Here’s to those who have emailed me asking for free team building ideas and activities. You were right. I am one of the few people happy to share what I know. Unfortunately, it still took a lot of time, as I was rather busy of late.
Firstly, understand that team building is not a construction project. You can’t really “build” a team. What you can do, is design something that takes them through an experience together, and then help them see how it impacted them, and what going through it together means, and how they can go ahead from there. It is going to defeat the entire use of these suggestions if you are going to “prescribe” that they work closely as a team (because you benifit from that). You wouldn’t like being asked to be intimate with people because someone else thought it was what you should do. Unlikely that they will have a different way of looking at it too.
So, warnings taken care of, what I am sharing below, are more of ideas or flows than exact activities. Feel free to alter/adapt them, add equipment, etc. These are related with processes of a group opening up. I’ll probably write more for different objectives later.
Performance Anxiety
One quite common situation I find with teams is a hesitation to speak up where staying shut seems safer than risking saying something “wrong” or “inappropriate”. Logically, everyone understands that nothing risked, nothing gained, yet feeling that way is not easy, so no actual action happens. What I do in such situations, is create a low risk and totally non-judgmental environment which is slightly exaggerated, so that it doesn’t hold any association with evaluation. This creates an opportunity for everyone to fool around together, and experience that it can be okay to do it. One way I do this sometimes is get people to sit in a circle, and have an activity that requires them to make a rhythmic sound for 30 seconds after which, the next person takes it up. Poetry is fine, meaningless sounds are fine, etc. If they halt or hesitate, they are eliminated, and this goes on till most people are eliminated (or 3 complete rounds) or similar. Each progressive round can add a requirement – for example, picking up on the previous beat and refining it, etc. Whatever…. the point is to not fuss around so much with the rules, and celebrate uninhibited behaviour. This easily creates a platform for a group discussion to follow.
Process of inclusion
Raka and a couple of his friends unintentionally created this awesome way of including people in a group deliberately while having some fun time on a beach on an event. Sometimes, I use this with groups. Its called “the rule number 4″ (an accidental label for group demands). This is perfect for campfires, or other informal times, just as the group gathers. Scenario begins with one person (the key person). Asks the next person to come to sing a song (or something). Persuades, shows genuine interest and listens appreciatively (no matter how it sounds – the important thing is that person is singing for you, because you want it so much). The next person to arrive, is asked to do the same thing. Any reluctance is overcome with joking references to “Rule No 4″ that state……. (create appropriate rule to negate the reluctance). For example, “Rule No 4 doesn’t require you to be a good singer”, “Rule No 4 states that the last person to sit has to sing”, “Clause 4a of Rule no 4 states that when two people arrive together, the last person to sit has to sing first”. Done well, this gets previous victims of Rule no 4 to actually become its strongest supporters, watching minutely for whose bottom hits the ground first when two people come together, creating new statements to add to the rule, etc. They key thing to remember is that we are not harrassing the newcomers, but persuading them to do something (whatever they can), for the group and then be included. So, the rules at no point must be derogatory, or actual negations of anything claimed. For example “I can’t sing” is better responded with “Here’s your opportunity to try with an audience who asked for it and can’t complain.” or “In fact, rule number 4 allows you to take revenge against such demands from this group by deliberately forcing them to listen to your singing.” than actual group force to sing whether he can or can’t. This impromptu setup (rather than activity) can get the group feeling very close, uninhibited and supportive of each other, and reassures them of their value and contribution to the group. Be warned that this will not work, if the key person evaluates people, or is not genuinely interested in them. Works better if there are 2-3 people on the “committee” who can also interact with each other, refine rules, challenge them, give discounts (“sing the tune first and then the words so you don’t have to remember both at the same time” etc)
So much for now. If you get the idea – creating an accepting environment, where people can be included and accepted for what they are. Some challenge followed by acceptance, etc.
It is not as important what you do, as the invitation you extend to the group, which helps them learn to invite and include others too.
