This post is the second in a series. To read the first post, click here. Team building activities can be a great way to increase your team’s effectiveness, motivation, communication and vision. When used the right way, many goals can be accomplished and issues worked on that can move a team from being dysfunctional to highly effective.
In the first post, I defined the different types of team building activities, which will help give you a basic understanding of the different types of team challenges that are available to use. In this post, we will look at the best way to choose these activities, as well as a way to schedule them so that you get maximum impact for your time. Here is the process you can use for choosing team building activities for your team.
Each step in the process is important and should be completed thoroughly. As always, if you have questions on any part of the process, send me an email, and I’ll be glad to answer any questions.
Step #1: Evaluate your team
Before making a plan or choosing anything, you need to stop and evaluate your team. Here are some questions to ask during this step:
- What are the strengths of your group and how do you want to capitalize on those?
- What are the weaknesses of your team and how do you want to readjust them?
- What issues does your team have that you want to work on?
For example, you might have some strong leaders but they are not strong in listening to others. You might have people that have great leadership potential but do not step up as often as you would like. Your team might communicate well, but they need help problem-solving and brainstorming.
Step #2: Set Your Goals
After you’ve evaluated your team and determined some of the issues you want to work on, it’s time to set goals for your team building event. Whether it’s a half-day outing or a multi-day event, setting goals is an important step and something that should be done with careful consideration.
Based on the list that you developed above, flesh those out into goals that you want to accomplish for your team activities. Many team building activities can be tailored to focus on the specific issue your team needs to work on. Once you have evaluated your team and set your goals, you are now ready to begin choosing your activities for your outing.
In the next post, I will show you how to choose the best activities that will align with your goals, and also how to organize the activities for ultimate benefit. More about that in the next and final post: How to Choose the Best Team Building Activities, Part 3.