Posts for tag: Team Building

Making Virtual Teams Work

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, when teams had to adapt and move towards online working and working from home, this type of working has become the norm. Over the past 5 or so years, an increasing number of teams are made up of team members who don’t sit in the same office, town or even continent.

These could be project teams, virtual shared service centres or a field sales force.  There’s no doubt that, like conventional teams, the whole team can be greater than the sum of its parts.  For these remote or virtual teams to be effective, there are some critical points that they must address.

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Free Team Building Activity: Spaghetti Tower

This team building task gets teams thinking creatively, communicating and planning.

Overview: What is the spaghetti tower game?

Small teams are asked to build the tallest, most cost-effective, free-standing tower using a packet of dried spaghetti and a packet of jelly babies within the set time limit.   

Key themes: Teamwork,  Creative, thinking.
Participants: 6 – 50
Timing: 15 – 30 minutes…

The History of Team Building

The theories behind team building could be much older than originally thought.  In fact, Plato may have been the first-ever team-building expert!

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What is the difference between Team Building and Team Development?

Both team building and team development are important for business development, but people often use the two interchangeably. Keep reading to understand the differences and a few examples.

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A day in the life of an event manager

From protecting the event equipment from monkeys to facilitating a team-building programme for 140 managers, event management can require a lot of different skills. Here we share an example of what a day in the life of an event manager might look like, based on an event we ran in the Caribbean a few years ago.

Getting to the Caribbean

Trying to explain to the curious staff at the Virgin check-in desk quite why we needed two aluminium pyramids, 65 hoola-hoops and 140 white baseball caps was the easy part… Managing to make 200 lengths of rope, 35 pencil cases, staff uniforms, assorted event equipment and a bundle of paperwork meet the strict baggage restrictions was not so easy.

The look on the honeymooners’  and holiday makers’  faces as we struggled across the terminal with our  peculiar luggage was priceless at 5am in the morning. Little did we know what lay ahead; we faced a 9 hour flight sitting with the Barmy Army England cricket supporters also on their way to the Caribbean. Let’s just say we got no sleep whatsoever!…

Does “team building” work?

This is a common question people ask, and some are sceptical of the positive impacts of team building days and events. The impacts of a team day will depend very much on what the activity is, and it is important to remember that team building isn’t just about getting the team together.

Examples of bad team building scenarios

Paintballing

For example, sales executive Paul Garvey claimed that the most insightful team-building exercise he ever participated in involved paintball, which in no way helped to resolve the relationship issues back at the office. Speaking of his former company, he said that colleagues would poach each other’s deals while their manager played favourites. Someone decided a paintball exercise would help. It didn’t, and merely reinforced the divisions and favouritism already present.

Role playing

Another instance of completely inappropriate team building involved the team from a contractor on an Apollo space project. They were asked by their HR department to participate in a role-playing exercise where they had to return safely from the North Pole. Their day-to-day job involved helping astronauts return safely from space. What additional insights into teamwork did HR think this role play could teach them?…

Enjoy The Great Outdoors this Spring

Spring is well and truly upon us, with the sunnier and warmer days making their way in, now is the perfect time to take advantage of outdoor team building activities. There are plenty of benefits to being in the great outdoors too…

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The 5 Ps of Team Away Days

The season for team away days is nearly upon us. Here are a few tips to ensure your next day out of the office is a success….

4 Ways to Make Zoom Calls More Engaging

Zoom calls can be tiring, and we have all had plenty of them over the past year and a bit. Whilst they can drag on, they are incredibly useful and if used correctly can increase camaraderie within a team and increase the overall quality of communication.

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How changing your routine can re-energise you

Always eat the same food?  Go to the same shop? – why not renergise yourself by doing it differently ….

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