TEAM BUILDING

TEAM BUILDING

Team building is the process of taking a group of individuals with different needs, backgrounds, and expertise and transforming them, by various methods, into an integrated, effective work unit. Developing highperformance teams within the fire department is an essential duty of the department officer; it is more often than not overlooked, however, because we do not understand how to do it.

Team building is not something covered in the IFSTA manual or addressed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, so, therefore, we do not address our members’ interpersonal skills until there is a negative event such as a bad attitude, a heated discussion, or a physical confrontation. Fire officers can increase the productivity of their departments, reduce conflicts, and increase the overall effectiveness of the entire organization by acquiring a basic understanding of team building (not to be confused with teamwork, which is a by-product of team building).