As the manager of a busy office, you know that you have chosen the best of the best to work with you. Each person has their own strengths, but what doesn’t seem to be gelling is team spirit. Sometimes you might have that one person who simply refuses to be agreeable, but their work is exemplary. Other times it’s as if everyone is operating in cubicles separated by partitions, even though you have an open-space office.
What is the problem? Perhaps what you need is a bit of team building. Your staff just might need a little direction on how to bond and work as a unit instead of seeing themselves within the vacuum of their individual jobs.
Here is where you need exciting team building activities designed just for your office with your particular needs. It’s easy to do if you have experts who have a proven track record of forging teams of gold out of rough ore.
4 Common Barriers to Overcome
The first thing which must take place is to identify the barriers that are keeping the team from connecting. Poor communication typically tops the list. Whether it is between management and staff or co-worker to co-worker, it’s hard to build team spirit if there is a breakdown in communication.
Ego is another huge barrier when seeking to build a cohesive team. In an effort to spur our teams on to bigger and better things, we may have overplayed the importance of competition; not just in our offices today, but throughout the past several generations. Competition is a good thing, but not when the entire team suffers as a result of one or two teammates who work against the tide.
The other two big barriers start at the top and work their way down. First, a team can suffer a considerable lack of morale if management remains aloof. Most teams want a leader they can identify with. While there is a difference between being a friend and being a boss, team spirit is directly proportionate to managerial involvement. This can lead to the fourth barrier to overcome, unclear vision or goals.
Remember, it all starts at the top. If you have a clearly defined goal, your team can’t help but get excited to meet and surpass that goal. Just as laughter is contagious, so too is excitement. If you are excited, your team will feel it in the air and follow suit. By recruiting specialists in teambuilding activities, you are sparking the flame that will quickly burn hotly in your team.
On-Site Teambuilding Activities
Sometimes you can begin incorporating teambuilding activities right inside your office. There are a number of little ice-breakers and games you can work into your office staff meetings. While it would be overkill to work these activities into daily meetings, once a week may be just what it takes to get your team to see each other, really see each other, maybe for the first time. Any activity that pairs team members off or challenges them to work together are ideal for this.
What about trying something like Clue Done It where the villain is one of the team members and everyone needs to go through the clues to identify the perp. It’s amazing to learn what others think of you and why they named you based on how they view you in the office. Make it fast and fun and you’ll see just how quickly you have them laughing at themselves when viewed through other eyes.
A Spirit of Adventure on Outside Teambuilding Activities
When working with teambuilding professionals, an example being the team building activities run by Team Tactics, why not schedule a day away on an adventure? From treasure hunts in London and Brighton to a day of sports, there is something ideally suited for your office. The one thing to keep in mind when working with your teambuilding coaches is that not all people have the same physical capabilities.
Sports are fun, but if you have people with disabilities, make sure to include them as well. They can be side-line coaches, score keepers or have other duties that don’t require them to be out on the field. However, they will be included in whatever you do because that’s what all this is about.
Starting with little indoor activities makes a great beginning to building a cohesive team. Once your team has gotten comfortable with short bits of indoor teambuilding challenges, it’s on to a day of adventure!
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
Learn more
There's nothing quite as exciting as taking control of your financial life and vocational path by starting your own business. However, getting you ...
For your growing company in Swindon you may want to consider taking advantage of a serviced office so that you can save money, time, and spend you ...
Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar? Eight out of ten of your team members show up for a meeting, with the other two saying they didn ...
Most entrepreneurs get excited about the prospect of competition. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise. It takes quite a bit of ambition and c ...
It’s no secret that businesses need fantastic managers if they want to succeed. A strong manager can be the difference between a motivated workfor ...
