The road to hell is paved with trust falls and good intentions.
It seemed like a good plan in the beginning, right? That’s the problem with team-building events — they could have exactly the opposite effect, plus the line between uplifting and damaging is thin. Or is it? Take note of what a team-building activity should and shouldn’t be.
Good team-building activities have an objective.
Productive activities could be on-site or off, physical or sedentary, but they all share something: defined goals. “There’s a lot of confusion with companies that decide: ‘We want to do a team event, but we don’t really know why,'” says David Jacobson, founder of the New York City-based corporate entertainment and team-building company TrivWorks.
There’s a spectrum of activities that qualify as productive team building.
Management consultants organize activities that range from half a day to several days and include trivia games, scavenger hunts, cooking challenges, building boat prototypes and more. “The most effective team-building experiences are those where the group has higher expectations rather than simply having fun,” says Shawn Dunning, director of the corporate team building firm Adventure Associates, Inc., located in El Cerrito, California. “They can be enjoyable, but they have to have meaningful takeaways and clear lessons.”
The goal determines the activity.
Impromptu happy hours aren’t team building. Structure is necessary, whether the objective is to enhance your team’s skills or relationships. “It’s important to have a parallel between the activity and the challenges your organization might be facing,” says Anne Thornley-Brown, founder and president of the Toronto-based management consulting firm Executive Oasis International. “You design an activity that’s very targeted to the challenges and fit of the company.”
The activities should be inclusive.
Jacobson says to consider the comfort zone of your colleagues when planning. For instance, parents with young kids might not be enthusiastic about taking a multiday corporate retreat. Employees with physical challenges might not enjoy an orienteering exercise traipsing across the city.
They should also foster healthy competition.
It’s even better if you have enough participants to pick teams so they may compete. “Different companies have varying levels of competition, and as long as the competition is good-natured and fun, it’s good,” Jacobson says. Dunning agrees, noting: “Our activities tend to be competitive and intense, but still lighthearted.”
But there’s a time and a place.
Your company is hemorrhaging money and employees, and you want to do something to boost the spirits of your remaining staff. But as Thornley-Brown says: “Don’t take people out for a ra-ra activity.” Ramp up to the team building after people regain equilibrium, starting with something low-key where staff can share concerns, then when they’re more comfortable, plan something more formal.
Team-building activities can’t just be social.
Throw a party if you want, but team building must also involve a staid activity, Thornley-Brown says. “It would be as if I invited you to dinner and served an appetizer or a dessert, but no actual meal,” she explains. “These add-ons are nice to do, and some people think you need to do them, but the activity can’t just be a social gathering.”
The activity should be positive.
And finally, we get to the trust fall — the movie “Mean Girls‘” example of a team-building exercise, and one that should never be done, according to experts. Similar to so-called team-building activities that simulate violence — trust falls might actually humiliate employees and reinforce negative emotions. “A telltale sign to an activity gone wrong is if you get back to the office and you feel the same, or you feel worse,” Jacobson says.
And they should be challenging.
Use the experience to teach something new. Thornley-Brown says a core component of team building is introducing tools, models or experiences, while Dunning adds: “Every one of our programs includes a discussion with participants about their appropriate level of challenge. And challenge is important. Learning happens when you’re outside of your comfort zone.”
Positive team building has long-standing effects.
When done correctly, team-building activities should have tremendous impact, Jacobson says. “If the exercise is good, your team will take what they did or learned back to the workplace. They’re going to collaborate and communicate better.” Also collect feedback on the experience, so that you know what motivated staff the most.
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The Best Team-Building Exercises originally appeared on usnews.com
