Team building is a tough process. And it takes constant effort.
It’s a process where you build both “skills” and “trust.” And depending on your field, both take time to grow…
So you need to optimize your team building activities.
You need creative ideas that improve team cohesion, while also bolstering a variety of communicative skillsets.
Today, we’ll help you with that. We have 4 constructive activities you can try.
Check out each one, and select what works best!
#1 – Develop a “Private” Group Past-Time.
This idea focuses on building trust.
With a private past-time, you get to feel like family.
It’s a chance to disconnect from the daily shared grind. And you get the opportunity to “know each other in person.”
This group past-time can be anything – from weekly bowling hangouts, to weekend gaming get-togethers.
Just make sure it’s something casual.
Why Casual?
Casual activities bring out our true personalities.
It’s when we feel the most relaxed. And when we feel relaxed, we let our guards down with regards to how we act.
As a result, casual activities make us more intimate. It makes us “more communicative.”
Plus, it makes us less strict, and less likely to stick to fake personas and facades.
And that’s what your team needs to establish trust. When everyone gets to be themselves, you start to feel like family.
And this’ll reflect in the productive side of your team’s relations.
Speaking of productivity…
#2 – Try a Competitive Game.
The previous tip focused more on casual settings. This tip applies to more “serious settings.”
In a competitive game, you put to the test communicative and productivity skills. You also test the mental resilience of your team.
You look at how good they are at handling pressure, stress – all while maintain an encouraging environment.
Extra Tip: Try a Physical Game.
You can attempt a video game. But competitiveness, teamwork, and video games don’t mesh.
Most competitive video games are “single person-oriented.” Those are your MMOs with ranking systems/individual.
Instead, we recommend inventing a game that requires space.
A good team building game would be “room escapes.”
The idea behind it is, your team is stuck in a location. And you have limited time to escape with tools and hints available.
Communication, critical thinking, and group work are required for success.
It’s fun, and it’s competitive. Plus, there’s no bitterness involved, since you’re racing against a clock!
#3 – Spend Celebrations Together.
It’s just like the previous tip. You get to know each other at a closer level.
Plus, it’s a chance to compile a good photo album (outside of work).
Which Celebrations?
At a minimum, personal celebrations are a must. Those include weddings, baby showers, graduations, awards, etc.
But also, you can organize parties every few weeks. Try to make them coincide with upcoming holidays!
#4 – Make an Online Channel for Easy Communication.
Alright, this tip’s a little less casual.
This tip is designed to ease the sharing of ideas. And it involves creating an “online channel” for team members to share opinions.
Why This is Important.
Meetings might not give team members enough time to express their thoughts.
Even worse, you and your team might feel exhausted during meetings. And this means less motivation to flesh out good ideas to their finish.
This however is circumvented with the internet.
You get to share ideas, and on your own time. You also get to respond (in length), and during your own time.
You can write detailed essays, share them, and then comment on each other’s opinions.
That way, you come up with more ideas that eventually lead to a “constructive action plan”!