You likely first encountered the term “team building” many years ago. Possibly when you were in secondary school, and your class had to solve a problem together. Or at summer camp when your cabin was tasked with accomplishing a scavenger search or performing trust falls.
And you’ve undoubtedly participated in team-building exercises and icebreaker games at work as well. The right types of team-building exercises can bring people closer together, improve teamwork, and identify individual members’ weaknesses and strengths.
Team building activities do not necessarily require an entire day. In fact, devoting 20 minutes of the first half of your next group meeting to stimulate creativity and collaboration can be sufficient.
1. Solve a Puzzle
This can be a literal puzzle, such as a 500-piece set (if you’re willing to spend $10 on Amazon), or a mental teaser that requires pondering and brainstorming aloud. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, give your team a time limit to complete the assignment. Everyone must contribute to the project’s accomplishment for it to succeed.
Upon completion or the expiration of time, take a moment to contemplate the experience. Ask your team: What was your solution strategy? What did they do? Why did you choose the paths you did? Allowing everyone to think through their process may reveal unique perspectives or assets in each individual or, at the very least, spark an enlightening discussion.
2. Design a Treasure Hunt
Scavenger hunts can be a great way for new employees to become acquainted with their surroundings and coworkers by requiring them to identify objects around the workplace and ask seasoned employees questions such as “When was [Company] founded?” or “Who was our first client?” or “How many people work in marketing?”
However, they are equally effective with veteran teams. For example, perhaps you assign employees to discover X number of facts or artefacts by the end of the day. Or divide the group into multiple teams to determine the winner. Regardless of how you choose to do it and what you ask them to discover, this will encourage team members to collaborate on a project that is unrelated to their typical work and team.
3. Untangle a “Human Knot”
This is a camp favourite and an enjoyable method for team members to solve a problem together. Have everyone form a circle and shake hands with those who are not immediately adjacent. Once everyone’s hands are intertwined, the objective is to separate yourselves without destroying the chain. You can make it more difficult by prohibiting individuals from speaking or setting a time limit. It requires a bit of leg space to clamber over each other (as well as an office culture where people are comfortable holding hands; tread carefully with this one), but it can be an entertaining puzzle if you’re up to it.
4. Provide Blind Directions
Pair up team members and blindfold one of them; the other person is responsible for guiding the blindfolded team member to the other side of the office or completing a task such as relocating an object or sketching an image. This exercise will help individuals who don’t normally work closely together practise communication and develop trust.
5. Hold a Contest
For instance, you could host a department desk-decorating competition or organise a cookie or guacamole-making competition in which employees bring their finest creations and the team judges the winners. Moreover, who doesn’t enjoy eating during the workday? It encourages employees to spend time together and bond over a common hobby while fostering a touch of healthy competition.