n LEADERSHIP
WHO ARE WE, ANYWAY?
How to leverage personality tests for team building
BY Jessica Kriegel
THERE’S A LOT OF CONTROVERSY
ABOUT TEAM-BUILDING EXERCISES
IN THE CORPORATE WORLD. Do they
really boost morale? Does repelling
down a cliff actually build trust that
translates into a more productive ac-
counting office? Is retreating worth the
time and expense?
First things first: You have to un-
derstand the difference between team
building and team socializing. Many
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leaders who take their employees out
for happy hour call it team building.
It is not. Other leaders schedule struc-
tured activities such as escape rooms
or go-karting and call it team build-
ing. It is not. Those activities are team
socializing. Real team building, on the
other hand, is thoughtful, done over
time and proactive.
What little research that has been
done on the subject throws doubt on
the value of exercises that purport to
bond employees through shared expe-
riences. Building a cohesive, produc-
tive team takes more than a half day
with a facilitator at a retreat center. It
is “one of the most difficult things to
do,” according to yachtsman Sir Rus-
sell Coutts, who led Oracle Team USA
to win the America’s Cup in one of the
greatest comebacks in sports history in
2013. The process requires planning,