the same as wanting to ditch hybrid working and return to the office full-time. There is plentiful research to show that, on balance, teams are more productive when given the choice to work in a location appropriate to the task at hand. Employees are, understandably, frustrated with mandates to ‘be present’ in the office doing work that could more productively be done at home, without the commute. 

The benefits of quality team building time 

However, quality time, deliberately aimed at building effective team dynamics is a win for everyone. It provides:

• Increased engagement
• Improved mental health and wellbeing
• Increased retention
• Improved efficiency
• Improved energy and productivity
• Improved customer experience
• Improved results

Why is team-building not prioritised? 

Leaders and teams are stuck in the Catch-22 of being ‘too busy’ to prioritise activities that are important but not urgent. 

Many teams are grappling with a full change agenda, often stretched for resource and stuck in transactional relationships that can come with hybrid working. As such, they are ‘head-down’ getting the work done and the siren is just not wailing loud enough for leaders to prioritise team building moments.

Yet every team we work with describes the untapped potential for better performance – recently one executive team member estimated only 50% of the team’s potential is being tapped into. The desire to connect more closely with the people they work with is palpable. In most cases, employees want to improve communication routines (within their own team and with others), streamline processes, get clear on roles and decision-making responsibilities, and make it easier to add value, collectively.

How to know if your team is working effectively

There are many frameworks for high-performing teams that comprise the same core elements. A good place to start is to sense-check with your team the degree to which they all feel they have the following:

• A clear team and personal purpose
• Common goals and priorities
• Clear roles and responsibilities
• Diverse and complementary knowledge, skills and experience
• Effective routines and processes
• Permission to hold each other to account
• High levels of trust and psychological safety
• A healthy level of debate and challenge

How much time does it take to build an effective team?

It depends on the team’s particular circumstances, for example:

• Size of the team
• Location(s) of the team
• Role of the team
• Complexity of their context and goals
• Current dynamics
• Appetite for improvement

Typically, one to two days initially, followed by one-day every quarter is sufficient to build and maintain a great team. Individuals may need some additional 121 coaching for extra support. This is not a huge investment of time or budget, especially given the immense benefits. 

Over and above the business benefits of building effective teams, the people in them develop a sense of connectedness and belonging that surpass the transactional relationship of employer and employee. Everyone remembers the best teams they have been part of.   

For further inspiration on how to build strong teams and organisational culture in a hybrid world:

• Explore Pecan’s Coaching High Performance services
• Listen to Pecan’s interview with Harriet Oppenheimer, CEO of RNID
• Read Teamwork redefined: How to build a collaborative workplace culture