Central Plains Women in Business held a lunch and learn at Canad Inns, Tuesday that focused on team building.

Michele Hazell, district talent manager for The Home Depot Canada out of Winnipeg, instructed the participants in team building. Local comedienne Janet Lacroix kicked off the presentations with a comedic sketch about the different personalities you can encounter when working in teams.

Hazell said team building is important because it is in many things we do in life.

"We're always working with people and whether we like it or not, whether we're introverts or extroverts, in order to succeed we need each other. As much as I sometimes think I can do it all myself, we can't do it all ourselves," said Hazell.

The key to team building is how it relates to leadership and how we are interacting with our team.

"Are we stepping up, having the conversations, are we leading people by number one, what are the key goals, are we helping people to get there?" asked Hazell. "A lot of times we just show people something and we assume that they know how to get there."

It is also important to keep our goals engaged for the long term and not just abandoning them after a month.

"I think the key is accountability, letting people make the commitments and then holding themselves and then you also holding them accountable to that," said Hazell. "I think the big thing is just really about having fun and keeping it simple. I think a lot of times we just make it way too complex and it doesn't need to be."

The next luncheon will take place on May 31 and will focus on how to build rapport.

For the full story see Thursday's edition of the Portage Daily Graphic.