By Dirk Bansch of Summit Consulting & Training Ltd
Many organisations book a team building event when they want to give their teams a boost, whether it's to reward them for a job well done or to help them re-focus on the achievement of their most important goals. And this is the ideal opportunity for organisations to not just undertake a traditional team building event, but to really drill down and help team members, individually and collectively, to develop an abundance of new skills and competencies that can contribute positively to the ongoing success of the organisation.
Wanting team members to have a great day out is a really commendable goal. But what about partnering having a great day out with perhaps, developing more self-awareness, optimism, resilience, trust, collaboration and willingness to work across teams as well as within their own? The inclusion of such personal development doesn't have to result in a team building event becoming 'formal' and classroom based. Indeed, it's the exact opposite. The hands-on, brains-on and interactive approach is a fantastic way of accelerating learning within and across teams during such an event.
A growing number of clients wish to include a psychometric assessment in their team building events for managers and leaders. The purpose of this is to help participants to develop an awareness of key strengths, weaknesses and preferences in advance of the actual event. It helps participants to 'hit the ground running' and jump straight into their team event. The result? An even more effective day out that develops shared commitment from participants to apply their learning back in the workplace long-term.
Questions you need to ask before booking a team building event:
- What is the purpose of the day?
- Why now, what organisational issues/goals are driving the need for a team building event?
- What business benefits do we need/want to achieve following this event?
- How will participants be supported to apply their learning back in the workplace following their team building event?
Team building events are supposed to be great fun, but there is so much more that you can get out of them than just a nice day away from the office.
If you just want fun, take the team out for bowling or whatever floats their boat. If you want lasting positive results, arrange a professional team building day !
Dirk Bansch is Director of Learning & Development at Summit Consulting & Training Ltd.
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