Many companies spend a lot of money on team-building events, hoping these will make their teams work better. These events often have fun activities, deep talks, and moments where people feel they understand teamwork better. But when they go back to work, they often find nothing has changed. Why? Because the leaders haven’t changed.
Leaders are key to good teamwork. Teams cannot work well together if leaders are not ready to lead. The culture of a team or organization is shaped by what leaders allow and show. If leaders like to blame others or take all the credit before a team-building event, and keep doing this after, then the blame culture will stay. Communication will remain hard if leaders hate questions, suggestions, or different opinions before an event and still do after.
When leaders are not engaged, team members will also not be engaged. To build teamwork, start with the leaders. Train them to be team players, better team leaders, and show teamwork among themselves before training team members.
When leaders do not know how to lead teams, team-building events can do more harm than good. Team members will know if these events are a waste of time. A leader who does not change after an event makes the event useless.
The truth is simple: teamwork starts with leadership. Leaders must show the values they want to see in their teams. They must be the first to work together, listen to feedback, communicate openly, and take responsibility. Only then can team-building activities make a real difference.
To build good teams, invest in your leaders first. Give them the skills to inspire, involve, and lead by example. When leaders change, teams will follow. This top-down approach is how true teamwork grows.
