December 15, 2014
Team building is a slow process that takes place over time. The first stage of the process involves composition of a team of employees, and the selection of team leader. The end product is always a team that’s highly motivated, well-developed and systematically organized to produce high performance while also gaining immense satisfaction from shared workload.
A well-developed team is one that functions in a supportive, positive atmosphere. However, it is not easy to create this kind of atmosphere within the organizational setting. It can only be best fostered through a variety of well-designed, fun team building activities with different goals. So, if you are a manager looking at ways through which you can make communication effective, increase the trust factor and reduce chances of misunderstandings and confusions among your staff, below are some fun team building activities to try out.
Tag Team
In this game, each team member is asked to create an imaginary person containing all the best qualities of the participating members. They then tell a short description of the person and explain how those qualities can be put to use. The main objective of this activity is to emphasize the need for cooperation. It demonstrates to all team members that they have the potential to accomplish same tasks as their imaginary person, whose qualities are reflected in their collaboration.
Filter
Filter is one of the team building activities that show how an information that’s been excessively filtered gets affected and drastically changes from the actual information. In layman terms the game is called the “Chinese Whispers.” The participants are divided into small groups and each member of the group whispers a statement into the ear of the person sitting next to him/her. Ideally the whispered sentence should be one full of rumor or gossip. This statement is supposed to be repeated to everyone until all members of the groups have heard it. The last person to receive the information then speaks out the rumor. The game becomes very humorous where members come to realize how the message was altered by the time was received by the last person. The reason for this alteration is simply excessive filtering.
Photo Night
The photo night is a very humorous game that helps develop friendship through shared experiences. The game involves dividing the participant into groups of 4 or 5 individuals. Each group is provided with a camera and earns points by taking photos of objects or situations where members of the group are involved.
Game Show Gambit
This game is used to test the team’s knowledge of the company or their colleagues. It involves hosting mini game show using either password, jeopardy or a basic trivia format. The game essentially requires some planning and creative thinking on your part but is always fun and very informative for the participants. The game can be made to be an ongoing team challenge where points build from one meeting to another. Awarding prizes at the end of the challenge will leave the teams with something to work for.
The Haka
Haka is a traditional war dance of the Maori people of New Zealand. It brings a loud and energetic challenge that the team can give a go to help start your meeting or conference on fire. The game is simply unforgettable and will always remain discussed for a very long time.
Depending on your organization’s budget, there are a host of executive coaches who can facilitate fun team building activities and workshops to create adventures tailor-made for your team. They are just a call away. So, take up the responsibility and boost your workforce’s performance within no time.