Archive for the ‘Management Articles For Managers’ Category
One of the best ways to build a good team spirit is to organize team building activities. As lame as that may sound and unless you have ever participated in any, they actually do work. As managers, sometimes one of the hardest tasks that we have is to create an up building team environment. Team building activities or exercises as some prefer to call them, are one of the easiest and quickest ways to do this. Properly applied, these can build strong interpersonal relationships and help a team bond closer together.
One company I worked for many years ago had a managers conference once a year held at a resort somewhere on the sunny Gold Coast In Queensland Australia.  It was three to four days away from the work environment where we had all sorts of team building activities, team building exercises, forums, informational seminars as well as the usual company hoo ha about how much better we are than our competitors. At the end of it all, on the last night usually, they threw a big ball with a fancy dress theme each year. After the four days with all the teamwork activities nearly every day, we all went home feeling great, relaxed and eager to get back into the job with renewed enthusiasm. I learned things about people I worked with everyday that I didn’t even know which helped me be more tolerant and patient with them. This was all because of the team building activities that we did as well as the relaxed atmosphere over lunch and dinner. By the end of it, we all wanted to work like a team and make things better at when we got back to work. The thing is though, if you are going to undertake any form of teamwork activities, you should try and make them as regular as possible without becoming a total bore or a chore for your staff.
Some of the simple team building exercises that we did ranged from things like obstacle courses where the stronger ones were encouraged to help get their team mates through the course. It made us think like a unit and not as 10 or 20 individuals. There were problem solving activities where you had to solve puzzles as a team and work out the clues to get to the prize. There were sessions where it was like a giant think tank and everyone had to contribute an idea or two on how to make something better in the company. There are truck loads of team building activities out there that you could try with your team. For a couple of websites to get you started go to wilderdom.com and businessballs.com.
Team  building activities should not confuse team members . This often happens when the facilitator isn’t familiar with the activity or he doesn’t have the necessary skills to pull it off. When in doubt, get a professional in. The last thing you want to do is to embarrass one of your team members because of a badly thought out team building activity.
Using team building activities can be a fun way to develop a strong teamwork environment. It’s just one way off course but while they can be a fun thing to do, they also serve a useful purpose. If you are having trouble with your staffs morale for whatever reason, try out some teamwork activities and see what a difference they can make in your team.
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