Cohesion among teammates is key to producing high-quality results. If you’re leading a group that’s lacking unity and trust between members, you may benefit from team-building activities. Here are five ways you can strengthen bonds and achieve long-term success at your business.
1. Team Outings
Sometimes, what employees really need to get to know each other is to spend time together out of the office and away from work. Coordinate an outing to a bowling alley, an amusement park or mini golf. No matter what you decide to do, trips like these will bring people together in ways the workplace doesn’t. Taking fun excursions breaks up the routine of daily work and encourages people to let their guard down and connect with one another in more personal ways.
2. Scavenger Hunts
Split your colleagues into groups and ask them to work together to solve a scavenger hunt around the office. Try incorporating riddles that give hints to the location of an item, so groups must communicate and think through the problem together. This game will help members of your team understand each other’s strengths and areas of opportunity and illustrate the benefits of cooperation, which will translate well to your business.
3. Contests
Encourage some healthy competition in the office by running a contest. Give prizes to people who have the best costume on Halloween, or if your employees love lunch, coordinate a competition to see who has the tastiest chili. Allow employees to vote on the winner, so the contest is fair and lighthearted. Like taking a fun trip out of the office, this activity can help people break out of their shells and make new connections. You may even learn that your employees are creative costume-makers or phenomenal cooks!
4. Games
Playing games is a great way for your colleagues to learn about and become more comfortable with one another. The next time you have your team in the same room, even if it’s for 10 or 15 minutes, play a simple game together. For example, try playing “Two Truths and a Lie.” In this game, each person says two true statements about themselves and one that is false. Everyone else must then come together and decide which is the lie. Games like these serve as a respite from the stress of the day, allowing people to think about something other than work and learn something new about the people they work with.
5. Debriefs
Not everything has to be about work! Maybe one of your employees broke their personal record in a 5K they just ran, or maybe another saw their favorite band at a concert over the weekend. Encourage them to share their personal victories as well as recent events in their lives that have made them happy. These “debriefs” can be at the end of a weekly meeting, or whenever the time feels right. Through this sharing, groups will learn more about each other and become invested in and supportive of each other’s goals.
We Help Build Successful Teams
If you want to build a more cohesive team, we can help. We offer an assessment called Performance Dynamics®, which will help you gain a more holistic understanding of the personalities and behaviors of the people working with you. By understanding the “why” behind your employees’ actions, you can help them achieve profound personal and professional development.
And if you’re having a hard time coming up with group exercises that will work for your employees, we offer Team Building Training services to help. During these engagements, we conduct high-impact exercises and cover many topics, such as motivational theory, interpersonal/relationship-building skills, communication and more.
Interested in learning more? Reach out to us today.