Teambuilding Tuesday

Hello there! Joe here again and it’s time for what I’m going to call “Teamwork Tuesday.” Last week I talked about the importance of teamwork and gave some defining characteristics. And while that’s all important, the most important facet of teambuilding is the facilitator. The individual leading the activities and discussions must have an understanding of how newly formed and existing groups tend to operate.

No matter what age or level of group that a facilitator is working with, the basic teambuilding outline or sequence, is the same. You always start with the “icebreakers.” This is done to introduce the group to each other and get them making connections with other people. Depending on the group, this can be activities such as name games, simple fun tag games, etc.

Stage 2 is what’s called “deinhibitizer” activities. These are activities where participants are asked to play outrageous and crazy games that make group members act goofy or silly in front of the entire group to get everyone comfortable with each other and not afraid to fully participate no matter what the task.

Stage 3 is the all important “initiative” phase where groups are presented with situations and problems that they must figure out together. From passing a tin can filled with water around a circle with nothing but the use of feet to making a square with an extremely long rope while blindfolded, initiatives are the meat of teambuilding. They are what get the group thinking about and using all of the defining characteristics of teambuilding.

The 4th stage of teambuilding is, of course, the challenge course elements. Here groups are put to the test and must effectively use all of the skills that they have been building to get to this point.

This sequence is recognized by most all facilitators in the teambuilding world and cannot be skirted around. If a facilitator does activities in an order that differs from the one presented, disaster can in sue within the group. Presenting the group with an initiative or problem that they are not ready for will result in the group breaking down instead of becoming more functional. So, all of you readers out there in cyberland who have been trying to get groups to work together, keep these things in mind and use them next time. And to start you off, here’s a fun name game.

Nametag Swap

Have the group decide on two or three questions that they would like to know about each other. The questions can be simple or outrageous and funny, depending on the group. Each participant will meet and ask different members of the group these questions. Once they have asked the questions to a particular person, they will swap nametags and become that person, therefore their responses to the questions will be those of the person whose nametag they have on. This part of the game continues for about five minutes, or until everyone has met each other. The group then sits in a circle and each person stands up and introduces themselves (as the person whose nametag they have on) to the rest of the group. The person whose nametag it is says whether or not the facts are correct and then they introduce themselves as the person whose nametag they have on, and so on. Ensure that all nametags are returned to the correct person and it’s fun to then test people on how well they know names.

Enjoy the day...