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January 2018

Teambuilding Ideas for Beating the Office Winter Blues

January 26, 2018
John Ingram
Teambuilding Tips, Training Trends

When the weather turns colder, and winter is on its way, company teams become less energetic (read: less productive). Even with the mild winters here in South Africa, this can become a serious problem.

Contrary to what most organisation leaders believe, the cold season is a great time to engage your teams and devise a team building plan to keep the team spirits up and rekindle work collaboration and engagement.

Focus on Team Development and Training

Team development skills and training should be a constant focus of your organisation to keep teams engaged and performing at their best all-year round. Use the more lethargic cold season months to your advantage by revisiting the overall effectiveness of your team.

Devise specific coaching and training programs to highlight and improve certain team aspects where the team needs a push, whether it’s about effective communication, conflict resolution, collaborative techniques or general team dynamics.

Beyond Teambuilding pride ourselves in creating events, activities and challenges that push any team past mediocrity, allowing them to express themselves in a way that unleashes a team synergy that is often lying dormant. Our teambuilding is done in two definitive ways; formal and informal. Both have merit and are used to create the specific objectives of your particular team’s needs.

Plan Fun and Energising Winter Activities

Moving indoors does not mean your team building will be less fun and exciting than a summer outdoor adventure. Most popular and creative teambuilding exercises can fit both scenarios – indoors and outdoors.

Choose activities that energise and unite the entire team such as Interactive Drumming or Interactive Gumboot dancing that involves movement and music and teach the participants how to play, how to listen to one another, and even how to perform together.

If you want to boost team cooperation and innovative thinking, a Murder Mystery Investigation uncovering clues is a good fit, or perhaps opt for fun challenges such as Minute to Win It or The Million Rand Moola Drop where teams have to go through extensive fun games and questionnaires.

Our latest team building addition, Manic Motion, is based on the popular Rube Goldberg machine that needs to be activated through sequenced triggers that produce a domino effect. And did we mention it is perfect for an indoor winter team session?

Host a Winter Retreat

Companies can even bring their teams together, strengthen connections and hit refresh on productivity with a well-thought company winter retreat.

Not only it is the perfect excuse for a cabin-style getaway, but this time can be used to brainstorm, plan for the rest of the year, and work on current team dynamics and current issues (see above) through effective training and coaching (psst…we know a great facilitator).

And if you are still thinking about a more rustic and inclusive retreat for your team retreat, our Hadeda Creek camp can fit both indoor team building activities and relaxation in nature to give your team the best of time and care, even in the chilly season.

Winter is coming. What are you going to do about it? 😊

A well-facilitated and engaging team building event will add great value and return on investment (ROI).

The team building experience, formal or informal, is not recreational and includes process facilitation, debriefing, and reflective questioning.

Successful teams do what other teams are not prepared to do! Are you ready?

Take your team beyond with Beyond Teambuilding’s exciting events, activities and challenges that push boundaries and guarantee loads of fun.
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Teambuilding Under the Microscope

January 15, 2018
John Ingram
Teambuilding Trends, Training Trends

I read a good article by Michael (the other) Jackson relating to what he has learned from his involvement in 2700 conferences. The feedback is all very on point and inciteful to all those who are involved in conferencing.

As the CEO of an Eventing, Training and Team Development Group I am particularly interested in such feedback, and in this instance, honed in on his negative reference to “teambuilding”.

Teambuilding never does what it offers in the title

“The thought of a teambuilding session merely induces near panic amongst conference delegates. Quite frankly no-one wants to run through a wet forest, fire-walk, build rafts next to a lake or paint meaningless images. Often built in as an add-on, and intended to fire up the troops, such miserable attempts at generating camaraderie and teamwork regularly fall flat on their faces. It is far better to endeavour to build real dialogue, through conversation and engagement in an adult manner, using the strengths of the people in the room; yet this too seldom occurs.”

I can see that Michael is looking at this through a “cynic’s eyes” and I agree, but not to the extent of NEVER DOES, as this is a very definitive statement and clearly can be disproved even if only one team build intervention has contributed to the successful building of a team. However, this is not the real point.

The challenge for us “teambuilders” is to break from the poor perception that the Market and the Michaels  (M&Ms) have witnessed over the years.

Firstly, as the ones in the industry, we need to own up to the poor reputation we have created, and ask why. Secondly, I would hope that we are constantly and collectively working on trying to improve the situation.

Beyond Teambuilding pride ourselves in creating events, activities and challenges that push any team past mediocrity, allowing them to express themselves in a way that unleashes a team synergy that is often lying dormant. Our teambuilding is done in two definitive ways; formal and informal. Both have merit and are used to create the specific objectives of your particular team’s needs.

Please indulge my thinking on this subject.

The first obstacle we face is our denial, and that is not a river in Egypt, it’s a lot murkier than that.

Secondly, the customers themselves often feel they can order a team build from a brochure or product list conveniently found on Google or in their in-tray.

The third problem is that we agree!  It is so easy to say yes, take the client’s money and move on. It is a road to nowhere and eventually leads to the scenario that Michael has correctly mentioned above.

However, that very same client will most probably never come back, will be disappointed, and possibly badmouth your business and the industry…and all because you did not take time to do what a proper sales consultant should do.

You sold what your customer thought they wanted and you did not help your customer BUY what they needed!

Here lie the challenge and opportunity, all in one. Clients are generally not experts in your field, you are! So get out there and prove it. Take the time to ask the right leading questions that will lead you to find the magical WHY, namely:

  • Why do you think the team needs a “team build?” This question should be answered meaningfully; if not, keep probing. If they answer, “to have fun” keep probing as to why they need to have fun? Don’t they have fun at work? Why don’t they have fun at work?
  • If they say “to get motivated” then ask why do they think the team is demotivated, as this will lead you to the golden thread as to what is required in this team build.
  • The real answers should normally relate to a behavioural issue, an internal discipline issue, a compliance problem, or a cultural problem, all of which either happens due to poor structures or bad management.
  • The next step is to ask if they would like that particular problem sorted out?
  • They will hopefully stay on course and agree, and this is your invitation to unleash your years of pent-up knowledge and competency as a business psychologist and human behavioural scientist!
  • Whatever you put forward can still be fun, but it must solve the real problem or the cause of that problem. If not, then recommend someone else who can, and do not commit yourself to something you cannot deliver upon.
  • Any team building activity can be used to help demonstrate a team dynamic or behaviour. If you cannot help your client understand it through the activity, then outsource a competent facilitator to add this value to the program. You will look good, and your client will be impressed.

E.g. What can a team learn from walking on hot coals?

  • How to make informed decisions
  • Understanding consequence
  • Understanding the power of choice and the consequences of bad ones
  • How to communicate concerns
  • How to overcome perception
  • How to get out of Group Think mode
  • Self-trust issues
  • How to say no and not give in to group pressures
  • Situational leadership principles

Teambuilding is probably an overused word, and I prefer to use team development although it can be argued that one is splitting hairs.  The bottom line is that all teams are vulnerable and need constant refining to be effective, efficient and productive. It can be enhanced with training (good training), consistent management interventions (good management) and teambuilding interventions (using reputable facilitation techniques and processes).

John Ingram, Director and Head Facilitator Hiside Group
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