Team Building Skills: Lessons from the Nuclear Family

Companies that claim to teach team building skills may not actually be the “kosher” companies that you would want your employees influenced by. Heaven forbid that any company would teach you “team building skills” for nothing more than “filthy lucre”, but it can happen, so how can you find the right team building skills instructor(s)/company?

My suggestion is to look for a team building skills instructor(s)/company that will teach nuclear-family team building skills. Of course, you don’t want to ask them if they offer nuclear-family team building skills seminars and trainings because they will look at you like you were a cat with an acorn in its mouth. The idea is to secretly check on their methods and processes and see if it fits the nuclear family bill. Read on my friends for more information:

What is a Nuclear Family?
I know, I know. Yes it is true! The nuclear family is represented by that sickening 50s-type family picture that you might find on the label of your baking powder can and that you only distantly recognize as any sort of reality. However, even a picture that some might associate with male chauvinism and or female captivity/confinement might have a few lessons to teach our omniscient 21st century minds.

Team Building Skills Lesson #1: Everybody Sticks Together
Let’s face it. In the 50s divorce simply wasn’t as readily available---or acceptable—as it is today. Women, who in the majority, lacked forms of higher education and valuable work force training relied on their husbands for support and men didn’t seem to demand divorces at the time either. Many 50s families simply had the mentality that they were together for life and that was the way it was going to be.

Now, when it comes to your employees, let’s hope they WON’T be together for the rest of their lives. However there is a valuable team building skills lesson that your employees could learn from the nuclear family. The idea is that every one should be willing to bend just a bit so that the company itself can stick together in unity. For example, if you will only receive managerial training for yourself and not for your employees, then make sure that those offering the training have methods that they can teach you that will help you get every person talking and contributing to the goals that you have for your company. As a manager, this is your responsibility, since you are accountable at some level for every one of your employees.

Team Building Skills Lesson #2: Specific Responsibilities
Each member of many nuclear families--because of social norms--had specific responsibilities in the 50s. If they were an intelligent nuclear family they also realized that at times some members would have to learn the responsibilities of other members in case of an emergency. There are was often forms of discipline (usually from Mom and Dad) if specific responsibilities were not fulfilled.

Now, for your employees this does not mean that Mary the writer can never be trained to do a little of Ted’s graphic design work. What it does mean is that expectations are established and dates are set for assignments to be completed by specific persons and that there are methods for accountability.

Team Building Skills Lesson #3: Love and Respect
Not all nuclear families are perfect (even in the 50s) but families that stick together have love and respect for one another. Now, you certainly don’t have to love your co-workers but it couldn’t hurt to find a team building skills company that will teach youyou’re your employees methods of showing great respect for each other. One method could include really considering the positive attributes and characteristics of your co-workers who would in most cases generally just drive you crazy. Respect is very tangible to the heart. If you find a team building skills company that can help lead you and your team to better respect, then you have probably found a winner.

Team Building Skills Lesson #4: Spending “Fun Time” Together
I think we all imagine nuclear families spending joyful quality time together. You might think it’s crazy to get socially involved with your co-workers but I highly recommend looking for a team building skills professional who encourages “fun time” spent away from work together. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time spent together; even 4 or 5 times a year would most likely be sufficient. I HAVE seen from practical experience that fun can make a company grow stronger.

Team building skills never have to be a mystery but someone who has experience initiating the changes in attitude that many employees need to experience real team building skills can be a very valuable asset.