In an earlier post I wondered what is on your ‘Will Not Do’ list of teambuilding activities.
Now I’m wondering what is on your ‘Go-To’ list. Meaning when things are not working or you feel nervous or something that almost always works or a simulation you are able to process and apply the activity to the lessons and objectives – that you use.
I asked this question on my FaceBook page and below are some responses:
- Jim Hooper of 4-H Camp Bristol Hills – Group Juggle for its ability to fit into so many themes and lessons
- Justin McGlamery – Bull Ring and the many variations on the theme
- Jon Gillan – High Five Buddy good for large groups as an opening
- Nathan Williams – Blind Fold Polygon or Helium Stick
- Billy Kirsh KidBilly Music – Team Building Through Song
- Anne Thornley-Brown Executive Oasis International – Visexecutaries: Seizing Opportunities in our Turbulent Economy
The responses above are good and below are some of my go-to’s for team building and leadership activities in no particular order:
- Bright :: Blurry :: Blind – for staff communication
- MindSpin – Brainstorming and problem solving
- Social Network UN_Plugged – as an opening activity to find commonalities and connections
- Coriolis Affect – with certain teams this can work well depending on how you facilitate it
- I2U2ME2WE – for the beginning to learn about others and frame the days content, or at the end to see what was learned and how it can be applied
- Gotchya! – the variety is fun
- Zoom – used for planning, team building, communication
- Cycle Time Puzzle – used with process improvement and high performance team programs
- Putting it all Together – application of communication and working towards a shared goal
- Cutting Edge of Team work – used for progression from individual to team to organization
- Anything with Mouse Traps – great way to develop coaching, management, trust, reinforcement of roles
- Infinite Loops – I like it so much that I created 8 Variations and wrote a book about it!
- Metaphor / Image Cards – so many uses and connection to content
- Change Up – easy and quick with a focus on change and resources allocation vs. people placement
- Hoopdom – I know hula-hoops can weird people out BUT when they see that the hoops are used in a unique and unexpected day, people enjoy them
Of course what makes TeamBuilding activities useful is their application to the team and content that is being covered. I’m finding myself using more flip-chart and discussion based activities as opposed to prop based activities.
With some teams team building activities are useless and that is why you need to find the right team building facilitator who has the skills, knowledge, and ability to add value to your team…knowing what works and what is right for the team takes an expert.
What do you think?
What is on your go-to list for team building? How do you make the activity work?