| You probably decided to read this article more for the | | | | BUT if the participants were behaving differently, |
| last two words of the title than the first two. I can live | | | | approaching the exercise in a manner they would not |
| with that, though the article focus, it needs be said, is | | | | use at work, then the exercise was considerably less |
| on "team building" rather then "rubber chicken", even if | | | | effective and perhaps even a waste of time. For |
| the latter does get quite a few mentions. Still, you'll | | | | example, helping an overly authoritarian manager |
| need to read on to find our where our flightless, avian | | | | understand the effect of his or her snapping at staff is |
| facsimile fits in. | | | | a lot easier when that behaviour surfaces in a "safe" |
| Team building companies use all sorts of items - props | | | | training environment. If that manager manages to act |
| if you will - in pursuit of delivering great events to their | | | | as an inclusive, empowering manager for the duration |
| various clients. Amongst the items that my company | | | | of the exercise, that opportunity is lost. |
| can call upon, for example, are some authentic 1950s | | | | Enter the rubber chicken. It's hard to avoid normal |
| style bowling alleys (yep - they are very long!), replica | | | | behaviour when the props - whatever they are - are |
| Colt 45s, full size Edam cheeses, microscopes, | | | | exciting all participants. People who are naturally |
| washing up liquid bottles, some fabulous | | | | outgoing and desperate to try new things are not |
| competition-level yo-yos and - you guessed it - a | | | | going to pass up the chance to pick up the chicken. |
| rubber chicken. Don't ask. | | | | People who are naturally more reserved and perhaps |
| What every single one of our props is there to do is | | | | even quiet are equally likely to bury themselves in the |
| three-fold: | | | | detail in the paperwork that is the team brief. Suddenly, |
| | | | the team is behaving like it does at work, allowing |
| 1. Engage one or more participants such that they | | | | those parallels to be picked up in the debrief session. |
| forget they are at a team building event. | | | | Oh yes, there must be a debrief session! |
| 2. Add some colour to the occasion, perhaps | | | | Adding some colour to the occasion, thereby helping |
| generating more than a little laughter along the way. | | | | individuals relax and get into the spirit of the session is |
| 3. Between them, appeal to all types of people | | | | also important. The more relaxed the team is, the |
| present. | | | | more it is likely to behave as it does in the workplace. |
| Each of these is vital to achieving real team building. It's | | | | The chicken helps again! |
| easy enough to give a group a good time. It's a | | | | And last in our list is the idea of engaging each and |
| different matter to send them away at the end not | | | | every participant. In the workplace, the most effective |
| only individually happy but also collectively better off | | | | teams are those that harness the differences within |
| than they were at the start. That is, to have developed | | | | the individual members - not those with people who |
| the team. That's what team building should be about. | | | | are almost clone-like to one another. However, if music |
| So how does each of the three things above help? | | | | really isn't your thing, then an activity that is 100% about |
| Back in the day when I was a more traditional | | | | music is going to turn you off. The same can be said |
| management and team trainer, I used to hear Training | | | | for quadbikes, paintballing etc. But if there's a chicken |
| and HR Managers complain time and time again about | | | | around for those who are happy to play with such |
| experiential exercises. Their collective gripe was that | | | | things and music for those who enjoy music and some |
| people could act differently during them to how they | | | | lightly physical options for those who enjoy those - and |
| normally acted at work. One key point of an | | | | so on - then everyone can choose to spend time on |
| experiential exercise is to offer the participants an | | | | things that utilise their strengths, thereby spreading the |
| insight into how their current approaches and | | | | inputs of the human resources and maximising the |
| behaviours might not be the best combination they | | | | overall team effectiveness. |
| could adopt. In rare instances, the point might be to | | | | A team activity that sends just one person away |
| consolidate an exceptional performer's approach and | | | | feeling more apart from the team than when that |
| behaviour, but usually it was to help improve both of | | | | person came in has split the team, not built it. Thank |
| these things. Here comes the but. | | | | goodness for the rubber chicken. |