Tausi Insider

Photo : fizkes ( Shutterstock ) When employee morale is low and teamwork is lacking, well-intending bosses and HR folks often think the solution is to have a “team- building” session. They think the root of the issue must be that staff don’t know each other well, don’t understand each other’s “styles, ” and if they did, they would work better together. Work is stopped, money is spent, and everyone is scheduled to attend a team- building session— or what I sometimes call, forced fun. This is when personality tests, or “style” assessments, like the DISC Profile, Myers Briggs Type Indicator and others of the like are often used to help people understand each other better with a goal of improving teamwork. Many of these assessments are grounded in good behavioral science. They require completion of an assessment and then, a report is generated that describes a person’s preferences and tendencies for communication, thinking, and use of energy. Some also identify strengths, weaknes...