Team Building

Team-Building

Team building can be tricky for a number of reasons. There certainly is a plethora of information out there on the World Wide Web. A lot of information is free and relevant. Also understand that a large number of activities can be cliché and overrated. When planning, one of the biggest components will be: “Know your crowd.”

Everything you do will not appeal to your entire audience or every participant but you can gear your activities to appeal to most of the members. Know your goals for the meeting, day, month, and year. What are you trying to accomplish? For the most part, it’s probably trust and collegiality.

If at all possible, when you are planning for your entire team or department or leadership group, take them offsite to bond. When they are at your main campus, hundreds of distractions can and will occur. However, have a backup plan. Keep notes about what worked and fine-tune the process.

Try to start a new beginning with team-building. For instance, we start our new year with a staffulty field trip. We usually announce our new theme and service learning platform then dig right in. We go to an offsite park or have a scavenger hunt or go to a place of service. Food is always good, and you don’t need a hefty budget.

This year, we had inclement weather so we had to do everything onsite but we kept it moving. The guest speaker we scheduled couldn’t make it either, Murphy’s Law.

First, we introduced our new theme School Rocks! Then we Skyped in our guest speaker to announce our service learning: renewable energy. Then we had a short meeting to do some housekeeping and raise our level of inspiration.  Each year we create an inspirational video to jump start our theme and year. We include as many pictures of our building and people that we can find. We included new songs and we tied it to the Olympics that just ended.

It was easy to find inspiration in some of the Olympic pictures and connect to hard work, commitment, whatever it takes. Then we can get a little goofy with some of our people to have fun.

By now, we are ready to eat. So that’s what we do. Everyone brought in a covered dish and we barbequed chicken and pork. Be sensitive to any allergies or beliefs. We let people know in advance what we are making. It was nice to communicate on a level that didn’t involve any work related jargon. The room was filled with laughter and merriment.

Next up we divided our group into different “rock groups.” Each participant got a “backstage pass” with a number on the back; the number designated your group. The first task was to come up with a name for your group. Trust me, it was hilarious.

Now we had teams for our competition/team-building. We had a big dry erase board in the front of the room to keep score. The first task was to name your “rock group.” It was hilarious and interesting as each group sent a representative on stage to announce the names.

The next task was to brainstorm ideas for our service project. The teams wrote the ideas on big paper and taped it to the wall. We put a time limit on this to keep it moving. After time was called, each group read their ideas.

We then moved to the gymnasium. We had music set up to greet everyone. First up was the “Rock Star Relay.” Each group (band) competed against each other dressing up, running 9or walking fast) to midcourt then tagging the next person to do the same. There were many photo opportunities during this one.

We finished the competition with “Name that Tune.” We had several categories. Each team had a representative. The facilitator played a tune until someone guessed it. (I did very well for my group).

We went back to the auditorium and tallied the points. Our closing ceremony was complete with a medal ceremony and the national anthem. We debriefed and ties everything together. It’s funny how some people remembered working in a place that wasn’t fun. Granted, I can guarantee you that some people were not as enthusiastic as I was, but for the most part, everyone felt appreciated, connected, and inspired!

There are many approaches you can take to meetings and gatherings. Some approaches need to be direct and the information may not be fun material. However, we strive to create a place where everyone wants to be. Flexibility played a big part in our day but we were prepared. It worked.