Working with a team building consultant

If you’re thinking of planning a team building event, your first stop should be a team building consultant.

Why? It’s simple: you know your team better than anyone, but a team building consultant knows how to bring your team together.

If you’ve never worked with a consultant before, you’re in luck; good ones are out there. Here are a few qualities to look for in a great team building consultant and how to find the right one for your team.

Qualities to Look For

Sometimes, you need the counsel of others. The trick, of course, is accepting the counsel of others.

Your team, like many teams in the world, is jaded by memories of awkward team-building exercises. They’re also more likely to clam up around an enthusiastic stranger.

If you want them to listen to the consultant and actually get something out of the exercise, you’re going to need a consultant with a few specific qualities.

Solid Experience

First of all, you need a consultant with the right background. This applies to both your specific industry niche and consulting as a practice.

They may not know your specific company, and at the end of the day, they don’t need to. What they do need is an understanding of the problems your company is facing and how that shakes out for your employees.

Think of it this way.

If you were going to get brain surgery, would you want a neurosurgeon with 15 years of experience, groundbreaking research, and a pristine record, or would you want some guy named Bob who happened to walk past the hospital at the right moment?

You’d want the neurosurgeon. More importantly, you’d trust the neurosurgeon. Your team won’t trust someone who doesn’t have the experience to know what they’re talking about.

Take our team, for example. We use music and songwriting to bring your team together – and we rely on a team of Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and CMA award-winners to do it.

Unimpeachable Character

You’ll also need a consultant with unimpeachable character. A professional of the highest order who can be relied upon to prioritize you as a client.

Consultants like this are the ones who care the most about their clients, and are willing to make them do things they may not want to do. They’re also the ones that know how to encourage reluctant team members to participate and see the bright side.

This is also a matter of trust. Your consultant should be someone who makes your team feel at ease, even when the consultant asks them to do something they wouldn’t normally do, like write a song.

Stellar Communication Skills

All of this requires outstanding communication skills.

It doesn’t matter how smart or experienced a consultant is. None of that skill or experience will translate unless they know how to communicate their points and hear what their clients are trying to say.

And since your team is likely to be jaded by negative team building experiences, you’ll need a great communicator to get them involved. Someone who puts them at ease and makes them feel like a valued part of the activity.

We see this all the time with our songwriting activities. When we bring a team together to write a song, the whole exercise depends on communication. We have to be able to communicate with your team–and get your team members to communicate with each other–in order to turn their ideas into a song.

Then, when we do have a song, it’s a concrete reminder of what your team can do when they communicate.

Creative Problem-Solving

As a business owner, you understand the value of creative problem-solving. When you hire a team building consultant, don’t forget to look for one with strong creative problem-solving skills.

After all, you’re hiring them to solve a problem for you: how to strengthen your team.

As such, you need a consultant that can take a look at the problems and challenges set before them and run with it. You don’t need a repeat of the same old tune–you need someone who will provide your team with a new perspective and a different, more effective approach.

Finding a Consultant

It’s one thing to recognize the qualities of a great consultant. It’s another thing to find a great consultant.

To do that, it helps to be prepared.

Consider Your Team Dynamic

Start by thinking about your team dynamic.

How does your team work together? What’s their communication style? What are their communication problems? When they have rough patches, what’s the source of them? How could they be a stronger team? What leadership style do they respond to?

Knowing your own team will help you find a consultant that matches with their needs. It will also help you to determine what kind of team building activity is best-suited to them.

Do Your Homework

From there, it’s time to do your homework.

Do your research on your options, then do some digging on potential candidates. Check their credentials, see what kinds of teams they work with, look at examples of their past work. If you can, look at reviews and testimonials.

If you like what you see, take some time to speak with your would-be consultant about how they would work with your team. Talk about your team’s unique challenges and ask what your consultant would do to address them.

Looking for a Great Team Building Consultant?

If you’re in the market for a great team building consultant, I hope you’ll consider my team over here at Kidbilly Music.

We know the power that music has to bring us together. We also know the unique joy of crafting music and how to share that experience with others. So when we work with your team, we know how to make them feel comfortable and produce great results.

And at the end, you’ll have an experience your team will treasure forever.

Ready to find out how we can help you perform at the top of your game? Get in touch today to get your team on track for success.

About Billy Kirsch

Billy is a Grammy & Emmy nominated, CMA & ACM award winning songwriter with numerous Top 10 hits to his credit. His team building programs and keynote speaking presentations help people tap into their creative abilities to become more innovative and engaged in their work. Clients include Fortune 100 companies and organizations throughout the world.