Team Building Exercises
- Ian Rowland
- Feb 10
- 3 min read
Team-building Exercises
I love taking part in team-building sessions or days. As well as being productive, they tend to be enjoyable and good fun for all concerned.
Here are just three things I've learned about making team building exercises and workshops a success.
(1) Fun is functional. The main thing I've learned about any type of training or coaching is that nobody learns anything when they're bored. This is why I believe every training session should involve elements of fun and humour. 'Fun' does not mean 'frivolous'. A session that's fun and enjoyable can still achieve serious, practical goals. I believe this also applies to team building workshops and events. When people play together well, they work together well.
(2) It has to be 'tailor-made'. Every company is different and every team or department is unique. For team-building purposes, I don't think a pre-set, 'off-the-shelf' course tends to work well. I always prefer to discuss the specific needs of the group or team I'll be working with and tailor the session accordingly. Among other things, I like to establish how interactive and participative you want it to be and whether there are key themes or messages that you'd like me to include.
(3) There's no such thing as too much preparation. People tend to enjoy events that feel well planned and organised, with care being taken to ensure, for example, that everything runs to schedule. This is why I believe in thorough planning and preparation — especially with regard to timings.
Most Popular Exercises
Here's my main page about my work as a trainer. Quite a few of the main subjects I teach lend themselves to team building exercises. The two most popular ones are:
Unlock Your Mind. This is all about discovering you can do more than you think you can do. For example, I present the whole room with a memory challenge. I ask various people how long it would take them to memorise the material I've shown. Everyone says it would either take them a long time or they couldn't do it at all. I then show everyone that they can easily memorise the whole thing once they know how. I follow this up with other demonstrations that work the same way — people think they can't do something and then discover that they can. The various challenges can be tackled in pairs, groups or teams.
Creative Problem-solving
Another good theme for a team-building exercise is 'Creative Problem-solving'. I teach six excellent and effective problem-solving stratehgies that anyone can use at work or in everyday life. I illustrate these six strategies using a range of puzzles and problems that seem tough at first — but become a lot easier when you apply the correct creative strategy. The various challenges can be tackled in pairs, groups or teams. I also relate the six strategies to famous business stories from the past that show the difference they can make.
Other Ideas
I'd love to discuss the type of team building exercise you are looking for and suggest ideas. I have plenty of experience to offer and, as a trainer and magician, I can devise a wide range of exercises to keep any team happy, engaged and busy! www.ianrowland.com
Read about my work as a Trainer. Training: Creative Problem-solving. Training: Unlock Your Mind.
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