Corporate team building activities vary widely, some good and some ridiculous. A ‘hot new trend’ in corporate team building has been using cooking as the activity. Does it work? The answer to that lies in how it is facilitated. There is an inherent value in the activity because you are working on one of Maslow’s […]
Key learnings for participants: It is important to be aware of assumptions, and recognize one is making them, though sometimes it will be necessary to make assumptions (due to urgency of decisions, lacking complete information) Dynamic tension between speed of decisions and cost of gathering complete information (it is not practical to have all facts before making decisions; assumptions are […]
Here is a recent request from a person on our website looking for the right tool to collect, rate and assess problems: “James, in a nutshell, we know some issues exist and we know some have not yet been identified. Essentially, if everyone came prepared to discuss their perception of what issues exist, and we […]
By James Carter In this article, James discusses team building and some activities that are outside the norm. First there are a few examples of what we provide to create meaning in team building. Secondly, there are a couple of DIY activities you can do to create meaningful team building. Finally, James provides some thoughts […]
Wild Woosey is designed to help the group work dependently with a partner and trust one another completely. In order to achieve the goal of the activity, you both must cross the deep ‘V’ while maintaining contact your partner. Seems easy! It is absolutely not.
Participants walk through a course blindfolded and lead by a partner.
This is one of the most powerful and, ironically, one of the simplest events we offer. The Trust Walk is about leading, following and communication. Many leadership styles emerge during this event. Some find it difficult to be responsible for another person’s safety and others find it exhilarating.
To trust or give up control can be very hard for some people. Whatever the experience, the Trust Walk is a powerful learning opportunity.
This event is designed to get the group interacting, having fun and is traditionally an icebreaker.
Although a great icebreaker, there are great insights that are possible in the areas of:
leadership,
trust,
communication and
changing perspectives.
Any of these can be touched upon during discussion and connected back to work.
To complete the tasks the team will need to use teamwork, cooperation and creativity.
This event is also great way to get people touching each other without feeling threatened.
Walk across a series of planks as a group without falling off.
This is a great physical activity to challenge participants. Leadership, trust and problem solving are all outcomes from this activity.
Each group member to change the board they are standing on, so that they are not standing on a board with any original board members.
This activity will highlight the need for leadership, communication and interdependence.
All group members are to stand on the platform long enough to count to 10. Begin with the largest version of the platform and move to the smallest.
This is a group activity that involves increasing trust through proximity, dealing with dwindling / limiting resources and problem solving.
Like many activities, this has typical communication and leadership challenges. Best of all, it is actually fun too and can get the group laughing with each other.
Move the entire group through the center hole in the web, the ‘Hole in Space’ as quickly as possible.
This is a fine event for demonstrating to a group that they can improve their efficiency performance by discussing previous attempts and by working together as a team. Decrease in performance time can be dramatic.
For the entire group to travel from one side of the web to the other.
Teamwork and communication is essential for overall success. Once you begin to go through the web, you ‘lose all perspective’ and must be coached and helped to get through.
The objective of this exercise is to get the entire group from one side of the ‘fence’ to the other.
Ask the participants to imagine that this is an electric fence with a force field from the top of the fence to the ground and stretches on forever in either direction.
A team uses trolleys to make its way from point A to point B gathering instructional notes as they travel.
Use the boards, while participants hold them, to climb from one end of the group to the other.
This is easy but powerful trust building activity that can be used during any team building program.
Goal – To develop a sense of trust between participants.
The Challenge? For the group to create a method for successfully moving the team through a planned space in the most efficient way possible. This can be a short distance to retrieve an object, or simply to coordinate the synchronized movement of the group through a winding path.
BoardWalking is an activity to show the importance of unity and synchronization. This is one of the few activities that necessitates the exact timing of the groups effort for success.
For the entire group to travel through the web to the other side, without touching the web. Each participant must travel through a different opening in the web.
This requires the entire team to manage their differences (size, disposition, strength, intelligence, etc.), it requires commitment, it’s very physical without being strenuous, and it’s fun.
The BoardWalking Kit is awesome fun. The four activities included cover teamwork, leadership, trust, problem solving – all the great elements to create a high-performing team.
Construct an exact replica of the diagram. Achieve ‘Legendary’ performance in the time allowed or as fast as possible with multiple opportunities.
Participants sit on top of a board and use large PVC to roll themselves across a finish line.
Small teams work together on a problem-solving activity in a very fun and physical activity that can be run over and over. Leadership, communication, trust are all very present in this activity.
Walk the Plank is a fantastic kit that has 7 different activities that can be run with the materials. The activities cover every aspect of creating a team you could want – leadership, communication, trust, teamwork, problem solving and more!
Running a new activity can be terrifying. We know as we are trying new activities all the time and sometimes they don’t work the way I thought they would. DO NOT FEAR! We are here to help you pick and execute the perfect activity for your group that is guaranteed to be awesome. Selecting an […]
This event demonstrates the effects of competition within groups and the power of collaboration.
Unless the groups identify a common goal, they will compete against each other and ultimately fail as a group.
As a group, pick the one rope that connects all others.
This is a very simplistic exercise designed help groups practice consensus building and decision-making. It will encourage group members to participate and is a great precursor to more complex problem solving exercises or workshop (60-Minute Version).
Challenge a team’s belief that something is impossible.
It is also a great way to explore people’s willingness to ask for help or give help if it will benefit the whole team.
Paradigm shift may result. It is a great leverage point to come back to if other paradigm shifts need to happen with the group.
Participants move steel balls from Point A to Point B using only the tubes provided. Each ball must go through each person’s tube and they may not touch the ball with their bodies.
The purpose of this exercise is to physically demonstrate the metaphor that every member of a team or group is an important “link in the chain”.
This event is also a good way to examine individual team member’s sense of value and accountability to their team.
Participants must move a plane from one landing pad to another.
The art of cooperation is something we are taught as children but sometimes have a hard time accomplishing as adults.
The goal here is to have the entire team involved, demonstrate the power of teamwork and show the interdependence teams experience.
This is a complex activity that has many different purposes and reveals many behavior patterns.
It develops support (emotional, content and physical) within the group.
It helps clarify communication and decision making skills.
It helps groups to examine how and why leadership shifts during planning and completion of task
It shows how balancing planning activities with execution helps groups solve problems.
The exercise is a very good metaphor for a ‘goal’.
Create a perfect square from a rope while the entire group is blindfolded.
The focus is on leadership skills and the degree of group participation and the exercise will always reveal interesting dynamics and insights that allow participants to learn from one another.
This activity clearly demonstrates interdependence among team members while highlighting how difficult, but important, reaching consensus can be.
[wpdm_file id=55] Activities in the One Trip Digital Kit: Group Juggling If inter-departmental communication and processes are your office bugbear, then opt for ‘Group Juggling’ and you will soon witness all round improvements back at the work place. ‘Group Juggling’ is an icebreaker and customer service activity that is 100% fun and heightens communication within […]