How to Pick a Team Building Activity
Running a new activity can be terrifying. We know as we are trying new activities all the time and sometimes they don't work the way I thought they would. DO NOT FEAR! We are here to help you pick and…
Win Win Win Instruction Page
This event demonstrates the effects of competition within groups and the power of collaboration. Unless the groups identify a common goal, they will compete against each other and ultimately fail as a group.
Tied In Knots Instruction Page
As a group, pick the one rope that connects all others. This is a very simplistic exercise designed help groups practice consensus building and decision-making. It will encourage group members to participate and is a great precursor to more complex problem solving exercises or workshop (60-Minute Version).
Team Shackles Instruction Page
Challenge a team’s belief that something is impossible. It is also a great way to explore people’s willingness to ask for help or give help if it will benefit the whole team. Paradigm shift may result. It is a great leverage point to come back to if other paradigm shifts need to happen with the group.
Supply Chain Instruction Page
Participants move steel balls from Point A to Point B using only the tubes provided. Each ball must go through each person's tube and they may not touch the ball with their bodies. The purpose of this exercise is to physically demonstrate the metaphor that every member of a team or group is an important “link in the chain”. This event is also a good way to examine individual team member’s sense of value and accountability to their team.
Search and Rescue Instruction Page
Participants must move a plane from one landing pad to another. The art of cooperation is something we are taught as children but sometimes have a hard time accomplishing as adults. The goal here is to have the entire team involved, demonstrate the power of teamwork and show the interdependence teams experience.
River Crossing Instruction Page
This is a complex activity that has many different purposes and reveals many behavior patterns. It develops support (emotional, content and physical) within the group. It helps clarify communication and decision making skills. It helps groups to examine how and why leadership shifts during planning and completion of task It shows how balancing planning activities with execution helps groups solve problems. The exercise is a very good metaphor for a ‘goal’.
Perfect Square Instruction Page
Create a perfect square from a rope while the entire group is blindfolded. The focus is on leadership skills and the degree of group participation and the exercise will always reveal interesting dynamics and insights that allow participants to learn from one another. This activity clearly demonstrates interdependence among team members while highlighting how difficult, but important, reaching consensus can be.
Let Go My Ego Instruction Page
Lower a pole the the floor using gravity and maintaining contact with the pole. The power that each person has to influence success is made perfectly clear in this activity. Participants must overcome frustration and resist the temptation to blame each other in order to accomplish the task. They learn that in the face of challenge it is often easier to sacrifice integrity and end up behaving opposite of their intention. This exercise reveals this tendency in a profound manner and helps participants choose healthier ways of reacting.
Learning Maze Instruction Page
The application of the Learning Maze is in every area of our lives. The learning each group comes up with is always different. The basic purpose of the maze comes down to identifying how the team is treating its ‘mistakes’ (beeps) and the people who are discovering them. Stepping into the unknown is necessary for any team to grow and move ahead, with the only question being how are they doing in the process? This event will shed some light one the teams’ process.