Building a team
July 21, 2012 1:39 PM   Subscribe

Team building activities? Hi All, i have a team of 7 people, and 2 of them are new. I want to integrate team building activities into our next staff meeting. What are some of your favorite activities that are appropriate for an office setting in a time frame of 15-45 minutes? I am looking for things that build connection and reflection, that aren't too cheesy or cliche. Thank you!
posted by tessalations999 to Work & Money (8 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know exactly what you are looking for, but one of the (very few) team building exercises I've quite liked was when we were given various supplies (paper, card, elastic bands etc) and told to build something to launch an object (I think it was a pen, I can't really remember) as high as possible into the air. We had several teams so it was a competition, not sure if you could make that work with 7 people.
posted by stillnocturnal at 1:46 PM on July 21, 2012


How about The Marshmallow Challenge?
posted by baho at 2:05 PM on July 21, 2012


I recently found this website, and used adaptations of the "Coin Logo" and the "One Problem" exercises with success. A couple are cliched, but some are interesting and might work for you in some form:

http://www.huddle.com/blog/building-teamwork-10-quick-and-easy-team-building-exercises-for-improving-communication-and-problem-solving-skills-part-1/
posted by sundaydriver at 7:16 PM on July 21, 2012


Sorry, I meant the "One Question" exercise.
posted by sundaydriver at 7:17 PM on July 21, 2012


Discuss what's expected of them as a team and as individuals. Set norms for performance and behaviour, make it clear how this will be monitored and measured, and make sure everybody understands how underperformance and poor behaviour will be addressed. Allow plenty of time for questions and clarification. Write it up and distribute it.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 8:31 PM on July 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I think obiwanwasabi's points should be incorporated in the first meeting, but it's not really team building.

What kind of work will these people be doing together? What are their backgrounds like?
posted by lunasol at 12:39 AM on July 22, 2012


I disagree, Lunasol. Compared to what other people are suggesting, obiwanwasabi's suggestion might actually (a) help build the team, (b) help the team to integrate, and (c) not waste time making the employees bored and uncomfortable.

If there's anyone on the team like me, they will find "team building" to be incredibly lame and possible quite obnoxious.
posted by rebent at 12:28 PM on July 23, 2012


A team is a group of people with a shared direction, approach and expectations. A team is not a group of individuals who happen to have played a 15 minute game together.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:37 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


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