Coming up with and implementing team-building activities can seem daunting to practice managers and doctors. Your team members may even feel resentful if the activity seems like nothing more than a waste of time. The purpose of team-building activities isn’t to just play games or share ideas that never come to fruition (all talk and no action). Instead, it should be a safe place where team members can genuinely share ideas, bring up what’s not working, and offer ways to help make the practice better. So, if your team-building activities end up with arguments and nothing ever changes, you’re going about it all wrong! Today on the blog, find out why your team-building exercises aren’t getting results and what to do instead.
Your goals aren’t clear
Team-building activities should be backed with clear goals in mind.
Before planning, ask yourself these questions:
- What do you want to accomplish?
- How does the activity relate to the goals and vision of the practice?
- Are you attempting to resolve conflicts?
- Did you take into account everyone’s personality style?
- How do you plan on communicating the objectives of the activity?
It’s essential to establish your goals before implementing an activity. Otherwise, the whole thing could flounder and end up being a massive waste of time for everyone involved. Preparing for the activity is essential. Make sure you have everything you will need, as well as anything that your team members may need to participate. Lack of preparation is obvious and ineffective. So be sure to prepare before the activity.
You didn’t ensure understanding
Like preparing, it’s essential to ensure team members understand what’s expected of them during the exercise. Therefore, use open-ended questions to gauge their understanding after explaining the rules and expectations of the activity. Otherwise, it could leave them feeling confused or yield ineffective results.
You’re taking it too seriously
We get it, your job is demanding, and you take what you do seriously. But team building activities, although important, don’t have to be held to the same level of seriousness. In other words, let go and relax. Have some fun. And roll with the punches, so to speak. Implementing team-building activities can be interesting yet fruitful when you learn to adapt to the situation. This doesn’t mean you let everyone do what they want. Just don’t let something off course hamper the entire activity.
The activities weren’t right for your team
This aspect goes along with setting goals. If you’ve done that step correctly, you can avoid choosing activities that are too easy or move too fast too soon for your team. Maybe there is some tension between team members. If so, don’t push them to open up too much too soon, or the results could backfire. Additionally, ensure the activities connect to a broader plan, and that team members can relate it to real-life experiences that occur within the practice.
You lack follow-up
This is perhaps one of the most crucial aspects of team-building activities. You’ve done the planning and executing, and everything seemed to go better than expected. What comes next? Follow-up! Find out what’s working and what’s not so that you can solicit feedback for adjustments. Ideally, follow up with your team once a week and individually with team members at least once a month. Follow-up is crucial to embracing and sustaining positive change within the practice.
Team Building Activities for Dental Practices
Team building activities don’t have to feel like a time-waster. Plan, execute and follow up accordingly, and you will see results. But it’s important to adapt to change and modify as needed. If you need help creating and implementing effective team-building activities for dental practices, we can help! Bryant Consultants is a family-owned consulting firm that can help dental practices reach their full potential and more! If you would like to learn more or schedule a complimentary one-hour consultation, please get in touch with Bryant Consultants by calling (877) 768-4799. We provide consultation, training, and coaching virtually or in person. To ensure that you receive the latest updates, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
