You have likely heard the term “team-building” from time to time. You may have heard it in your early school days when you had to work with your classmates to solve a puzzle or when you were at camp and asked to complete a scavenger hunt.
Today, team building is used by all types of organizations, companies, and businesses as a way to increase productivity and efficiency. Think about it like this; if you were searching for spa or pool builders near me, you would ask around to find out about the best services. With team building, you are “asking around” to learn more about your co-workers, their skills, and how you can effectively work together.
Keep reading to learn about some of the top team building activities to try with your team.
Solve a Puzzle
With this activity, you can get an actual puzzle, such as a 500-piece option you buy at the store. Another puzzle to try is a brain teaser. This is something that requires critical thinking and brainstorming to solve. Toss one out to your team, and if you feel ambitious, consider giving them a time limit to finish it. The goal is to ensure that everyone contributes to ensure the success of the project.
After the team is done, or if time runs out, take some time to look back on the experience. Be sure to ask questions, such as what the team’s strategy was to solve it and who did what part of the activity. You can also ask them why they made certain decisions and if there were unique strengths or perspectives from each participant. These are the conversations that will help team members see the value in each other.
Count to 20
This is another simple activity and something you can do if you have just a few minutes to spare. For this team building activity, get everyone to sit in a circle. You can start, or have someone else start, by saying a number, at any time. The goal of this game is to count from one all the way to 20. However, if two people say a number, the count will start over at the same time. With this activity, team members must remain mindful of one another and work together, with minimal communication, to reach the goal.
Create a Compliment Circle
There are a few different ways you can engage in this activity. The goal is to have your team express their appreciation for each other.
One example would be to spend five minutes getting team members to say something nice about each other. This can be anything that comes to mind. Another option is to have each person address the person to their right, which gives everyone a chance to feel good.
Plan a Brainstorming Session
Team building activities can be strictly focused on work. In some situations, these are the best types of activities. However, the key to ensuring these brainstorming sessions encourage meeting team goals is to make this clear. It would help if you did this by using an idea board and talking about doing things better in the future. Make sure that everyone has a voice and that their voice is heard for the best results.
Schedule a “Show and Tell”
With this activity, you can get people on your team to brag, at least a little, about something they have accomplished. You can also encourage them to remain updated with what everyone else has been working on. Try to schedule one of these weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, depending on your business and how much time you have for team building activities.
Share Your Personality
A personality test can be quite revealing. Get everyone on the team to fill out one of these and then sit down with each other to discuss the results. You can use this activity to help team members understand what makes others tick or what works for them and may not work for others. You can even try grouping people with similar personalities together and having them talk about how their traits come out at work.
If you want to improve your work environment, there is no question that team building activities can be a great way to do this. With the tips and information here, you have a few great ideas to try and ways to help ensure your team is on the same page. When your team knows one another and understands another person’s personality, they will be able to work together much better than if they had never participated in these activities.
