If you’re taking your team to a different location for a brainstorm, team building, for an event with clients or simply for a relaxing break to congratulate them on a hard year’s work, then it can be really tricky to decide what you should do. There are loads of options – boat rides, go-karting, oversized board games…but these all seem drab and predictable when one has been working in the corporate world for considerable time.
The thing that a lot of employers can forget is that people behave very differently around their colleagues than they do with their friends or family. If you put a group of individuals in a situation where they have to build something, find something, work something out or generally stick to a schedule or task set by more authoritative hands, they will naturally conform and act in the way they think they’re supposed to act. This actually achieves very poor results in the way of team bonding, enjoyment of the experience, or the revelation of true characters.
If you’re trying to coax your peoples’ real personalities out, it’s actually best to avoid structured team building altogether. It’s a lot more constructive to let a community grow out of sharing personal experiences, talking openly about life, and doing all this in a zero-pressure environment that poses no threat to their stature within the company.
Typically, team leaders will be assigned team leader roles while on training days and team building sessions, but this actually creates a real divide between those in supervisory roles and the people who follow their orders. If your team is comfortable enough to share their true selves with their leader and really get to know them with no fear or pretense, you will find that a more sympathetic and therefore healthier working environment will unfold. This means that leaders are assigning the appropriate jobs to the appropriate people, simply because they have a heightened awareness of what each worker will bring to the project. After all, countless friendships and relationships develop in the workplace – but you don’t get far just seeing each other in working hours. It’s about letting your hair down and enjoying yourself with someone/people you feel comfortable with.
For example. Maxine is rubbish at maths. She knows she’s rubbish at maths, but of course, has no wish whatsoever to admit to her boss that she requires a calculator for any and all arithmetic. Robert, however, possesses a wonderful mathematical mind – but doesn’t like to brag about it. Since both their working results come out the same, their leader doesn’t question the difference in their ability or realise that one sum has been typed into a keypad while the other has been quickly calculated in the mind. It’s a question that could have been answered casually over a nice cold pint, away from work, with no threat to Maxine or awkwardness for Robert.
For your next bonding session, try simply booking a table in a restaurant, reserving an informal pub function room, or if cash is an issue, why not simply arrange a picnic on your local green? The point is that you will experience increased productivity, focus and enjoyment from your team if you simply cast roles and ranks aside for a few hours, and treat them to a fun and sociable evening.
By all means throw in some casual games and challenges to help you see their true selves – but always be careful to remove your team from their conventional working environment, and make their experience as human-orientated as possible. This way, you’ll really get to know the people you’re working with. The robotic nature of the corporate world can often lead to people having little to no job satisfaction, and it’s much easier to make informed decisions on a colleague’s assignments and progress when you know a little more about their home life, hobbies, loves and losses.
Call Best Venues London for suggestions on affordable and unusual team building venues, restaurants with package deals near you, or suggestions on outings and adventures that are certain to excite your team and allow them to display their true colours in a relaxed environment.
