Self-awareness training is one of the best ways to enhance a team’s performance. Team training focuses on building strong relationships through effective communication. However, team members are individuals with unique styles of communicating. Some are extroverts, whereas some are introverts. Team building training includes exercises to help individuals become more self-aware and contribute to a more productive and harmonious work environment.
Self-aware individuals know how to practice conflict resolution, show empathy, and communicate effectively. They also possess the skills to handle difficult situations in the workplace. This leads to stronger relationships, mutual understanding, and more effective teamwork. But not all employees possess these vital skills.
Knowing the best team building activities to promote leadership skills is challenging. That is why FullTilt Team Development has developed a training program—Behavior Style 360 Degree Matrix. This highly effective program helps to develop intelligent teams that work cohesively.
This article explores how team building training exercises can effectively boost self-awareness and maximize team effectiveness. You will also learn the importance of internal and external self-awareness in the workplace.
What is Team Building Training?
Team building training is a dynamic process to teach essential corporate skills. A team building workshop helps participants foster collaboration, improve communication, and enhance team cohesion. Additionally, team building activities help team members develop a deeper understanding of their individual strengths, working styles, and behavioral styles to create self-aware teams.
Organizing team building workshops gives teams the skills to overcome challenges, build trust, and achieve shared goals. This ultimately boosts productivity and morale and strengthens employee engagement within an organization.
What is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness describes a person who understands their feelings, thoughts, and actions. Self-aware individuals recognize why they feel certain ways or act in specific ways. Understanding your own and others’ emotions helps boost social awareness because it’s possible to identify emotions before acting.
External self-awareness is the ability to recognize how your behavior affects others and how others view you. You have the skills to take a step back and assess yourself objectively in relation to other people, places, and situations.
Internal self-awareness is the ability to be aware of your emotions, motivations, and values. You can also objectively assess your emotions, thoughts, strengths, and weaknesses.
Why Teams Need Self-Awareness Training
Self-awareness is a crucial aspect of personal and professional growth. By using team building training, individuals can better understand their emotions, behavior patterns, and communication styles. This increased self-awareness benefits the entire team. It leads to improved decision-making, better conflict resolution, and enhanced overall performance within the team.
Harvard Business Review reported that internal and external self-awareness has the following benefits in the workplace:
- High job satisfaction
- Personal and social awareness
- Better relationships between management and employees
- Greater ability to show empathy
- Improved decision making
- Better communication skills and fewer conflicts
Interestingly, Harvard researchers found that only 10 to 15 percent of people fit the criteria of having good external and internal self-awareness skills.
The Top Self-Awareness Skills
Team building exercises enhance self-awareness, helping individuals understand their strengths, communication styles, and collaboration within a group. This fosters effective and successful teamwork.
After completing a successful team building workshop—like the Behavior Style 360 Degree Matrix—team members will develop the following self-awareness skills:
- Self-reflection: The ability to introspect and analyze thoughts, feelings, and actions.
- Emotional regulation: Learn how to manage and control emotions in various situations.
- Self-analysis: Develop the ability to assess your own strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. This can lead to increased growth in your professional and personal life.
- Active listening: Develop the skills to listen actively, paying full attention to others and understanding their perspectives.
- Empathy skills: Being able to Recognize and understand the feelings and needs of others.
- Communication: Effectively expressing your thoughts and feelings to others.
- Conflict resolution: Better problem-solving skills make it easier to constructively handle negative emotions, disagreements, and disputes.
Why Self-Awareness Team Training Exercises Are Important
Developing emotional intelligence skills is a vital aspect of self-awareness training. In most cases, even the most self-aware individuals need additional training to continue developing skills.
At FullTilt, we have designed team building training programs to help employees achieve the following.
Self-awareness training keeps members focused
One of the greatest benefits of self-awareness is to keep members focused. It’s crucial to set priorities and recognize potential distractions. By recognizing what pulls their attention away, team members can stay more focused on their tasks and team goals, enhancing overall productivity.
Eliminate emotional blind spots
Self-awareness training allows individuals to identify and address emotional blind spots—areas where emotions may negatively affect judgment or behavior. This awareness enables better decision-making and prevents potential conflicts.
Team building training promotes clear communication
Effective communication is vital for any team. Team building exercises that emphasize self-awareness help team members understand their communication styles. This makes conveying messages clearly and avoiding misunderstandings easier.
Self-awareness team training encourages cohesion
When team members understand themselves and their colleagues better, it fosters a sense of unity and trust. By appreciating each other’s strengths and weaknesses, the team can work together more cohesively toward shared objectives.
Personal Development Tools for Team Building Training
FullTilt’s self-awareness training is based on three crucial personal development tools—Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, and DISC tests. These tools help identify personality types, individual strengths and weaknesses and assess communication styles. They improve team dynamics and have a positive impact on teamwork.
Myers-Briggs personality assessment tool
Knowing your personality type provides insights into individual ways of communicating. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) helps assess 16 types of personalities based on the following criteria:
- Extravert vs. introvert: This dimension focuses on where individuals direct their energy. Extraverts are outgoing, social, and energized by interaction with others. On the other hand, introverts are more reserved and reflective, finding energy in solitude.
- Sensing vs. intuition: This dimension pertains to how individuals gather information. Sensors rely on concrete data and details, focusing on the present. On the other hand, intuitive people prefer to explore possibilities, patterns, and future-oriented ideas.
- Thinking vs. feeling: This dimension addresses how individuals make decisions. Thinkers prioritize logic and objective analysis. However, feelers prioritize values, emotions, and subjective considerations.
- Judging vs. perceiving: This dimension deals with how individuals approach and organize their outer world. Judgers prefer structure, organization, and decisiveness. On the other hand, perceivers prefer flexibility, adaptability, and spontaneity.
StrengthsFinder personal development tool
FullTilt’s team training program uses StrengthsFinder to help individuals identify and understand their unique strengths and talents. People can generally achieve greater personal and professional success by leveraging natural strengths. Usually, focusing on strengths rather than fixing weaknesses leads to greater success.
FullTilt’s team training program to find strengths works on the following three steps:
- Assessment: Individuals take an assessment consisting of a series of questions. The assessment is designed to identify an individual’s top five strengths from a list of 34 possible themes.
- Strengths report: The Strengths Report outlines their top five strengths in order of prominence. Each strength is described in detail, highlighting how it may manifest in their behavior, thinking, and interactions.
- Application: Specially designed challenges help team members use their top five strengths in various tasks. This step reinforces how harnessing strengths helps them work more effectively, make better decisions, and achieve goals.
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DISC tests psychological assessment tool
Fun team activities also incorporate DISC tests. These measure and categorize an individual’s personality traits and behavioral tendencies. By increasing self-awareness, the team activities help participants use their natural talents and unique abilities to benefit the entire team.
Here is a brief overview of how DISC tests identify various traits in a team building activity:
- Dominance: Individuals with dominant traits tend to be assertive, competitive, and results-oriented. They are often seen as decisive and confident. Dominant individuals prefer taking charge of situations, making decisions quickly, and focusing on achieving goals.
- Influence: People with influential traits are sociable, outgoing, and persuasive. They are often enthusiastic, charismatic, and easily connect with others. Influence-oriented individuals excel in networking, building relationships, and motivating others.
- Steadiness: Individuals with steady traits are known for their patience, reliability, and stability. They value harmony in their relationships and work environments. Steady individuals are often excellent listeners, empathetic, and team players who prioritize cooperation and collaboration.
- Conscientiousness: Those with conscientious traits are detail-oriented, analytical, and organized. They focus on accuracy, quality, and following established procedures. Conscientious individuals excel in tasks that require precision and careful planning.
The Behavior Style 360 Degree Matrix To Build Self-Awareness
FullTilt has developed a team training program to help employees and team leaders become more self-aware. This team activity uses elements of Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, and DISC tests.
The Behavior Style 360 Degree Matrix is an enjoyable team building activity that brings your team together. Team members gain a new understanding of their communication and behavioral styles. The learning experience helps develop awareness of their natural talents and unique abilities.
During the team building workshop, participants learn how to use their unique talents, communication skills, and behavioral styles to benefit the team. Our expert facilitators provide an analysis of team strengths to help improve teamwork and individual satisfaction.
How does the Behavior Style 360 Degree Matrix work?
The learning experience starts with a fun icebreaker activity to help get everyone relaxed. Teams collaborate on unique challenges designed to help reveal communication types and behavior styles. The skills learned help strengthen collaboration among team members.
Positive outcomes and key benefits for each team member:
- Awareness of personal learning and communication style
- Emotional intelligence insights
- Understand how your team communicates
- Assess your own personal behavioral style
Call FullTilt For Team Building Training
Do you want high-functioning teams in your organization? If so, FullTilt’s Behavior Style 360 Degree Matrix can help develop successful teams. Participants will feel inspired and energized about their new insights at the end of the team building session.
They will have learned to recognize their individual strengths, weaknesses, and communication styles. This program helps team members work more effectively and efficiently with others.
Contact FullTilt today for a free consultation to discuss how our team building training can help build self-awareness and improve teamwork in your organization. Our expert facilitators will provide a bespoke training program to help your organization reach its goals and strengthen the company culture.