The power of investing in team development for organizational success
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations must stay agile, innovative, and resilient to thrive. One key factor in achieving these qualities is developing high-performing teams from the top of the organization down. Research and industry practices emphasize the vital role that cohesive, well-developed teams play in driving an organization’s success. When organizations invest in team development at all levels, they create high-performing teams that achieve results without sacrificing relationships or people.
What is team development?
Team development is an intentional, ongoing process aimed at improving the efficiency and progress of a team working toward a common goal or mission. It involves enhancing the skills, knowledge, and relationships of team members to work cohesively and effectively together. Team development can take many shapes, such as a one-day retreat to focus on strategy or a series of team coaching sessions to build cohesion over time.
Through team development activities, high-performing teams lay the foundation for partnership, “signaling respect for one another’s strengths and preferences, securing agreement on process, and inviting team members to speak up when they notice opportunities for improvement,” according to a January 2024 Harvard Business Review article. By doing this, teams set themselves up for better collaboration and fewer misunderstandings throughout their work, noted author Ron Friedman, a psychologist.
Investing in evidence-based, custom-designed team development can foster trust and empower employees when new teams are formed, when team dynamics become dysfunctional, and for “routine maintenance” that keeps teams performing at their peak. Unfortunately, many teams choose not to spend time laying this foundation because they don’t understand the long-term benefits of team development. But they end up spending more time down the road trying to figure out how to work together to achieve results.
The long-term benefits of team development
Researchers have long studied the role that well-planned, evidence-based development interventions can have in maximizing team effectiveness. Specific benefits of team development include:
- Enhanced collaboration and communication
Team development activities provide space for team members to build trust and practice open communication with each other. Workshops, group training, and conflict resolution interventions can help foster a team’s collaborative approach.
- Increased innovation and problem-solving
Innovation happens when people come together, sharing diverse perspectives as they solve problems. Structured development programs can enhance teams’ creativity and problem-solving capabilities, helping members feel comfortable sharing new ideas without fear of judgment or criticism.
- Improved engagement and retention
Employee engagement and satisfaction can be significantly higher in teams that receive continuous development support. If team members feel that their organization is invested in them, individually and collectively, their commitment to the organization strengthens. This can increase employee satisfaction and reduce turnover rates.
- Strengthened leadership skills
Through team development, organizations can help cultivate leadership skills in all employees, regardless of their role.
Diagnosing and building the right team development intervention
Team development interventions can be useful in a variety of situations—as both a regular team-building exercise and when organizations experience change or challenge. Because of that, team development is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.
When designing a team development intervention, it’s important to start by diagnosing the unique needs of the team. The diagnostic process may include:
- One-on-one interviews to determine the team and organization’s overall goals.
- Surveys to take the pulse of team members’ thoughts and opinions.
- Focus groups to flesh out the trends the survey surfaces.
- Assessments to determine team members’ unique talents and strengths.
The right kinds of interventions for a team can be created based on the results of this diagnostic step. Team development may be delivered in-person or virtually, through workshops, retreats, or a series of programs over a period of weeks or months. Crucially, team development should also be measurable: The team should choose specific KPIs to track that will let them know whether the intervention has been successful.
At ICF, we have helped develop effective team development interventions for organizations of all sizes. Here are two examples of previous clients who have benefited from our expertise:
Case study 1: Helping a recently merged team navigate changeICF partnered with the communications team of a scientific organization. The organization had recently restructured to integrate a couple of different teams into one. The newly formed team of 20 needed to navigate changes to reporting lines, the makeup of some sub-teams, and individual roles.
Our team conducted a series of focus groups to diagnose the challenges posed by the integration. Then, we designed a series of team development interventions, some specifically for the leadership team and some for the entire team.
The team retreats focused on building trust, learning more about each other, and brainstorming enhanced ways to work together to accomplish their goals. During the first retreat, team members completed an assessment on their individual strengths, received their results, and discussed how they can better work together, leveraging each team member’s strengths. Part of the team development intervention also focused on innovating as a team about how they could accomplish their goals.
The team’s response to the series of team development interventions was overwhelmingly positive based on post-event surveys administered by ICF. Team members said the team development interventions helped them feel more unified. The leader of the division said the team development interventions helped give them a common language with which to talk about their strengths moving forward.
Case study 2: Establishing a strategic direction for a newly formed team
In another example, ICF worked with a new leadership team of 8 in a scientific organization. Not all the team members knew each other before the formation of the team, and many were confused about the new team’s mandate. They needed help charting a strategic direction.
To diagnose the team’s challenges, we reviewed previously administered survey data that disclosed how team members felt about their current state and what they hoped their collective goals could be. Our team designed a series of team development sessions focused on building cohesion and trust in the group. Using the framework of the “Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team,” we helped the group develop a process for how conflict would be addressed and resolved.
After these sessions, members of the new leadership team reported that they no longer felt “stuck” as a group. They added that the sessions helped bring efficiencies to processes that were complicated by the reorganization of the team, and they felt they were on a productive path toward achieving their vision and goals.
Boost your organization’s team development capabilities
Team development may seem like an easy task for organizations to undertake on their own, but successful interventions require significant planning and effort. Partnering with a consultant can help organizations increase their team development ROI because they can:
- Serve as outside, neutral facilitators who can navigate the group’s emotions and interpersonal relationships in ways team leaders cannot.
- Keep team development activities on track as the team continues to deliver on its core mission.
- Recognize patterns within a client that they’ve seen elsewhere, then introduce processes or tools that have been successful with those other teams.
Team development interventions deliver tangible benefits to organizations in the form of increased efficiency and higher team performance. But they also carry one very important benefit that can’t be quantified: The feeling that the organization cares about its employees. Hiring a consultant to help lead team development activities demonstrates the leadership’s commitment to employee well-being by creating an environment of respect and trust within its teams.
