Is your team struggling with communication or trust issues? Very often those issues boil down to personalities - a misunderstanding of different personalities. Team building activities that focus on personality styles can be a great way to boost morale and reduce conflict. By understanding the personality temperaments of coworkers, you can identify team characteristics and open lines of communication.

Many people learn by doing, not by hearing. You can build teamwork and improve communication while having fun with team building activities. Interactive team building sessions boost learning and can stretch your training dollars even further. Each of us has characteristics that make us different from others, and each of us has strengths that help us succeed. People often ask us to "build trust" within their team. That's like asking your personal trainer to build muscle for you. A team building company can provide you with tools and resources necessary to create the right environment. Fortunately or unfortunately, you have to do the sit-ups yourself. Interactive team activities can help team members identify their dominate personality traits and strengths in a memorable way so that communication with and the ability to gain cooperation from others is easier.

Psychologists tell us there are four main personality temperaments. Whether you favor Myers-Briggs, DiSC or Personality Traits, they all group personalities in common ways. If you want to gain buy-in with your co-workers, you may need to pull from the attributes that are a stretch for you. Stretch your comfort zone to build trust. For example, have you ever observed these two distinct personality styles on a Monday morning: one comes in very energetic, bubbling over with details about their weekend and questions about yours. The other is ready for the day's agenda, very task focused and wants to get down to business. A simple explanation and understanding of these two different types will reduce conflict and build trust.

Team activities are designed to build more of a team atmosphere, help individuals learn how and why people act "that way" and how to deal more effectively with each other. The end result includes improved trust and respect among co-workers and managers, which ultimately results in increased effectiveness. And when you combine that with philanthropic team activities, your team is sure to feel more connected. Build a team atmosphere by giving back. The Rescue Bear is a great example of how you can tie all these things together. Team members learn about personality styles through a series of fun team activities; and in the end, they've built teddy bears that are donated to local fire departments or emergency personnel.

So if you want to boost morale and reduce conflict, stretch your comfort zone to build trust and use interactive sessions to build a team atmosphere by giving back. By developing an understanding of personality styles, your team will feel valued. When people feel valued in an organization, they are more likely to contribute ideas and energy and be an even more productive member of the team.

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