What Is Team Culture And Why Is It Important?

What do all high-performing teams have in common? You know the best teams, you can picture them in your mind, but what is it that makes them so successful?

A winning team culture. That’s right, winning and effective team culture is essential to the success of every good team you can think of.

It is the foundation of all success. But why is this the case? What is so special about a winning team culture?

Well, what makes team culture important is that it derives from the company culture. How a company operates and is perceived goes a very long way in deciding the success of a team. If you’re looking to understand this further, explore our insights on how to develop team building shared values through team building activities.

Keep reading this article and we will explain just exactly what team culture is, what a healthy team culture (and company culture) looks like, and the importance of striving to build a positive culture in your business.

What is Team Culture, and Why is it Important?

The definition of team culture lies in the collective values, beliefs, attitudes, and work methodologies that comprise a company’s culture. It’s a critical element defining the dynamics of a work environment, underpinning how a team collaborates to achieve their common goals.

Consider the ways your team interacts, the values it holds dear, and the shared objectives and importance of teaming. All of these aspects construct the fabric of your team culture.

Every team, whether they explicitly acknowledge it or not, operates within the framework of a team culture. It may be a positive team culture that fosters collaboration, mutual respect, and high morale, or it may be a toxic workplace culture, hindering productivity and employee satisfaction. However, it’s crucial to remember that this culture is omnipresent, subtly influencing the actions and attitudes of your team members.

The importance of fostering a positive team culture cannot be overstated as it significantly impacts employee productivity, satisfaction, and overall business success. It sets the tone for the team’s operations, influencing the team’s motivation, commitment, and collaboration levels. Therefore, investing in nurturing a constructive and supportive team culture is vital for any organization’s growth and sustainability.

What Is A Great Team Culture?

Great company culture is one where all team members are aligned on all attitudes and feel connected and are working toward the same goals, while they also feel valued as individuals. 

In the best team culture, team members understand roles and purposes across the whole group as well as their individual roles.

In a high-performing team culture, everyone knows why they are doing their work and believe in the goals and purpose of the team – leading to organizational success.

It is also important to know what a toxic culture looks like, to understand why it is so crucial to avoid one developing.

Here are some of the key signs of a positive culture in the workplace.

• Clearly defined purpose and goals 
• Alignment of core values
• Psychological safety for team members to develop
• Psychological safety, allowing for open, honest discussions among team members
• Flexible working hours and remote working
• Actively promoting employee engagement through things like team-building activities
• Wellbeing programs
• Supportive policies on illness and vacation

Healthy team culture is not just these individual elements but also the interpenetration and synthesis of them, too.

But before we go on to explain the importance of having a high-performing team culture, we will outline the traits of a toxic culture.

A Toxic Workplace Culture

A good team culture arises from the actions and values of great leaders. If leaders are acting inappropriately or have a bad approach to work, their actions will trickle down to the team members.

This can lead to things like an individualist culture, a culture of fear, or a blame culture in which there is no trust among members, only suspicion. The shared values of the team members and leaders are so important when creating a strong team culture.

Why Is Team Culture Important?

No matter the size of your organization, team culture is fundamental to your success. A strong team culture leads to high-performing teams.

And what’s more, not only can a great team culture improve team performance, but it can also make your team members happier, more engaged, and more productive overall.

Here are just some of the benefits of strong team culture and a good company culture overall:

• Improved Motivation: A strong and effective team culture is supportive, respectful, and goal-orientated. All of this helps create a great culture of shared understanding and values, as well as high performance and focus.
• Better Communication and Collaboration: Just as a bad attitude among team members can lead to discord and disharmony, good team culture can lead to increased team communication. The best team cultures are the ones where all team members can speak freely and openly – and are good at it. Teamwork makes a business successful – and strong team cultures are built on teamwork.
• Better Employee Engagement: Companies that inspire their employees will produce a more engaged and developed group. More engaged employees will lead to more success for your business, not to mention more efficiency.
• Increased Staff Retention Rates: It follows naturally that employees who are motivated, engaged, and happier all-round will want to stay. Why wouldn’t they? One of the most crucial and often underappreciated benefits of strong team culture is just this. It is all well and good to have happy employees – but you must have them, to begin with

How Do I Build A Strong Team Culture?

Building team culture will not happen overnight. It is a long process but ultimately one that will be very rewarding for your organization.

There are many ways you can improve team culture, here are some of the best.

1. Build Trust

As we have said, the best team cultures are built on trust and mutual respect.

Live team-building activities provide a brilliant way of fostering trust among team members and building a strong team culture.

Trust is something that is built over time and must be earned. So, how better to earn the trust of your team than by trying a Survivor Island with them? Or by working together in an Amazing Race across Bangkok or Phuket?

2. Clarify How You Want To Work Together

For team cultures to develop successfully, it is crucial that the team members and team leaders know exactly what they are working towards. That is, do they know they should work together?

There are many ways of clarifying this, such as regular team meetings and one-to-ones with individual team members. However, one of the most beneficial methods is through team-building events.

Through well-chosen team-building activities, you can outline the type of team culture you want to develop and how you want your team to work together.

For example, an event like an Escape Room is a great way of outlining to your team how you want them to work with each other and as individuals when they are under time pressure. An Escape Room is also brilliant for developing team bonding and creating a team culture of trust and innovation.

Virtual team-building events are also good for regularly clarifying with and reminding your team how you want them to work together. An Online Improv class is unmatched in its ability to get all team members – in-person and remote – working and having fun together.

3. Learn To Have Fun Together!

Building a team culture doesn’t have to be so serious – much of it is just about encouraging your team members to have fun together!

Of course, part of successful team culture is identifying that line between work and fun, but there are many fun team-building activities that can help you do just that.

For example, what could be more fun – and a better way of getting your team members to relax in each other’s company – than a Jungle Adventure?

The Jungle Adventure involves teams working together to find clues and solve riddles as they trek their way across some of the most beautiful forests and jungles in the world in Thailand.

Taking your teams away on fun team-building activities in places such as Bangkok and Samui is an unmatched way of developing the types of team cultures you see only in successful businesses.

The Importance Of Team Culture

Team culture is the collection of values, beliefs, attitudes, and working practices that make up a company culture.

Good team culture is essential for a successful business. It is the foundation of a team that can communicate and collaborate effectively, trusts one another, is engaged, and wants to remain with the company.

If you want your business to be successful and continue to grow and thrive in the long term, then you will need to build a strong company culture.

There are many ways to do this, but one of the best is through live team-building activities, which can develop all the skills crucial for a strong team culture – skills like communication, problem-solving, trust, collaboration, and leadership.

So, now you know what team culture is and why it is so important, start thinking about your next team-building event!