In this paper I conduct a systematic review of team building interventions in order to
answer how team building can help teams become more effective. The search was
conducted on PsychInfo, EbscoHost and Scopus, and it returned 296 hits of which 56
was read in full length. Overall 19 studies were included in this review. The synthesis
reveal that the overall designs span various combinations of diagnosis, goal-setting,
role clarification, interpersonal relations, problem solving and implementation. Each
of these can be implemented in many different ways and combined in multiple
combinations with other elements. Turning to effectiveness it is defined as comprising
performance, attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. It was found that teams can become
more effective in terms of attitudinal outcomes, but mixed results are indicated for
behavioral and performance outcomes. Additionally, mixed results were found for
long-term outcomes, which indicate that teams not necessarily become more effective
in the long run by participating in team building.