| There are plenty of naysayers that will tell you that | | | | Develop leadership skills. While fun option can benefit |
| team building events never achieve anything. Perhaps | | | | from teams appointing leaders, the heavyweight |
| those folk have never attended a professionally run, | | | | learning-focused variety will be better at offering real |
| focused team away day, but I know from my own | | | | insights into effective leadership behaviours and |
| company's events that a good team day can deliver | | | | techniques. |
| fantastic results for individuals, teams, departments and | | | | Get to know one another. Most options will give you |
| indeed whole organisations. It just needs some planning | | | | this, but some offer better platforms for revealing |
| beforehand. Starting with what the team session | | | | more about individuals than others. Check out those |
| should be targeted to deliver. | | | | that focus on team and individual strengths and |
| There are an infinite number of team aspects that any | | | | weaknesses. |
| team away day organiser might want to target, yet | | | | Have some fun. This usually means belly-laughter type |
| our experience is that most don't really have a defined | | | | fun, so pick something that everyone can enjoy, get |
| objective or two in mind. So this article covers the | | | | into and have a laugh. Just be sure it doesn't involve |
| most common that we come across in the hope that | | | | anything that might embarrass colleagues who are not |
| it helps a reader who is charged with organising a | | | | of the "game for a laugh" type. |
| team event a few good ideas. In alphabetical order | | | | Identify individual strengths. Closely tied to the next |
| then: | | | | potential outcome immediately below, the best |
| Bond the team. This can be achieved with a shared | | | | activities here will be learning-focused with plenty of |
| experience that everyone in the team is up for. But I | | | | debriefing time allocated on the agenda. Just be careful |
| do mean everyone. Paintballing with someone who | | | | that in uncovering individual strengths and weaknesses |
| hates violence of any kind or a trip to the pub with | | | | that you do not do so in a manner that embarrasses |
| someone who is fundamentally against alcohol | | | | or alienates individuals. It may be that you hold back |
| consumption on religious or any other grounds can split | | | | debriefing individuals for one-or-one sessions after the |
| a team. So make sure everyone buys in to the idea. | | | | event. |
| Break down barriers. Activities that encourage | | | | Identify individual weaknesses. Pretty much exactly as |
| individuals to work together and across teams fit the | | | | for the outcome directly above. |
| bill here, especially ones that requires a range of skill | | | | Identify team strengths. This (and the next potential |
| sets to tackle. | | | | outcome) is fair game for a debrief on the day. Again |
| Break down cliques. Many options will work here. Just | | | | you will want a learning-focused option and not one |
| be sure to mix up the teams before commencing the | | | | that only delivers belly laughter. |
| activity. | | | | Identify team weaknesses. As directly above! |
| Build team morale. Undoubtedly you will want | | | | One team focus. Here you will want an activity with |
| something that generates huge amounts of belly | | | | strong collaborative credentials. Plenty of competitive |
| laughter during the day. Just be sure that everyone is | | | | options offer collaborative elements so your choices |
| laughing with one another and not at one another. | | | | are far from limited. |
| Build team trust. Collaborative team activity work best | | | | Opportunity to relax. Sounds like a quiet, gentle option |
| here. Avoid out-and-out competitive ones and focus | | | | could be in order. But people can also relax when the |
| on ones that highlight how a team needs different | | | | activity is high energy, providing it is not a pressurised |
| strengths within the various team members to | | | | one. |
| succeed. | | | | Opportunity to reward team. Usually, belly-laughter |
| Chance to collaborate together. Obviously, avoid | | | | generating activities fit the bill best here. |
| strictly competitive exercises. If it is a small team of, | | | | Overcome specific team problems. By definition, you |
| say, 12 people or less, find something they can do | | | | need a learning focused option. More than that, you |
| together. If the group is larger, ensure that the activity | | | | need to be sure that the activity will offer direct |
| encourages inter-team collaboration. | | | | parallels to whatever the team problems are, so that |
| Chance to talk. This is more to do with the agenda | | | | the safe environment that is the team away day can |
| than the activity. Build in plenty of breaks and a long | | | | be used to successfully identify team actions to |
| lunch. Organise the lunch so that those that will most | | | | overcome the problems. |
| benefit from talking together are seated together. | | | | Problem solving. Activities that offer real challenges to |
| Communication. Teams can always benefit from | | | | the team are necessary here. Ideally, the debrief time |
| improved communication. intense, learning-focused | | | | should be sufficient to allow the team to explore better |
| activities that put the team under pressure are most | | | | techniques for solving problems and have a facilitator |
| suited to really offer improved communication | | | | capable of throwing a few techniques into the mix. |
| opportunities. | | | | Spend time together. Well, you'll be hard pressed to |
| Competition. The majority of team activities are | | | | find an option that doesn't offer this! |
| competitive, so this should be easy to deliver. Just be | | | | Stimulate team. The word "stimulate" suggests that the |
| sure that you really do want to pit team members | | | | team should take away a new impetus as a result of |
| against one another before choosing this. | | | | the activity. This is turn suggests that whatever they |
| Consolidate conference messages. Completely | | | | do should end with an agreed action plan. Thus a |
| off-the-shelf options will not deliver this. You need | | | | leaning-focused challenge is the best kind of activity to |
| tailorable or individually created options to tap into your | | | | select for this. |
| own conference messages and build upon them. | | | | Strategic direction. Few activities offer a good |
| Consolidate relationships. The key word here is | | | | understanding of what the word "strategy" actually |
| "consolidate", so your participants already have a | | | | means and what "strategic management" is actually |
| starting point at the very least. You probably want | | | | about. So be selective and ask the question "how will |
| ones that offer a real team challenge for the | | | | this activity help the participants understand more |
| participants to get their teeth into, along the way | | | | about strategy and strategic direction?" If the line goes |
| uncovering individual strengths that the team can tap | | | | quiet, move on quickly! |
| into and build upon. | | | | Understand each other's roles. There are two options |
| Cross team working. Collaborative options clearly an | | | | here. Choose an activity that is capable of being |
| option here. However, there are plenty of competitive | | | | tailored to focus on team roles or make sure plenty of |
| ones that have collaborative aspects to them and | | | | non-activity time is built into the agenda to chat about |
| these may be even better at highlighting how | | | | them, perhaps using the activity as a catalyst to that |
| cross-team working benefits even busy, | | | | discussion. |
| inward-focused teams. | | | | Understand impact on others. For this, you will definitely |
| Decision making. Plenty of exercises need decision | | | | want to choose a challenge-based option that puts the |
| making - in fact few do not. But if this is a real focus, | | | | team under pressure, allowing real individual and team |
| you want to pick activities that can help lead into a | | | | behaviours to come to the fore. |
| training session on various decision making techniques. | | | | Phew! Thanks for bearing with the article and I hope |
| So you will want an activity with some weight and | | | | that it helps all my readers widen their horizons on |
| gravitas that needs different types of decision to be | | | | what team building days can actually deliver by way |
| made, probably under pressure. | | | | of team outcomes. |