If we don't trust one another, then we aren't going to engage in open, constructive, ideological conflict. - Patrick Lencioni

That being said, experiential team exercises can be valuable tools for enhancing teamwork as long as they are layered upon more fundamental and relevant processes. While each of these tools and exercises can have a significant short-term impact on a team's ability to build trust,

as odd as it may seem, it is actually more important for leaders to focus on making their organizations healthy than on making them smart.

Avoiding the issues that merit debate and disagreement not only makes the meeting boring, it guarantees that the issues won't be resolved. And this is a recipe for frustration. Ironically, that frustration often manifests itself later in the form of unproductive personal conflict, or politics.