Teambuilding vs Teamspirit

ER: What is team building? What is teamspirit? What tasks are they based on?

Team building is a method of increasing labor productivity by introducing the principles of cooperation within the team. “Together everyone achieves more” - if the efforts of each team member are aimed at achieving first common, and only then private goals, then everyone will get more than if they strive exclusively for private goals.

teamspirit is one of the results of using teambuilding as a method. It consists, as a rule, in the general positive attitude of the team towards teamwork and positive internal relations in general. The creation of team spirit is the most common, and at the same time, the most common task of team building.

Corporate Team Building Activities in St.Petersburg, Russia

In addition to creating team spirit, team building activities can solve narrower tasks - a clear team awareness of common goals, role distribution, trust, situational leadership, communication and decision-making processes, responsibility for the overall result, and so on.

In Russian practice, there is a fairly conditional division into “team building” and “teamspirit.”

ER: Is the difference important - or is it a sales ploy?

The division into “team building” and “teamspirit” is not quite correct - as it was written above, teamspirit is one of the tasks of teambuilding. It is more correct to separate teambuilding into “training” (in the terminology of the author of the question, “teambuilding” proper) and “active rest” (in the terminology of the author of the question, “teamspirit”). There is a difference, but both directions overlap in many ways.

ER: What are some examples of both?

The division into "training" and "active rest" can be characterized as follows:

Training:

  • The goal is to solve specific tasks: communication, distribution of roles, leadership
  • Small (up to 20) number of participants
  • There are objective prerequisites for training: a crisis of interaction, an influx of new employees, the start of a difficult project ...
  • Employee participation is required
  • During the games, participants have the opportunity to discuss their mistakes and propose new courses of action
  • The process is managed by a trainer
  • Leaders are bound to change - all employees can be in the role of leaders
  • There is an awareness of the synergy effect
  • Conflict situations are opened and resolved
  • After the game, an analysis of successes and failures is conducted, feedback is given, conclusions are drawn, a report is being written
  • At the end of the training, the staff immediately go home

Activities:

  • The goal is to increase the overall corporate spirit, increase employee loyalty
  • Large (up to 500-600) number of participants
  • There is a date to which you can time a corporate field trip and an active program.
  • Employee participation is voluntary
  • Spontaneous interaction occurs during games
  • The process is led by an instructor or leader
  • Leaders are determined spontaneously and sometimes seize power for the entire period of the game
  • A synergy effect occurs
  • Group avoids conflicts
  • After the game, an information stand report is formed with photos
  • At the end of the games, there is a buffet table, fireworks, dancing
Corporate Team Building Activities in St.Petersburg, Russia

ER: Which real projects dominate in Russia - is it a "building" or "spirit"?

The projects of "active recreation" ("spirit") are undoubtedly more - because, first, they are designed for a much larger number of participants, and, most importantly, the objective need for them is much higher. Projects of “active rest” should be carried out regularly, while “trainings” should be carried out when a specific need arises.

ER: What were the most interesting and illustrative projects in these areas that were implemented by your company?

We have new programs being developed every year, so I’m mainly interested in what will happen this summer. From what has already been - shooting films, quests, war games, trophy raids. “Rope course” and analogs have long since been relegated to the third plane; now our capabilities are much wider than they were even five years ago.

Head of the Team Building Club Company
Nikolay Zagrebelny

for EVENT.RU