TEAMWORK SERIOUSLY. A GUIDE FOR THE MANAGER ON HOW TO CREATE SMART TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES DURING AN INTEGRATION TRIP.

Good collaboration in a team requires practicing and developing skills related not only to communication. A smoothly functioning team unfortunately does not build itself. As managers, we are responsible for both our own results and those of our team (which also includes the synergy of collaboration between people), but let’s face it: priorities are mainly set on the efficiency of task execution. From time to time, we are reminded that it would be good to take care of integration and effective collaboration. In this article, I intend to help you precisely in those moments: when you need a concrete idea on how to take care of your team as a whole, with a focus on a good atmosphere and a climate conducive to productivity.

How to read this article?

First, I must apologize – the title may be slightly misleading, because in this article I will generally describe step by step what actions you can take, in the role of a manager, to turn a group of people into an effective team. I will, of course, also refer to strictly teambuilding activities (to be completed in a few minutes, max a few hours), but you will find a lot of references to long-term activities (for a few weeks – months).

The article is divided into exercises and teambuilding games in five different areas, consistent with the successive levels of team effectiveness that occur in Patrick Lencioni’s model of the 5 dysfunctions of teamwork. The model, which I will refer to here, is described in detail in this article: https://generatorpomyslow.pl/blog/efektywny-zespol-lencioni/#.

I strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with it before continuing to read this text – it will be easier for you to assess whether my ideas make sense or if I’m proposing something out of the blue.

STEP 1: How to deal with a lack of trust? The best team-building activities

Dealing with the first dysfunction (lack of trust in the team) primarily involves gathering information and experiences from the implementation of activities with colleagues. It is usually a long-term process – we get to know each other during various tasks, projects, and activities. However, we can speed it up by planning and implementing meaningful collaboration exercises in the team. It should primarily be:

OPTION ONE: exercises during which team members can share personal experiences, opinions, ideas, and experiences. Everything that defines who they are and what is important to them. I know it may sound like a series of embarrassing questions from a game show, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can start a team-building trip or meeting with such activities:

• Idea 1: speed dating-style conversations where we get to know each other and everyone talks about their dream vacation, best culinary experience, or a humorous situation from their life that initially seemed terrifying. The idea is to organize short, two-to-three-minute conversations, after which the conversation partner changes. The high pace and variety make this experience attractive. IMPORTANT: especially at the beginning, the topics should be light and definitely not personal. It is also worth preparing a series of 4-5 questions that participants can ask each other during these short conversations (to make it easier to start the conversation).

• Idea 2: We can play a game where we split into supporters/opponents of a certain film genre or specific cuisine in restaurants, making a list of what we like the most (favorite movies, favorite dishes, favorite restaurants). Once we have created the symbolic ‘two camps,’ we try to persuade the other side to join us. Creativity in arguments counts, plus it’s worth considering some small rewards for the most active debaters.

• Idea 3: Using original cards from social games that have ambiguous photos or images (e.g., Dixit), we can use them to share our imaginations or expectations on a chosen topic. We assign a task to the team: ‘everyone chooses a card that best represents their perspective of a great team,’ then we give everyone a moment to make their choice. Next, in small groups of 3-4 people (when the team is new or more reserved) or in larger groups of 5-6 people (when the team is more open or well-acquainted), we encourage sharing their card and describing what they see on it in the context of the team.

By conducting such exercises, besides getting to know each other, we begin to notice what is important to others. What matters to them. In this way, we break down barriers and build understanding (a higher level of empathy) for colleagues.

PS: one of the brilliant methods of building trust in a team is using improvisational theater techniques, which we often use during our workshops. Here you can see what it is about: https://generatorpomyslow.pl/teatr-improwizacji/ #

OPTION TWO: another type of team-building exercise involves identifying what we need as a team and what each of us brings (or wants to bring) to it. Most people like to talk about their expectations of others. We just need to remember not to let the discussion turn into demands but rather focus on sharing what ‘builds an atmosphere in the team that strengthens me – evokes engagement and interest.’ We also like to talk about ourselves and our talents – what we are good at. It is worth taking advantage of this mechanism and asking everyone in the team to say:

• What knowledge, attitude, actions do you want to bring to the team? [or currently bring]
• What else can you share with us to inspire or support us in our daily activities?
• If the team is shy, you can divide the group into pairs or groups of 3 people and ask them to discuss it first in small groups, then present the results to the entire team.

Conducting this type of team collaboration exercise allows for the (indirect) revelation of positive opinions and potential that each of us possesses. This exercise brings positive results even in moderately cohesive teams, although its implementation requires a certain degree of mutual trust in the group or an external moderator who ensures a good form and atmosphere for guiding the team through such an experience.

OPTION THREE: There are many tools that help us discover ourselves (our sources of motivation, personality traits, etc.) and at the same time are a great excuse to share newly acquired information with colleagues. Sharing with others what we discover about ourselves fosters greater understanding and empathy within the group. You can do this with some ‘psychotest,’ but if you choose professional tools, the descriptions of results and reports will provide team members with information about specific behaviors, presented in a non-judgmental and non-evaluative (or positively evaluative) manner.

Discussing such reports (or extracting parts of descriptions), we can approach the topic seriously and actually talk about how we see ourselves and our role in the team. We can also approach this task with a sense of humor and exaggerate the information we find in the reports (e.g., by telling our own stories where we behaved in completely different ways).

Regardless of whether the discussion takes a serious or humorous tone, participants will always reveal something about themselves, about how they view such results or information about themselves, which will help us get to know each other better. The tools you can use are:

• Schein’s Career Anchors – available online for free, not very visually appealing but provides a lot of interesting information in the context of intrinsic motivation.
• 16 Personalities Questionnaire – available online for free (basic report), with an attractive report and description of many behaviors. It is based on the same assumptions as the MBTI test, which is a very popular tool in the context of professional work.
• Insights Discovery Personality Questionnaire – the most expensive solution of the three, which is also the best in terms of content and the most visually appealing. The study concludes with a specific report for each participant.
• Process Communication Model – in my opinion, it provides the most information about our personality, although it simultaneously requires the involvement of an external consultant for analysis and discussion (report)