A team is a group of people organized to work together to achieve a goal or objective. Teamwork is when members of a group work together to reach their objectives quickly and effectively. Team members can openly share their ideas, work together, and overcome any obstacle. Many things can make teamwork more efficient, one of which is team-building activities.
What are team-building activities?
Team building is the practice of creating cohesion within a group of individuals through various methods to achieve a common goal and mutual support.
Team building activities are methods of bringing people to cooperate through team-oriented effort that requires participants to work together on a specific task in order to achieve a goal.
What is the purpose of team-building activities?
Team members can focus on their strengths rather than the weaknesses that sometimes prevent a team from functioning at its highest level.
They can learn to appreciate their colleagues’ differences and diversity which helps them work more harmoniously together and solve problems quickly and efficiently.
Also, increase confidence in one another so that individuals feel comfortable speaking their minds and being honest with their thoughts without fear of ridicule or reprisal from other team members.
Why are team-building activities important?
Team building activities improve team productivity, communication, and morale. When people come from different backgrounds and have different skills, it can be difficult for them to work together effectively.
But team-building activities allow team members to learn about each other in a simple but fun and relaxed environment. They also create a sense of understanding and trust among team members and help the team achieve its goals.
What activities are good for team building?
Team-building can be done with any activity. There can be simple team-building activities at work that last for a few minutes or more complex that take a full day.
The important thing is that the activities should be fun and challenging, it should allow team members to get to know each other better, and there must be a common goal.
Here are 17 examples of team-building activities:
1. Assign everyone a creative task
Examples of team-building activities at work include giving everyone a creative task to complete. For example, create a caricature of another team member, design a logo, write a team theme song, a short drama skit and compile the best submissions into a video presentation for the team.
This activity can be individual or group-based and can include prizes for the best contributions.
The goal is to inspire everyone in the group and encourage creativity. It also helps team members learn more about each other’s personalities and talents.
2. Hold an open discussion about personalities in a team
Hold a discussion on different types of personalities in the workplace, such as introvert vs extrovert, to encourage everyone to know how other people around them function and behave (15 minutes).
It can be challenging to work with people who have different personalities in the team. So, being aware of them and learning how to work with them in the most effective way possible is crucial for team success.
Read also: 12 Examples of Resilience at Work
3. Everyone says their work environment
Go around the table and ask each person what they think of an ideal work environment. It could be in terms of the people they work with, the type of work they do, or the company culture (15 minutes).
Give some background on your ideal work environment. But you don’t want to influence their answers. Once they start sharing their preferences, write down the ones that overlap, and it’s time to start creating it.
It involves some compromise from everyone, but it will be worth it in the end. It will help you understand each team member better and learn how to work with them most effectively.
4. Organise a team problem-solving meeting
Have a weekly team problem-solving meeting where each person takes turns giving their opinion on solving one issue the team is facing. For example, what you need to do to increase sales or create better incentives for people to work well together.
It builds communication skills among team members and encourages everyone’s input in resolving issues.
5. Get team members to brainstorm
Get your team to brainstorm a new company policy or procedure that could be put into place, for example, creating a remote work policy or instituting flexible working time.
While brainstorming, make sure everyone works together collaboratively and brings the best ideas. This allows your team to work well together and create solutions to problems or challenges that you may be facing.
6. Get team members to share their success
Ask everyone to stand up if they have successfully resolved an issue on their own at least once within the past week, and let them share what they did to make it successful.
What you are looking for are solutions that can be repeated and will work for the majority of your team. This is a great way to get everyone on board with resolving issues.
Read more: 11 Good Examples of Showing Initiative at Work
7. Assign leadership roles to team members
Give your team members leadership roles, like picking a team leader or setting up different committees for specific tasks like putting out fires or creating company-wide events that bring people closer together.
In doing this, you want to ensure that people take ownership of their work and feel like they have a sense of control over their destiny. The overall goal is to help your team members grow into leaders.
8. Assign a mentor for every team member
Assign a mentor for every person on the team, so they can get to know and learn from someone else in a low-pressure situation.
You want each person to have someone at work who’s been where your team members are now, knows the ropes, and can help each person grow their skills and career in an environment that feels safe.
9. List the strengths of each team member
Make a list of all the team’s strengths and post it in a conspicuous place so everyone can see it and be proud of their contributions.
The goal is to encourage people to think of themselves as a team and not just a group of individuals.
People usually work well in a team when they know their strengths. They feel a sense of ownership and belonging, so make sure they all know their collective strengths.
10. Get everyone to write what they like about each other
Have everyone anonymously write down one thing they like about each other on slips of paper, then put them into a jar.
Read them loudly at a team meeting or when everyone is gathered together in a social setting. It helps team members know each other on a more personal level and build stronger friendships.
11. Tell jokes about each other
Take turns telling your favorite joke to each other one at a time until everyone has had their turn and everyone is laughing. The purpose of the activity is to get people learning about and becoming more comfortable with each other.
Also read: 29 Tips on Self Improvement and Motivation
12. Use funny pictures to lift morale
Find a funny picture of something, print it out on a sheet of paper, and tape it up in a place everyone can see it.
Explain that someone is assigned to change the picture every day or week, and explain what happens when there’s nothing funny to put up. The goal is to keep everyone’s spirits high.
13. Come up with affirmations
Come up with a list of simple one-sentence positive affirmations for each team member that they can post in their cubicle, such as “I am kind,” “I am creative,” or “I take responsibility” or “I am a valuable team member.”
To make it even more effective, when something nice happens, text each other simple affirmations like “Well done,” “I appreciate your hard work,” or simply add smiley faces. It will keep everyone on your team feeling positive.
14. Create an awareness board
Create an awareness board that explains mindfulness and how it can reduce fatigue. Post the steps of mindfulness practice so team members can go through them while at work or in the break room. For example, put up some “mindful moments” quotes to help people get through their day.
15. Get team members share their goals
At your next meeting, ask team members to share their goals and aspirations with the rest of the team. With a simple show of hands, have everyone vote on which goal they would most immediately like to see the team help that person achieve.
This is not to dismiss others’ goals but simply to put the team’s support and resources behind the goal that garners the most excitement.
In the end, everyone on the team will feel like they own the goal and will do their part in helping the individual achieve it.
16. Arrange an art contest
Have an art contest with employees submitting drawings, paintings, or photographs. Allow them to be creative within certain parameters, such as they can only use crayons or pens, have to have the company logo somewhere in it, etc.
Have voting for favorite entries and give an award. The goal is for employees to feel appreciated and have some fun.
Read also: 23 Characteristics of a Good Boss
17. Take pictures of people in the office
Take some pictures of people around the office and put them up on walls with captions about what they were thinking when you took the picture.
For example, someone looking at their phone with a confused look on their face could be captioned “when you forget to charge your phone and it dies” or “when you’re stuck in a meeting with no escape.”
This is a fun way to show off the personalities of your employees and make them feel like they’re part of something.
Conclusion
There are many fun and easy ways to build a team and improve morale. These are just a few ideas you might want to consider if your team is struggling.
Implementing some or all of these ideas can help to improve teamwork and make your team more productive and happier.
One thing you should remember is when it comes to building a successful team, there are no hard-and-fast rules.
You must always be willing to experiment and try new ideas. If you do this, your team will become stronger every day, and so will your company.