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Planning a Team Building Event

Written by on April 1, 2011 · Leave a Comment

When selecting a team building service provider for your organization, it is important to know what you are expecting to get out of the activity. If you know your goals going into the program, you are more likely to make the right choice in who you contract with for the event and what type of activities you plan for your team.

Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself prior to booking your provider:

  • What is the main purpose for the event? Is this a recreational day out of the office, with a general goal of fun and camaraderie – or is this a purpose-driven foray into the dynamics of your group, with a goal of increased productivity, enhanced communication, and foundational trust?
  • What is the time-frame for your event? Is this a one-off, one-to-six-hour event – or are you seeking long-term, multi-day programming?
  • Who are the key players? Which team members are being included in this program – and is there anything significant we should know about them prior to the event?
  • Where will the team builder be held? Is this an on-site, meeting-room program – or did you want to move to an off-site location, such as a conference center, park, or other team building facility?
  • What is your budget? Typical team building programs can run from $55 per person for a recreational team building event, to upwards of $1,000 per person for a high-end multi-day team development program.

If you know the answers to these questions prior to beginning your search, it is more likely that you will find a good fit for your team building service provider. Once you have narrowed down the field a little, you will be off to a good start!

Learn more about Team Building…

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Traditional Facilitated Team Development vs Do It Yourself Teambuilding

Written by on March 12, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Traditional Team Building vs Team Building DIY

Let’s face it – not every group is looking for a deep and penetrating reworking of their team dynamics. Not everyone wants to learn how to trust their co-workers on a deeper and richer level. Sometimes, you want to simply have some fun, in a novel setting, with people who you normally only see in meetings, at lunch, or at the occasional holiday office party.

Major differences between “Traditional” teambuilding and “Do It Yourself” teambuilding:

Traditional Teambuilding
Facilitated Teambuilding events are appropriate for the group that is interested in team development and performance.

  • Focused on goals such as: improving cohesion, building trust, achieving participant buy-in, and more.
  • Facilitator-led: trainer will set-up the activity, sequence appropriately, and generally follow up with a debrief to relate the experience back to the goals of the group.
  • Sequenced: generally starts with a getting-to-know you exercise, fun warm-up games, problem-solving activities, and trust builders.
  • Best with follow-up: groups retain lasting benefit when teambuilding is an ongoing process and experiences are built upon in follow-up discussion or experiences.

For groups who have definite goals, a more flexible budget, at least four to six hours of time, plenty of space, and a desire for improved communication and commitment.

“Do it Yourself” Teambuilding
Self-Led Rotational Teambuilding is appropriate for the group that desires the short-term benefits of a traditional teambuilding experience, with a less intense recreational-style of event.

  • Can be themed events, or geared toward ‘friendly-competition.’
  • Require less facilitation, which translates to less expense.
  • Can be set up on-site or off-site, depending on the needs of the group.
  • Emphasize healthy risk-taking with very little actual risk.
  • Can be of any duration – from one hour to all day.
  • Provide an excellent “energizer” with minimal commitment from participants.
  • Focus on fun rather than specific goals.
  • And more…

Self-Led Rotational Teambuilding provides a high-energy alternative for groups interested in having fun, getting to know one another in a new way, sharing a challenging activity, and still learning about working together as a team.

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Adventure Challenge on The National Mall

Written by on June 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Last week we had the good fortune to run an Adventure Challenge – a self-led, rotational-style of team building event – for a DC not-for-profit.  The Charles G Koch Foundation (a charitable foundation whose mission is international development through societal prosperity initiatives) asked us to provide a recreational team building event that would create unity, enhance communication, and improve interactions between the new and older members of their staff.  This event has become a yearly tradition, and the group always has a good time.

Although we normally run their program at Rock Creek Park, this year, the client asked us to come down to the National Mall and set things up.  And, with the backdrop of the Washington Monument in the distance, this event turned out to be a great success!

cgkadventurechallenge1 Adventure Challenge on The National Mall

The Final Challenge - Spot Traverse Relay

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Teamwork vs Teamplay

Written by on January 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Planning for an Effective Team Building Event

When planning for a team building event, it is extremely important to know what your goals are.  Is the program meant to be a stand-alone team energizer, or does your group have serious goals and critical outcomes?  Is the goal teamwork or teamplay?

Yesterday I ran a short team building event for 90 members of a local sorority.  The event was part of their yearly kick-off, and the group had a great time with the activities.  The sisters had broad goals of ‘getting to know one another better,’ ‘working as a team,’ and ‘having fun.’  In addition, they had an extremely small budget ($10 per person), very little time (2 hours), and very limited space (one room – 25×43 feet).  And yet, when the program was over, many of the girls remarked that “it was one of the best events they had ever held,” and “so much fun!”

So how did they do it?  Planning, planning, planning!

The limitations placed on us in planning this event actually freed us to tailor an event that met their needs and would be useful for similar groups.  The outcome is the evolving Mini-Challenge – a self-led rotational team building program.  Here is how we did it:

Pre-planning:

  • Made sure the client knew this is ‘just for fun’ and would not be a facilitator-driven team development program.
  • Presented descriptions for a large number of participatory team activities that are less-intense (emotional safety), less-risky (physical safety) and easily adaptable for the particular group.  The client selected 2 or 3 activities that she thought would be a good fit for her participants.
  • Mapped out the space in which to place the equipment for each activity, and presented this to aid the client in setting up the room.
  • Typed up and edited an instruction booklet that provided detailed instructions for how to play each activity
  • Provided the necessary equipment for each activity, plus additional activities in the event that a group moved quickly through the events.
  • Had the client assign small teams, each with their own ‘team leader.’
  • Got buy-in from the ‘team leaders’ in order to have them run the activities for their small teams.

On the day of the event:

  • Provided one facilitator to setup, train the team leaders and disassemble the equipment.
  • Setup the room, according to the map that was created for the team leaders.
  • Trained the team leaders, allowing them to briefly participate in order to gain a complete understanding of each activity.
  • Read through the instruction booklets and answered any questions or clarified any details.
  • The facilitator kicked-off the event with a warm-up exercise and a quick description of the program.
  • Made sure that everything was running smoothly, shot video and pictures for the clients, and ended the event with a final large group challenge.
  • Broke down equipment and cleared the room.

Voila!  The group had an excellent time, lots of fun, lots of leadership, and renewed enthusiasm for their sorority and its members.

For groups whose goal is simply to have fun in a participatory team event, a self-led rotational teambuilding program gives you a huge return on your investment.

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