The Catalyst Team Building Model shows how you can use team building as a strategic instrument in developing your employees. In this section, we will discuss activating corporate culture in more detail.
Working together in groups has a special dynamic, often elusive. When you put the best people together for a task, it rarely forms an effective team. Group culture is one of the most special and powerful elements that influence the success of an organization.
How to define company culture?
There are various ways to define company culture because culture is elusive and difficult to define precisely. According to Wikipedia, organizational culture is the collection of norms, values and behaviours shared by the members of the organization that bind the members to each other and the organization.
Braun and Kramer (2016) approach organizations as a tribe and look at them from an anthropological point of view. According to them, culture is an exciting coherent set of answers to a group of people's two basic survival questions: how do we survive as a group or organization in the external environment? And: how do we arrange our internal integration?
The most important elements of the corporate culture
The most important aspects of the corporate culture are the norms and values and how people behave together.
Daniel Coyle describes in his book The Culture Code how he has analyzed successful groups and what the similarities are. He concluded that all these groups share certain characteristics that form the basis for a strong collective culture. These can be displayed in 3 steps.
1. Building Safety
Create a safe environment where everyone feels heard.
2. Sharing Vulnerability
Share vulnerabilities. Share the less strong points so that you can work on improvement.
3. Crafting a Story
Describe clear priorities that guide and define the group's identity.
How team building programs can contribute to a strong company culture
A safe environment - Building Safety
Pleasure is one of the basic factors during an activity. Joy makes people relaxed and more open. Barriers diminish, and the hierarchical structure fades. Anyone can participate, and your physical condition does not affect the result. Everyone is equal and has a sense of belonging.
Share your vulnerabilities - Sharing Vulnerability.
The strength here lies in showing vulnerabilities. If it's okay to show your vulnerabilities, you're showing that you need help. You can put your insecurity aside and get to work if that becomes the norm. Trust is created, and there is a direct link between being vulnerable and the result of working together.
Give clear direction - Crafting a story.
The third point is about the direction of the organization. If the mission and vision are clear, that gives direction. Employees who stand behind the mission have a clear purpose and direction.
Core values represent the best version of yourself
Your core values define who you are when you are at your natural best. The video below by Simin Sinek provides a clear insight into values and how you can define them.
A team building activity is ideally suited to draw attention to the core values and to show and practice behaviour based on the core values.
An example is the Go Team Values Game. Here you go outside, and you see all kinds of icons on a tablet where you have to go to carry out assignments. All these assignments have to do with one of the core values. For example, a project may involve making a video with your team about what the core value means to you in your daily work. The result is a discussion within the group about the application of the core value. In addition, as an organization, you have videos at the end in which your employees explain your core values.
