How to form a cohesive team. How to form a cohesive team

A program of correctional and developmental classes for educators as part of the work on psychological support for the teaching staff “Formation of team cohesion.”

Nomination “Best correctional and developmental program, elective course program in psychology” or “Best development of psychological activities for parents and teachers.”

Annotation. A program aimed at developing team cohesion and team building

Explanatory note

Communication and interaction of people occurs in various groups. Based on the nature and forms of organization of activities, the following levels of group development are distinguished:

1. association – a group in which relationships are mediated only by personally significant goals (groups of friends);

2. cooperation - a group characterized by a really functioning organizational structure, interpersonal relationships are of a business nature, subordinated to achieving the required result in performing a specific task in a certain type of activity;

3. corporation - a group united only by internal goals that do not go beyond its framework, striving to achieve its group goals at any cost, including at the expense of other groups;

4. team – a time-stable organizational group of interacting people with specific governing bodies, united by the goals of socially beneficial activities and the complex dynamics of business and personal relationships between group members.

It is very important for the leader of socio-psychological training to see the structure of interpersonal relationships in a team in order to be able to find an individual approach to team members and influence the formation and development of a cohesive team. A real cohesive team does not appear immediately, but is formed gradually, going through a number of stages:

1. socio-psychological adaptation - active adaptation to teaching activities and entry into new team, assimilation of norms, rules, requirements, traditions of a given institution;

2. identifying an effective asset of the team - organizers of collective activities who enjoy authority among the team;

3. high level of cohesion – favorable psychological climate, friendly background of relationships, emotional empathy.

A person’s position in a team is determined not only by individual character traits, the personality of the person himself, but also by the characteristics of the team.

In a loosely knit team, the status of an individual depends largely on the level of sociability. In close-knit teams in which complex joint activities are carried out, the status of an individual is largely determined by his business and moral qualities.

In general, I would like to note that the relationship with the leader, the psychological climate of the teaching staff, and the results of the team’s work depend on the management style implemented by the leader.

When a comfortable microclimate is created in a team, its members gain confidence and strive to work and create.

The correctional and developmental program consists of 3 blocks:

1. diagnostic – studying the psychological climate of the teaching staff, identifying the style of management of the team;

2. formative – socially – psychological training“Formation of team cohesion”;

3. control – repeated diagnostics.

The program consists of 8 lessons. It is implemented over a period of 2 months, classes are held once a week, each lesson lasting 1.5 hours.

Objectives of the correctional and developmental program:

1. relieve mental and physical stress educators;

2. teach basic techniques of teamwork;

3. develop communication and organizational skills;

4. increase the teacher’s self-esteem;

5. develop self-confidence.

The principles underlying the correctional and developmental program:

Taking into account the individual, age and psychological characteristics of the teacher;

Systematic principle;

The principle of programmed learning;

Activity principle of correction;

The principle of comprehensiveness of methods of psychological influence;

The principle of complication;

The principle of taking into account the emotional complexity of the material.

Thematic plan

Lesson number Content Exercise time Total time
. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. Greeting 2. Basic principles of the training group 3. “Name and epithet” 4. “Swap places” 5. “Name in your ear” 6. “I am me!” 7. “Numbers of my life” 8. “Who was born in May” 9. Reflection on the emotional state 10. Farewell 1. Greeting 2. “Pace” 3. “The uniqueness of everyone” 4. “Conversation in a double circle” 5. Reflection on the emotional state 6. Farewell 1. Greeting 2. “Japanese butterfly” 3. “Imaginary ball” 4. “Count to 10” 5. “Synchronized movement” 6. “Fold the wool blanket” 7. Reflection on the emotional state 8. Farewell 1. Greeting 2 . “Back to back” 3. “A car with character” 4. “A curious story” 5. Reflection on the emotional state 6. Farewell 1. Greeting 2. “Carnival of Animals” 3. “Little Red Riding Hood and the Gray Wolf” 5. “Circle of Trust” " 6. "Abstract pictures" 6. "Sitting without a chair" 7. Reflection of the emotional state 8. Farewell 7. 1. Greeting. 8. 2. “Massage” 9. 3. “I’m falling!” 4. “Let down roots” 5. “Summer rain” 6. “Form a circle” 7. Reflection on emotional state 8. Farewell 1. Greeting 2. “We look funny!” 3. “Let’s compose together” 4. “Thrifty husband” 5. “Melt the circle” 6. Reflection on the emotional state 7. Farewell 1. Greeting. 2. “Log” 3. “Come to me!” 4. “Trust fall” 5. “Circle of trust” 6. “Support each other” 7. “Big steps” 8. Carousel 9. Reflection on emotional state 10. Farewell 7 3 10 10 5 5 15 15 20 2 3 10 30 20 20 2 3 10 15 10 10 15 20 2 3 5 20 40 20 2 3 15 10 15 20 10 20 2 3 10 10 10 10 15 20 2 3 10 20 20 15 20 2 3 10 10 10 10 5 5 10 20 2 1 hour 30 minutes 1 hour 25 minutes 1 hour 25 minutes 1 hour 30 minutes 1 hour 30 minutes 1 hour 20 minutes 1 hour 25 minutes 1 hour 25 minutes

Lesson 1

Purpose of the lesson: introduction to group work.

1. Greeting ritual.

“I can offer you several greeting rituals that are common among different nations. You and I must choose one so that every lesson begins with it:

Hug and three kisses alternately on both cheeks (Russia);

A slight bow, arms and palms extended to the sides (Japan);

Handshake and kiss on both cheeks (France);

A slight bow, with arms crossed on the chest (China);

A slight bow, palms folded in front of the forehead (India);

Kiss on the cheeks, palms resting on the partner’s forearms (Spain);

A simple handshake and eye contact (Germany);

A soft handshake with both hands, touching only with fingers (Malaysia);

Rubbing noses against each other (Eskimo tradition).

But you can also come up with a ritual.

2. Basic principles of work of the training group.

3. “Name and epithet”

The group sits in a circle. One of the participants introduces himself to the others and selects some epithet in relation to himself. This adjective should begin with the same letter as the name, describe the person in a positive way, and contain exaggeration whenever possible. For example: “Brilliant Gennady, active Anatoly, violent Boris.”

4. "Swap places."

The two participants change places. During the exchange, they say something nice to each other. The group sits in a circle, the leader is in the center. The presenter asks any participant, looking into his eyes: “Can you change places with me?” This proposal is definitely accepted. The participant rises from his seat and walks towards the leader. A welcoming handshake, some short positive comment: “I like your smile.” The leader takes the participant’s vacated chair, and the participant, as the new leader, invites another member of the group to change places with him. The game continues until each participant is the leader at least once.

5. “Name in your ear.”

Leave tables and chairs aside so you can move around the room freely. First, participants walk around the room and greet each other. in an unusual way: They whisper their name into the ear of everyone they meet. This must be done as if it were being transmitted precious secret, which no one else should know about. Warn the players that at one point they will hear a bell ringing, this will be a signal: they need to stop and wait for new instructions. When each player has spoken to about half of the participants, ring the bell. Say that now you need to walk around the room again, but this time tell your partner his name in his ear. A forgotten or unknown name of a player should not be grounds for avoiding a meeting. The one who does not know the name whispers in the other’s ear: “I would like to know your name.” The game ends with the ringing of the bell.


6. “I am me!”

Leave tables and chairs aside so you can move around the room freely. Invite group members to move in a circle. To begin with, everyone chooses a tempo that is this moment seems most suitable to him. Now the participants move in a special way: they stomp first with their right foot, then with their left, then make a small jump. These movements are accompanied by the following phrase: “I (stomping with the right foot) is (stomping with the left foot) the name of the rivers (bouncing in place).” You have 2 minutes to complete the task. Gather group members together. The group lines up in a circle, you stand in the center. Now everyone repeats the same action together in a common rhythm, so that resonance arises. At first, the actions take place with less energy and everyone pronounces the key phrase quietly. Then the intensity of the task increases.

7. “Numbers of my life.”

The group sits in a circle, each participant thinks of a number that matters in his life. This could be a significant date, telephone number, age, house number, number of family members, etc. When the participant thinks of a number, he writes it very in big numbers on a piece of paper. Everyone takes turns placing their pieces of paper on the floor in the center of the circle, and other members of the group must try to guess in 2 minutes why this number is so important to the corresponding participant. In the end, he himself explains to the group the meaning of this number.

High results require coordinated work of the entire team. If this cannot be achieved, it is necessary to identify pathologies of team building and eliminate them.

From the material you will learn:

  • How to find out what makes it difficult to form a cohesive team;
  • Where to start uniting the HR department;
  • How can constructive conflicts help in forming a cohesive team?
  • How to overcome employees' reluctance to work in a team;
  • What are the criteria for a cohesive team?

Questions that will help you understand what makes it difficult to form a cohesive team

By answering these questions, you will be able to understand what pathologies of team building exist and what prevents you from forming a cohesive team of like-minded people. The main five pathologies, which are highlighted by international expert Patrick Lencinioni.

Constructive conflicts as a condition for the formation of a cohesive team

Meetings should be lively and the topics discussed should excite and affect all participants. You can provoke a general discussion using one of the methods he suggested.

  1. Ask the employee who has already approached you with a problem to voice it at the meeting. This should be a question that in one way or another concerns the work of the entire service and that will be of interest to everyone. Organize brainstorming sessions, during which the search for the optimal solution will take place on a collegial basis. Employees should not be afraid to speak up, even if they are wrong.
  2. Act as a meeting moderator and bring issues to the attention of participants by inviting general discussion.
  3. If necessary, create project groups that will work together on a particular project you propose. To eliminate conflicts, decide by your decision who will be responsible for what and who will have what powers. Monitor the work on the project periodically and, after its successful completion, reward employees by noting the effective work of the team. A formed, cohesive team can be “diluted” with other employees so that they too develop a taste and desire for joint activities with colleagues.

How to overcome employee reluctance to work in a team

Since not everyone will want to work collectively, conflicts should also be expected to arise. They are inevitable, since there are people who are individualists by nature, and there are also those who do not want to work in a team for fear of revealing their unprofessionalism and laziness. All this can lead to conflicts between employees and to disputes with you and resistance to your decisions. The situation can escalate at any moment and you need to be prepared for it.

Observe opponents of teamwork, try to understand real reasons this reluctance. Those subordinates for whom personal goals are higher than team goals should be worked on individually. Consider the roles of employees on the team. You can't tolerate someone being indifferent to the results common labor, shifting responsibility and work to others. A close-knit team is distinguished by a common interest in the results of joint work and one cannot allow someone’s destructive actions to discredit the idea itself.

Criteria for a cohesive team

But how do you understand that HR employees are ready for cohesive teamwork, that they are capable of solving complex problems that require teamwork and full dedication? There are several signs that can be identified as evidence of a cohesive team.

  1. Colleagues trust each other and are not afraid to admit that they may make mistakes. There is no unhealthy competition, in which everyone can turn to their colleagues for help, and is happy to talk about their area of ​​work, without fear of criticism.
  2. Employees speak up and argue, seeking optimal solutions and quickly fixing problems. All disputes are constructive and are not started in order to criticize a colleague, but to find an effective solution, the meetings are lively and all their participants show sincere interest.
  3. The entire team is responsible for the final results. Set specific deadlines for solving the problem and monitor intermediate results. This will help the team quickly adjust work taking into account the tasks being performed.
  4. Controlling functions are performed not only by the leader, but also by all team members. Since each employee is interested in the fastest successful achievement of results, team members are demanding of each other. None of them seek to shift their part of the work onto the shoulders of a colleague, and all work is performed with high quality.
  5. A common collective goal forms a cohesive team; this does not prevent ambitious employees from expressing themselves, Negative influence individualists are minimized.
  6. The composition of the team is stable, even if someone quits, the majority of employees have been working for a long time. Thanks to this, colleagues easily adapt and interact with pleasure, clearly understanding each other’s capabilities and powers.

One of the main tasks for many modern enterprises is to unite their own team. However, such a task is quite difficult for any leader. According to psychologists, the presence of a cohesive team allows you to create a better working environment, which contributes to more coordinated work of the entire team. However, creating such an atmosphere is extremely difficult.

Currently there are various modern techniques to unite an indifferent or fragmented team. However, you need to realize that one event or team building exercise will not immediately create a positive atmosphere at the enterprise; a long session with the team is necessary to create such an atmosphere and maintain it in the future. You should also take into account the possibility of difficulties and misunderstanding on the part of the work team, so you need to select the most painless ways to unite your team.
So, the following are considered the most popular ways to unite a work team today:

— corporate holidays as a way of bringing together colleagues. Such holidays may include trips to the cinema, group outings and corporate events, which can often be significantly more effective way than many trainings or educational programs. However, it should also be understood that with the constant use of such corporate events, they can play the opposite role.

— another way to unite the team is training with a professional trainer. At the same time, you should carefully choose a very competent specialist as a coach who will be able to stir up the team and will be able to clearly explain to them the fact that their team is a single organism, and each employee in this team performs specific work, which contributes to the functioning of the whole organism and allows it to survive.

— the most common way to unite a team now is also to conduct team building, the main goal of which is to form a cohesive team. However, now this technique makes it possible to form a cohesive team of an entire enterprise. During team building, non-standard forms are used to cultivate team spirit in the team, which allow creating effective levers for managing the team.

Each manager strives to unite the team in order to maximize the level of comfort of employees and their desire to move together towards their goal. There are many tools used to build relationships between employees.

You will learn:

  • What are the advantages of a close-knit team?
  • How to create a cohesive team
  • How New Year can help bring the team together
  • What problems may arise in creating a cohesive team?

What are the benefits of a close-knit team?

1) Collective-team is an analogue of such concepts as strength, unity and reliability of personal interactions and relationships between employees. Team cohesion is a necessary factor for the company’s productive and focused work. A group selected from strangers must spend N amount of time to unite and focus on solving the tasks assigned to it. As a rule, only a well-worked and loyal team can successfully overcome periods of crisis during its formation and advancement, which is their fundamental discrepancy with a group where the members are hastily found people.

2) Only a cohesive team has the ability to overcome the crises that await its members on the path of their formation without losses, which cannot be said about a group of incompatible people. The concept of compatibility is a real opportunity to overcome difficulties, and solving the problems they face actually means that all team members are integrated in the most best value this word.

3) If the company has a friendly team, then staff turnover practically zero or none at all. Employees do not run away from work after the end of the working day, do not try to help each other out, and do not have the habit of gossiping about their colleagues.

4) Working in such a team, it is immediately clear that everyone is ready to help a colleague, talk about their ideas and developments that can be applied in common work. Employees do not experience negative emotions when thinking about work, they are less tired and more stress-resistant. and they are the ones who are ready to ultimately increase the company's profits.

Team building that will unite the team

Find out how to think through a scenario for an ideal team building from the article in the electronic magazine “Commercial Director”.

Characteristics of a cohesive team

1. Awareness is one of the important concepts of conscious human behavior. The level of awareness of people affects the performance of the entire team as a whole. A timely information process, sent to all recipients and reaching everyone, gives a person a feeling of involvement in the life of the team and its goals. Thanks to this, there are no uninitiated or indifferent employees in the team.

Openness and interest in the economic interests of almost all team members encourages workers to jointly participate in the management activities of the team. It is unlikely that even the most experienced top manager will be able to hope for the support of the team if he does not use or minimally uses the available information channels, both oral and printed, in his work.

2. Discipline is the accepted order of people’s behavior, which meets the moral norms and rules established in the company, which allows you to regulate the processes of behavioral mood in the team. A disciplined person in a team is an incentive social development and responsibility towards work. High awareness and understanding of the importance of one’s place in the team contributes to the conscientious performance of functional duties.

Compliance with discipline is the fulfillment by people of established norms and rules of behavior. The level of personal relationships between management and each team member directly affects the quality performance of job duties and social functions.

Methods for maintaining order and discipline can vary greatly. Types of social discipline can be such concepts as morality, mores and traditions.

3. Activity is an increased activity performed by a person not so much because of the obligation to perform official duty, but because of the opportunity for free self-expression. Thus, the activity of the individual is a need for work and knowledge of the surrounding world.

A person always has a desire to realize and more fully express his inner essence, which leads to his most complete and integral development as a person. The level of activity and initiative of a person is more influenced by the situation when he is alone or in contact with colleagues. Naturally, the feelings and moral component of a person in society are much different from his behavioral mood in a state of loneliness.

4. Organization programs the accurate and competent definition and distribution of rights and responsibilities of employees. It can be traced in the response of team members to changes in the environment, to updating internal and external awareness. The attitude of personnel to the labor process and discipline depends on the correct organization of work.

It is easier for a top manager to work in a highly organized team. To create such a company requires enormous effort and the highest professionalism. Organization is influenced by such reasons as the role of the individual in the team, discipline and others. important factors. But even an ideally formed team experiences ups and downs during its existence due to the distribution of responsibilities of its employees as subjects of labor communication and cognition.

To strengthen personal connections in the team, take into account the interests of employees, using economic and social leverage.

5. Cohesion is an action that unites all employees in their common work and gives integrity, which proves the team’s attraction to each other and to the team. This is undoubtedly a qualitative indicator of any work collective.

When the formation of a cohesive team is required

1) At the stage of active development. If the number of employees increases over a short period of time, the “old guys” sometimes develop rather difficult relationships with the newcomers. To unite both groups, you need to start with leaders, both recognized and unrecognized. Team building will serve to bring you closer and benevolent.

2) During stagnation or business downturn. This period is characterized by the fact that employees, doubting the future of the company, begin to work unsteadily, slowly, without showing initiative, and begin to look for new job, and then go into free swimming. At this time, the main task of the manager is to raise the working spirit of the staff so that they can realize that improving the situation is in their hands.

3) When there is a conflict between the company's departments, such events will help resolve the problems that arise. So, in one company sales fell sharply. The head of the company organized team building, which contributed to the breakthrough. This event was held after the January holidays, after which the employees went to work rested and ready to move mountains.

What factors influence team cohesion?

1) Common interests, hobbies, views, ethical and material values ​​and orientation of group members;

2) Age composition of groups;

3) Feeling psychological safety and goodwill;

4) Active and intense joint labor unity aimed at solving common problems;

5) The attractiveness of the leader as a reference model who performs functions to the maximum;

6) Skilled leadership work;

7) The presence of a competing group;

8) The presence in the group of a person who is sharply different from other members and who opposes himself to the group.

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Ways to unite the company team

1. Corporate events. They are used as an effective mechanism designed to unite the team or divide it. The unoriginality of the script and the same type of corporate events will not lead to anything good, since employees treat these events as artificial. During the meeting, they are tense and cannot feel at ease. The person understands that this is a continuation of the work process. After going to work, people feel awkward and worried that someone behaved inappropriately, someone had too much alcohol.

A full-fledged holiday occurs when the entire scenario is invented and implemented by team members. Colleagues learn about themselves and others new information, everyone is positive from the very beginning. This approach saves the company money, since holding corporate events by specialized organizations is quite expensive.

In order for the event to be rich and original, you need to conduct an anonymous survey to find out what employees want to see as a corporate event. To do this, fill out a questionnaire. After processing the completed questionnaires, you will understand what employees want and decide initiative group who can be involved in organizing the event.

2. Team-building sports trainings. Team building will help team members create loyal relationships and motivate team unity and team organization. Improperly organized team building can lead to unforeseen consequences - disengagement of employees, loss of authoritarianism on the part of the manager, and dismissal of staff. Therefore, you should take the choice of a coach very seriously and take into account the physical fitness of the participants. There was such a case, a female leader broke her arm during team building and then thought for a long time whether it was done intentionally or not.

When a company employs active young people, and the physical shape of the manager leaves much to be desired, then team building is hardly justified. This can diminish the boss's authoritarianism. If the general director has much higher sports training than the employees, there is no need to force everyone to take an active part in the event.

For example, in one company the manager, an athletic man aged 36, was passionate about skydiving, so he organized extreme team building for top managers, who were mainly representatives of the fairer sex over 40 years old. Naturally, no one was forced to jump, but they hinted that anyone who did not jump was not our man. Many had to jump, but not all. It is better to compete in extreme sports with those who love such recreation.

3. Team building activities. These include carrying out educational trainings, which will unite the existing staff. They will help adapt new employees to achieve positive results:

- Find a common language. There is a known case when a company conducted training 6 times and each time for a new department. The company's management set a goal for the staff to speak the same language. This could be achieved by undergoing training from one trainer. As a result, colleagues began to use a single terminology. Typically, this training is most useful for employees with different educational levels.

– Bring newcomers up to speed. New employee within a few hours or days, he gets to know his colleagues, gets involved in the work and ceases to be a stranger. During this time, the team can draw up a portrait of a person and move on to active form cooperation. Under normal circumstances, a newcomer can undergo adaptation for several months.

– Earn authority. In the financial division of one company, the core of the employees were people of above average age. Was appointed new manager for the position financial director, and a young woman at that. How the employees reacted was quite predictable - disrespectful attitude, insubordination, sabotage.

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The financial director made an unusual proposal - she announced her intention to hold free seminars in English and financial analysis. It is clear that at the first lesson there was no queue of people interested, but there were also those who became interested and came to the conclusion that the classes were worthwhile, and even free. He told his colleagues, and the employees reached out. As a result, she gained authority and respect from her colleagues.

– Development of new documents. During the training session, you can work together to develop, for example, a corporate set of rules for the company, which sets out all the acquisitions and developments of the company. If such a document is provided by a higher organization, it will not work. It’s another matter when the employees themselves become the creators, and the document is honed through an open discussion.

How to unite truants and drinkers

Aigul Gomoyunova, General Director of Penopol Group of Companies, Moscow

The main part of our company are warehouse employees (loaders) and sales department. Therefore, we had a constant turnover of staff. The loaders' staff was constantly being replaced because they drank and skipped work. In just one year, the sales staff left full staff. It seemed impossible to find out the reason for the constant turnover, because at that time I paid too little attention to the issues of retaining employees. I was at a loss as to what the reason was: our wages are quite high.

Hundreds of methods were used to change the situation: fines, bonuses, promotions - nothing worked. Used for a year various methods, but there was no result.

Remembering my past experience as a business coach, I thought about conducting trainings on team building, inviting the whole team to it: after all, every employee should understand that the final result depends on his contribution, regardless of what he does. The movers expressed a strong reaction to the proposal; they were pleased that someone was interested in their opinion and listened to it. Today they are already interested in the training schedule. The office staff also reacted actively and with understanding.

The first training was devoted to identifying problems with interaction. We played a game on the theme of a shipwreck, in which everyone present took part. Everyone tried to prove their point of view, no one heard anyone, the office employees treated the lower classes with semi-contempt, i.e. movers. The problem was obvious: the entire team was divided into groups, and each considered itself the main one. The goal became clear to me - team unity.

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The culmination of the training was our biggest event, when we rented a cottage and went out into nature for four days. The picnic program included barbecue, paintball and training. The participants were divided into two teams, each including colleagues from all departments. Before we started, I asked departments to make a list of what they needed to buy for their work.

The accounting staff needed some kind of program, the loaders needed an electric car and a microwave, etc. The winning team could choose only one item. Before the start of the competition, everyone argued and proved that the most important thing was the one they ordered. And when the game started, and the first winning team chose the very first item, the situation changed dramatically, each department refused its prize, everyone chose a microwave for the movers, realizing that it was more important to them. And this was repeated at every stage of the competition - everyone completely forgot about their interests and decided on its value for the company, and not for themselves personally.

Today I am pleased with the result:

- working in the warehouse area permanent employees, loaders take an active part in the work of the company.

– in the office in 2 years, only two employees quit, one of them for a good reason.

The effect of the training did not appear immediately, but the first results became visible after the 2nd training.

How to unite the team with the help of a New Year's corporate party

Nadezhda Finochkina, director of the company “Formula for Successful Selection”, Moscow

One day, a client approached us with a request for help in increasing the level of interaction between employees. It was not customary for the team to communicate with each other or attend corporate gatherings. Such relationships within the company were reflected in productivity.

We gave the client's company employees a carefully thought-out and original surprise. We conducted mini-interviews with the staff separately in advance to find out personal preferences and facts from their biography, which he pays free time. We collected 25 questionnaires and, using the information provided by employees, prepared a questionnaire for the quiz. On the announced day, the entire team of 35 people was invited, as the New Year holidays were approaching.

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According to the rules of the quiz, you had to listen to an interesting description of the hobbies and characteristics of any employee and determine who exactly they were talking about. This story was accompanied by a showing of his childhood photographs. Duration corporate holiday took about 6 hours in total, including the official part, a quiz with photos and a buffet reception.

After the corporate event, the colleagues got to know each other again. Such an unusual and educational experience helped the team unite and even created friendly relations between departments. In just one evening, people learned more about each other than in the previous ten years of work.

An original idea for team building for 300 rubles

Eduard Kolotukhin, General Director of the company “Stayer.ru”, Yekaterinburg

Our company is not engaged in sales, but in the emotional involvement of customers. True, this approach works only if the members of the team are endowed with emotional intelligence, the ability to celebrate and greet emotionally best sides work colleagues. One of the ideas that helps develop empathy in a team is cards with the word “CLASS!”

The essence of the idea. To convince employees to notice the good deeds of their colleagues and thank them, we did not use the usual means of suggestion such as “encourage the best qualities of your colleagues.” Instead, we used a simple technique: we allowed employees to pay each other a small incentive every month. Today, any member of the company can personally present 300 rubles once a month to someone who, in his opinion, has earned it. All employees are given a personalized “CLASS!” card on the first day of each month. Throughout the month, he can give this card to a colleague whose work has delighted or helped him. On the last day of the month they are counted, and we celebrate the leader of the month in corporate media and on the company website.

Here are examples of cases that, in our opinion, are worthy of encouragement and monetary incentives. One replaced a colleague who was on vacation or sick. Another went to the post office to do his business and bought some stamps to send mail to the company, although he was not asked to do so. You can always do a good deed! But if a person is sure that there were no people worthy of the award in the past month, then he may not indicate anyone and not give his card to anyone. Then the next month starts from scratch.

Result. The relationship between the two internal divisions is slowly building. By the way, this pleased me the most. The staff gradually gets involved in the game, learns to notice signs of attention and concern from their colleagues, because sometimes it’s difficult to come up and say: “Thank you!”, but with personalized cards it’s easy and simple. In addition, we noticed emotional leaders of the company.

Factors that reduce team cohesion

Factor 1. The presence of small subgroups in the group, which leads to “parochial” behavior and thinking. The larger the group, the more likely emergence of subgroups. Limit the number of team members to 5-7, sometimes up to 20 people. As a rule, friendship or acquaintance between individual members before the formation of a group leads to separation of these people from the team, which can lead to the alienation of such a pair or small group from the entire team. This problem can be present when combining old and new team members, which clients usually want to resolve.

Factor 2. Incompetent leadership of the leader leads to conflict situations and even the elimination of the team. So, if a leader is engaged in building intrigues, bringing in or removing selected members, giving powers and rewards, based on personal preferences, and not on the knowledge, competence and existing merits of the team, then such a group eventually ceases to be a team.

Factor 3: Lack of common purpose and shared direction. For example, asking a group of students: “Is our group considered a team?” - the participants say: “No, we are all good people, but we have no future." When people do not have a future, it is created by a leader who brings down a goal from above. When this goal is realized and accepted by each member of the group, then the group turns into a team. If the leader does not give such a task, then everyone carries out their own plans and sets personal goals.

Information about the author and company

Aigul Gomoyunova, CEO GC "Penopol", Moscow. "Penopol". Field of activity: production and wholesale construction and finishing materials; logistics services; The holding of trainings.

Nadezhda Finochkina, director of the company “Formula for Successful Selection”, Moscow. "Formula for Successful Selection" LLC. Field of activity: personnel selection. Number of staff: 5. Closed vacancies per month: 7–12.

Eduard Kolotukhin, General Director of Stayer.ru, Yekaterinburg. GC "Stayer" (Stayer.ru). Field of activity: production and sale of sportswear, as well as equipment; sale of sports equipment. Number of staff: 25. Annual turnover: 50 million rub. (in 2014).

Each work collective, from the moment of its creation, goes through a series of life stages, begins to live his own life, improve, change, “grow up,” gain strength and fully reveal his potential, i.e. become mature.

Conditions for forming a team. The formation of a team in a group of people working together is observed when the following conditions are met:

· in joint socially useful activities that contribute to the formation of value-organizational unity of group members; with a relatively long period of communication between group members;

· when creating a clear organizational structure, corresponding to the intragroup division of labor and ensuring the dialectical unity of the formal and informal structure; subject to the “law of movement of the collective,” which involves the development and development of a goal and a system of tasks to achieve it;

· while observing the principle of “parallel development of Action” when educating the individual and the entire team; when cultivating effective empathy among group members aimed at providing help and support;

· in the formation of collectivist self-determination of group members.

An efficient, cohesive team does not arise immediately - it is preceded by a long process of its formation and development, the success of which is determined by a number of circumstances that have little to do with whether the team forms spontaneously or is formed consciously and purposefully.

First of all, we're talking about about the clear and understandable goals of his upcoming activities, corresponding to the internal aspirations of people, for the sake of achieving which they are ready to completely or partially give up freedom of decisions and actions and submit to group power.

To others an important condition successful formation of a team is the presence of certain, even minor, achievements in the process of joint activity, clearly demonstrating its clear advantages over individual ones.

Another condition for the success of an official team is a strong leader, and for an unofficial team - a leader to whom people are ready to obey and follow whom they follow towards their goal.

Finally, each team must find its place, its “niche” in the formal or informal structure of the organization, where it can fully realize its goals and potential and does not prevent others from doing so.

To create a work collective, at least the following conditions are required:

A) the presence of at least two people who consciously consider themselves part of this group;

B) the presence of at least one goal that is accepted as common by all members of this group;

C) having group members who intentionally work together to achieve a goal that is mutually meaningful.

Stages of team formation. The beginning of the formation of an official team is the decision to create it, duly formalized legally. Then its functional structure, rights, duties and responsibilities for each employee are determined. Recruited workers are officially given personal tasks based on their abilities.

For an unofficial team, a “birthday” is usually some kind of extraordinary event, or the achievement of a certain limit in the development of a situation, after which “you can’t live like this anymore,” generating a surge of emotions (fear, protest, desire to protect oneself, one’s position, status) and pushing people to unite with each other.

Any relationship between people begins to develop as a result of technical contacts and observations, during which subjects accumulate information about each other, which serves as the basis for mutual interest, sympathy, or, conversely, antipathy. Sympathy is an unconscious, irrational disposition towards another person, formed on the basis of empathy - the ability to sympathize and understand him.

The emergence of sympathy and antipathy is determined by patterns of perception, the degree of coincidence or divergence of basic life interests, goals and values ​​(people, of course, sympathize with those who share their views and positions, are nearby, jointly participate in solving difficult problems, but hardly anyone will experience good feelings to competitors), the general behavior of other persons. And already on the basis of sympathy, certain fairly permanent relationships arise.

If teams are formed “from above,” the relationship is based on the need to fulfill official duties, that is, to some extent, coercion. Such teams often turn out to be ineffective, since the relationships in them can be “mixed” with antipathy.

Therefore, at present, Western companies often practice a method of creating work collectives, the basis of which is the voluntary selection of partners from individuals with whom a person is given a predetermined time to communicate, as a result of which a strong sympathy arises for one of them; towards others - antipathy; to the third - indifference.

The formed sympathies are transformed into preferences, reflecting the desire of others to cooperate with this person. They allow us to identify so-called reference groups ( individuals), whose norms of behavior, views and interests are accepted as the standard to which most people are drawn, to which they are guided, and with which, most importantly, they strive to cooperate.

As a rule, a group selected on the basis of personal sympathies works more coherently and efficiently than one randomly composed.

The identification of reference individuals or groups is based on the application various options sociographic method.

In accordance with one of them, each member of the original group, where everyone already knows each other quite well, is asked to choose two people with whom he would most like to do the proposed work together, or, conversely, would try to avoid their company.

Based on the information received, a sociogram is constructed, or a diagram of preferences in the team, which is a set of circles with the names or personal numbers of everyone, connected by arrows leading from those who want to those with whom they want to cooperate. A sociogram can be star (centripetal), network, chain, polycentric.

Using it, you can, firstly, identify individuals who are, to one degree or another, ready to cooperate (they will form the basis of the team of the future unit); secondly, the person to whom it is given greatest number“voices” (potential leader); thirdly, and finally, “outcasts” with whom no one wants and will not cooperate, and who, therefore, should not be included in the team being created.

They do things a little differently. The questionnaire asks you to indicate the three names of the most worthy people in order of “first place” (first place is worth three points, second place is worth two, and third place is worth one). The points received by each person are added up, and people are combined into three groups in accordance with their number. Then three “nested” ones are depicted geometric figures; the names of the leaders who scored the maximum number of points are entered in the central one; in the intermediate - average; to the extreme - the smallest. This makes it possible to outline the field of preferences and the place of each group member on it; if necessary, this scheme can be supplemented with the preference lines described above that connect specific individuals.

A type of sociogram is a matrix of relationships. To compile it, each member of the team is asked to evaluate their attitude towards the others using the “-1” icons; "ABOUT"; Then all the assessments are compiled into a chess table (such as is used to reflect the progress of sports tournaments), from which the real relationships between people are clearly visible.

In practice, the sociographic method is fraught with two dangers. Firstly, in the event of a leak of confidential information, the team may be split by conflict, since everyone finds out what others really think about him, and, secondly, as a result of the survey, the leader, as a result of the survey, becomes not the most suitable from the point of view of the interests of the business, but the most popular Human.

After its emergence, the team goes through a long process of organization or self-organization (if we are talking about informal), consisting of several stages. At the first stage, people get to know each other, observe and analyze those around them, and demonstrate their own capabilities. But the majority here are taking a wait-and-see attitude. This stage ends either with the implementation of the sociometric study described above, or with the identification of a leader.

At the second stage, people come together, personal contacts are established between them and common norms of behavior are formed that “cement” the team; at the same time, attempts to seize power arise.

At the third stage, the team is stabilized, joint goals and norms are formed, and reliable cooperation is established, allowing for guaranteed results.

Subsequently, with the growth of the team’s maturity, he becomes more and more capable complex tasks, and the trust that exists between people good knowledge they each other in some cases allow it to function on the principles of self-government.

When a task is completed, or when several key figures leave, the team reorganizes or disintegrates.

At the same time, any team faces two serious dangers , one of which is the emergence of schismatic groups based on common goals, needs, interests, pursuing narrowly selfish goals and seeking to seize power. This is manifested in the so-called groupism, characterized by the fact that groups become isolated, do not pay attention to the needs and requirements of others, are uncritical of themselves and their role in the organization, and consider themselves infallible, invulnerable, invincible.

Another danger is unanimity and conformism, the bureaucratization of the team, which is based on its desire for a quiet life.

When forming a team, the choice of size, composition of the team, form and method of relationships between its members is of great importance.

As the size of a team increases, communication between team members becomes more complex and it becomes increasingly difficult to reach agreement on common problems. It is generally accepted that the lower limit of team size is 5-7 people, the upper limit is 25-30. Both teams that are too small and teams that are too large make communication difficult.

In small teams, a climate of psychological incompatibility often arises, and the conflicts that arise are particularly acute. An atmosphere of familiarity, unscrupulousness, and cover-up may also appear here. In large teams there is no constant communication and contacts between workers, small groups arise, which reduces its integrity and cohesion. Some studies have shown that groups of 5 to 11 people tend to make better decisions. Members of such groups experience greater satisfaction from joint activities.

The optimal size of the team is also necessary so that the manager has the opportunity to enter into direct contact with employees, monitor their activities, and conduct individual work, support creative initiative in a timely manner.

To this end, for managers different levels hierarchies developed controllability standards. So, for a workshop manager it is recommended to have 6-8 people under his direct subordination, for shift foremen in serial production- 20-30 workers.

Great importance It has formation of the team composition . For a significant part of the teams, it would be optimal to have a heterogeneous composition in terms of age, gender, level of qualifications and education.

Such a team has great opportunities to exchange work experience and knowledge. However, in some cases it is advisable to create more homogeneous groups: men's, women's, youth, etc.

When forming the primary team, it is also necessary to take into account psychological characteristics workers: their temperament, character and others.

This is necessary for assembling stable groups, identifying leaders, selecting managers who enjoy authority and are able to influence the creation of a healthy moral climate in the team. In this case, the official rights of managers will receive additional support.

Newly arriving employees need to be provided with adaptation (adaptation) to working conditions and the establishment of necessary contacts with team members.

It is necessary to allocate a workplace, serviceable equipment, tools, devices, materials and familiarize the newcomer in detail with the peculiarities of work, the system of payment, current rules and instructions. It is advisable that the immediate supervisor himself introduces the newcomer and introduces him to the team members. For a favorable adaptation process, the friendly attitude of the team towards the new employee is very important.

Showing collectivist self-determination, a person, contrary to narrow personal interests, comes into conflict with the group in the name of upholding values, and is guided by high-order criteria.

When a group begins to meet the above characteristics, it becomes a team that has all the main characteristics of a managed system:

· determinism;

· dynamism;

· amplification property;

· Feedback.

Determinism is manifested in the fact that the behavior of team members is causally determined by the social, state system and at the same time their social activity.

Dynamism is determined by consistency in achieving various levels of team development.

The property of strengthening is manifested in the organization of the team, in the mutual complementation and multiplication of the effect of joint work as a result of the activities of its individual members.

Feedback manifests itself in the influence on the behavior of team members and its leader of group assessments and public opinion.

A leader forming a team should know that there are tried-and-true methods of employee selection for the future workforce.

Sociographic method. Its implementation can only be successful if workers have known each other for a sufficiently long time. All employees are asked to choose two people from the team with whom they are willing to cooperate. Based on the information received, a sociogram or diagram of preferences in a given team is compiled. Using such a scheme, the manager determines the circle of people who are ready to work together on the basis of trust and mutual sympathy.

Relationship matrix. To compile such a sociogram, each individual employee is asked to rate his colleagues: -1; 0; + 1. Which means: negative, neutral, positive. The survey results are summarized in a table that shows the total points scored by each employee. The manager, in order to avoid troubles in the team, should keep the final table closed and not make it public, using it only for his own work.

In scientific circles and educational institutions When forming teams, secret voting is used on proposed candidates. The same thing happens when conferring academic degrees and titles, when nominating for prizes and awards, and to higher positions.

If the work collective has reached a degree of maturity, is united and organized, then an open discussion is possible, proposing or rejecting this or that candidate. Groups formed in this way, as a rule, immediately begin to implement the decisions made and the goals set.

Creating a team is a complex and painstaking task. When forming it, the following requirements must be fully taken into account:

· each team member must be fully aware of the goal set for the team; It’s optimal when the whole team participates in the formation and clarification of the goal;

· the team functions as a single organism, and responsibility for results is also collective and not individual;

· any team member must constantly improve his qualifications in order to have universal, encyclopedic knowledge and work skills in his environment; this allows you to work effectively and creatively within the work area assigned to him and in the place of any other team member; he must be able to “lender a shoulder” to a team member in need at any time, and constantly interact with other members of the team; at the same time, the team cannot dictate its will to its partners - everyone retains their own independence;

· all team members have equal rights in its work, plan their personal labor activity and the activities of the entire team, participate in the formation of the entire work plan for each team member;

· as in any team, the responsibilities of each team member are specified, but quite flexibly; in the process of fulfilling planned tasks, the distribution of functions, as a rule, is constantly changing;

· selection of team members is carried out, first of all, according to psychological compatibility;

· team management is carried out collectively; The manager is assigned the functions of coordinating and representing her interests in the external sphere.

Creating an effective team usually begins with the formation of temporary groups of workers to perform specific tasks of a search nature and the formation of new services. This team includes specialists from different departments. Participation in this team is regarded as the main burden on each specialist. At the same time, the most important functions at the place of its main activity are removed from workers.

All members of the working group take a very active part in the creation of the new service, help select workers, advise, etc., i.e. operate as a separate unit. On this basis, the core of the team is formed, its leader is identified, and a strategy is developed.

It is very important that the newly created team has considerable experience from the very beginning, its members have a good understanding of the specifics and specific working conditions.


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