Comstock's magazine 0818 - August 2018 | Page 28

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 28 comstocksmag.com | August 201 8 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,