For many managers, “team building” means two days spent doing role-playing exercises i

For many managers, “team building” means two days spent doing role-playing exercises in a conference hotel far from head office. But perhaps a more effective way to build teams is simply by playing real team sports, such as soccer, cricket(板球) or softball.

David Clark, a project manager at Atisreal UK, is one of the organizers of the company’s two soccer teams. He says the main point is fun and fitness but it also has another advantage: “It gives the guys a chance to meet and relax with their peers(同等地位的人) from other departments. It builds cross-company relationships.”

Louise Aston, human resources director, says, “Not only does it promote health, but it can knock leadership on the head. The person who’s best at soccer could well be a fellow who works in the warehouse(仓库). Then this confidence will be built.”

Another reason companies are eager to promote team sports is that they are relatively cheap. Peter Mills, chief health officer at Vielife, says, “The contributions a company might make towards running a sports team － paying its league fees, for example － are pretty small compared to other expenditure(开支) in the field of health.”

However, experts warn people that there is a potential downside. Sports are, by their nature, competitive and not everyone is good at them. “There are people who can be a bit shy and you need to ensure you don’t ignore them. So you might use introductory days that only beginners go to. The emphasis is on sports such as soccer and netball, but by way of recognition that not everyone likes sweaty exercise, there is also chess,” they say.

As a whole, managers should take different measures to build teams according to the characters of different people.

Title:67.___________________________

67. Team building                                       68.A common way

69. real team sports                                    70.Opinions

71. David Clark                                          72.Building cross-company relationships

73. Human resources director                      74.Building confidence

75. Experts                                                76.different people’s characters