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"You can learn more about a person in an hour of play
than you can in a lifetime of conversation." - Plato
A management team in a healthcare facility was completing
a 6 month review. The results were astounding with a 78% increase
in performance, on schedule accomplishment of business initiatives
and a 30% improvement of team relationships. Great success,
and yet, there was "dead energy" in the room.
Needless to say, they did not have a habit of celebrating.
They would finish one project and move right onto the next
without any acknowledgement of their accomplishment. Also,
the managers on this team only knew each other professionally.
They only talked with one another when they had an issue to
discuss that involved the expertise of the other team member.
They didn’t know each other’s interests, backgrounds, concerns,
hobbies or what made them laugh.
While performance execution and Interaction Agreements were
great for improving their effectiveness and relationships,
it was necessary for this team to develop "team spirit" if
it was going to move to a higher level of excellence. This
is where experiential team building is invaluable.
Strong teams take the time to get to know their players. When
they build a personal level of trust in addition to the one
that comes from keeping agreements, they open themselves up
to leveraging each other’s strengths and abilities. They
support each other more effectively through change efforts.
They can recover faster. By knowing and trusting each other,
they can function effectively when there is a crisis.
While getting together socially is important for building
this kind of trust, experiential team building facilitated
by someone objective – outside of the group – provides
an accelerated means for a group to get to know one another,
learn from each other, surface the hidden talents within the
team, and surface hidden conflicts or breakdowns that can
sabotage success. Experiential teambuilding facilitates perspective
on managing conflict, overcoming power struggles, clarifying
roles, and developing effective communication strategies.
While some regard experiential team building as a "feel
good" session, it can be the tool that assists a team
in breaking down territorialism and silos, improving performance
execution, and increasing team morale. Most importantly, successful
experiential team building creates a "team spirit"
where people are not just supporting each other because it’s
their job, but because they genuinely care about each person
on the team and their success.
Case Study : Minimizing the "Lone Ranger"
mentality that results in silos to enhancing team member collaboration
that improves overall performance.
A marketing group at a Fortune 500 biotech company had a history
of building "turfs" that resulted in duplication
of effort, missed opportunities and low morale based on in-fighting.
While they were a very smart and experienced group of professionals,
their performance results were low due to their "Lone
Ranger" mentality. The manager of this splintered group
invested one day at an offsite to bring them together as a
team. An experiential team building approach was used even
though many of the team members scoffed at the idea.
Impaq customized a set of experiential activities including
"Group Juggle" to look at improving communications
and reducing blame, and "Win That Account" to explore
team decision making, creative solution seeking, and team
effectiveness. Each experience, built from the last one, acted
as the "mirror" for this group to experience themselves
like never before. They gained insights about their dysfunctional
behavior and experienced a new way of functioning where they
could accomplish their goals by working together. They not
only learned the benefit of collaboration, but also learned
about each team member’s hidden talents that could translate
into higher performance as a department.
They concluded the session with clear commitments of how they
were going to work differently together, a new set of Interaction
Agreements and systems for holding each other accountable
in a safe manner. They gained a higher level of trust for
one another and the group left the offsite with a desire to
support each other’s success as well as a higher level
of success for the department.
Suggested Activities for Building Team Spirit
While experiential team building should be facilitated by
someone experienced in group dynamics and coaching, there
are some activities that you can do to increase the "team
spirit" on your team.
- Take time each month at one of your meetings to:
- Acknowledge recent successes and express thanks
to those who helped
- Have a social hour after the meeting
- Identify team members who are dealing with issues
(personal or work-related) that could use support from
others on the team.
- The Once a Quarter Social at a Team Member’s House
Sponsored by one team member, it can be a potluck
approach where everyone on the team shares in the experience.
- Visit Another Manager’s Team Meeting
You can meet others in your organization and gain perspective on
the challenges facing departments that you interface with but don’t understand.
- The Quarterly/Monthly Team Building Activity
Once a month, two team members (on a rotating basis) plan
an activity where the team members can get to know each other
in a fun and creative way.
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