Every business needs to improve its collaboration so that activities and projects get done, while objectives are met.

‍

Rarely do businesses have single contributors that don’t interact or collaborate with someone else in the business. By improving collaboration skills, businesses, teams, and organizations can be more productive and more profitable.

One of the easiest ways to improve collaboration is team-building activities. 

You may be rolling your eyes and putting your head down because you’ve heard it all before. Admittedly - a lot of people hate team-building activities and icebreakers.

They think it’s a distraction from work and that they are a waste of time. Some even feel like they don’t want to be “forced to make friends” and want to keep professional relationships distant from their own interests.

But the research is there - these activities do help improve team dynamics and workplace culture. 

In this video, I will explain the key benefits of team-building that you should know and share with your team. 

‍

How to Make Team-Building Activities Effective

1. Center activities around teams that work together or interact constantly- while company-wide activities can have their benefits and are great for smaller companies, they can have less impactful results than having a focus on specific groups. For example, if you have a marketing and sales team, ideally, there should be some cohesion and consistency between the two because they will have to work together. 
2. Give the option to not participate - these activities can only be effective if they’re voluntary. 

‍

Fun Team-Building Activities that Your Employees Will Not Hate You For

‍

I’ve seen some really interesting team-building activities that can really turn the idea on its head. 

1. Axe Throwing 

• It's a fun way to get to know coworkers outside of the office. If you've ever wanted to get to someone better, just put an axe in their hands and tell them to throw it.
• It's available year-round. ...
• It helps to relieve the stress of work. ...
• You build teams and work together. (kickaxe.com)

2. Escape Room

“Everyone’s doing them these days, and it’s no wonder why: Trying to escape when you’re “trapped” in a room with people (in a set time period) is a team effort. If you live in a city that offers them (some options here and here), you can find an assortment of escape-the-room challenges, including a submarine, jail cell, or even an office (how ironic!). Per person it may cost you around $30, the same price of say, taking your team bowling or paying for a few drinks at happy hour.” (themuse.com)

3. Shark Tank

If you’re familiar with the show, “Shark Tank,” you know that this a pitch session in which a person brings their idea to a group of investors and presents their product hoping to receive funding from one of the “sharks”

Bring this to the office by nominating a few employees to be the investor sharks and having the rest of the team come prepared with a brilliant idea that will accomplish something positive along with supporting materials for their presentations such as PowerPoint, diagrams, and mock examples. But the great thing about this is you can customize it to your own company. This can be something where it’s a big event that employees have a week to come up with their project or presentation. Or, it the team can have 30 minutes to think of their idea before presenting.

Either way, this will help with Creative thinking, communication, strategic thinking, and listening and is sure to bring lots of laughs and encouragement.

Connect with Your Team on a Personal Level

If you want to know more about how to lead your team, schedule a complimentary business strategy session with us. During that time, we can talk about DISC profile tests and leadership training opportunities.

‍