Can we help build teams?

There is a problem with building teams, or even waiting for teams to build themselves. The problem is that it takes quite a lot of time and luck in order for a team to form. So, is it possible to help the process of building teams? Is it possible not to have to rely so much on the time and luck that it normally takes?

Yes it is!

You can help the process of creating a team by making sure they have the opportunity to have some fun.

Work should be more fun than having fun

Work should be fun. There is no reason for it not to be, especially systems development which can be as near to pure fun as it is possible to get without breaking the law.
Of course, you will always get the good old insecure management response that we are paying these people to work and not to have fun. When you hear this said then point out that when people are having fun they work - better, harder, and for longer.
If the team has fun, if the team can laugh together, then they will be having those shared experiences that I said were one of the key characteristics of teams. So, how can you make sure the team has fun? Remember, you are building something unique so it cannot be something you can 'buy' of off a shelf. Try to find the humour in everything that happens, you can do this by exaggerating everyday events, and by taking things to their absolute extreme. What do I mean? The best way of understanding what I mean is to look at some examples of the things I have either done or have seen other people do.

Naming Convention

A very simple idea that we used in building teams is to put the team members names through as many spelling checkers as possible. You will not find a funny name for everyone but you may well find one or two interesting ones. For example;

Nuclear Carrot
and
Terrible Torpedo (that's me by the way)

The best results are obtained by the use of the older and poorer examples of spelling checkers, but it is worth a try.