Team Building Games and Adventures come with instructions, but to really get the most from each exercise you need to bring something a little extra: creativity.
The Team Building Adventure I recommend most is called Marooned. I probably recommend it the most, not because it is the best adventure, but it’s the easiest one to run for organizations that have not participated in game scenarios before. The adventures can train groups with hundreds of people, but participating groups break down into about six or seven people.
The basic premise of Marooned is that you have signed on for a cruise in the South Pacific. Your ship visits a small island where people are invited to wander around. The ship heads off to another island leaving a small group of people behind. As part of the group, you need to take inventory, discuss possibilities, and make plans for a stay from a matter of hours to what could be days. Since this is a team building adventure, the main goal is to get people talking, sharing and working together. One of the main lessons to learn is that there are times when people should lead and times when they should follow.
Team Building Adventures are good for combining rank and file employees and management. A good business should welcome input from everyone. These adventures are also great introductions to groups that perhaps have worked together via email, but never met. For example, a non-profit organization might have a Corporate Advisory Board that rarely meets in person. An adventure would be a great way to start a planning session for that group to learn more about each other and begin working together as a team.
The creativity part of team building adventures adds fun into the training recipe. Here are some creative touches to put people in the mood for their Marooned training adventure:
Encourage people to bring their favorite Hawaiian shirts.
Visit the local Goodwill store and buy extra Hawaiian shirts for people who don’t have their own.
At the Dollar Store buy enough leis for everyone to wear.
Serve luau foods for lunch or snacks.
Buy tropical fruits like pineapples, coconuts and guavas for decorations.
Put travel posters on the wall.
Play Tahitian or Hawaiian music on a CD player.
Use another CD player to play waves lapping on the beach.
Spray a tropical air scent in the discussion area (if no one is allergic).
I like to think of Team Building Adventures as a party. I want everyone to have fun, and to have fun they need to participate. Creativity makes connections with people. It draws in their interest and imaginations.
The best parties are those where people take ownership. The guests become the hosts. They want the other guests to feel as welcome as they do. The same goes for Team Building Adventures. As the members of the organization become involved, they share the adventure, they share the fun, and everyone becomes members of the team and enjoy the party.
Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle "free preview" for business training videos. He also owns Human Resources Radio (http://www.humanresourcesradio.com), which broadcasts HR and business training information, program previews, and training samples from some of the world's great training speakers twenty-four hours a day. You can listen and learn on Human Resources Radio.
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