Clarity of Action & Purpose 
Renew your focus before you change your actions. Most teams fall short of potential to produce desired results until everyone is \'on the same page. To gain clarity of action you need improved clarity of purpose, so begin with strategic thinking and business planning -- even if your organization already has a plan. There is no better "team building" process that will produce desired impact.

Teams in trouble tend to focus on the relationships that exist among team members, yet seldom are interpersonal relationships the true root cause of team struggles or success. Most teams struggle for lack of clarity on goals, roles and the rules that drive their team\'s behavior. Experiential team building in the form of training or team retreats can be helpful as a beginning that creates a safe arena for mutual discovery, but should never be seen as the "end all" solution for improving team effectiveness.

Does your team share the same goals, as well as understand the individual roles necessary to achieve those team goals? Really? How do you know? Is everyone playing by the same set of rules, both written rules (policy, procedure, regulatory issues, core values) and the unwritten rules that often define work culture?

When was the last time you really examined the degree to which you and your team were aligned on your goals, roles and rules? When these three key elements of successful teams are well-defined and shared among team members, relationships begin to take care of themselves. People will focus more on the important work that needs to be done, rather than focus on each other. Where there used to be conflict between "who is right and who is wrong," a more creative, constructive conflict develops that seeks to answer the question, "Which is the best right answer among all our right answers?"

Become a strategic thinking and execution team. Developing an executable plan that focuses collective actions to produce desired results requires more than just an annual one-day "retreat". In effect, many businesses do strategic planning without any sustainable benefit other than a day off, a dusty document and to say \'we did it\'. That is not what we suggest.

The objective of planning is the establishment of an ongoing planning process as a routine part of teamwork in order to achieve substantially improved performance for the short term and the long term.

Re-engage purposeful thinking, planning and action among you and your team members. Clearly define the "measurable impact" you intend to produce as a team. Involve an experienced coach who understands business and behavioral change. Such a person will ask questions that take you from where you are to where you and your team really want to be.