Balance in our lives seems illusive.  Change is constant. And as we continue into the 21st century, information will increase in exponential ways. Consequently, we will experience a constant state of flux. The ability to respond quickly and deal with the needs of others will continue to be demanded of us. Organizational flexibility, personal resiliency and team emotional intelligence are three keys to long-term success.

Team building is not a one time event.  It requires on-going nurturing and often team coaching can leverage both the team development and the results.  We have developed a modular program that address the needs and stages of teams in a Just-In-Time approach to skill and competency development.


"Not Finance, Not Strategy. Not Technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage."
(Patrick Lencioni. author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team)


For more serious work with senior management teams, we recommend our 2.5 to 3 day program based on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.  Click here for more information. 

That said, sometimes a single intervention may be suitable.  During retreats or team building workshops, teams can often be re-energized through the appropriate use of "games" and simulations.  Here are some that we have used to great success.  Please contact us, if you would like to bring us in for your next event.  We have done retreats from eight to three hundred attendees.  For larger groups, special considerations must be addressed including the number of additional facilitators required.

 

The following all take a minimum of one hour to complete and are not icebreakers but an integral part of the team's learning. This represents a sample of the more popular activities.

Expectations from using these types of Team Activities:

  • Be aware of your own behavior and its impact on the team.
  • Observe behavior of others and the resulting team dynamics.
  • Increase capacity for change and ambiguity.
  • Learn communication strategies and or problem solving techniques to improve team processes.
  • Get energized for the work at hand and have FUN!

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True Colors (Personality Dimensions)

This is by far our most popular team building activity having delivered it to hundreds of individuals in all types of organizations.   The Personality Dimensions workshop is a self-awareness program that builds on the foundations established by the work of David Keirsey, Linda Berens and Don Lowry. It helps people become more effective communicators and enhance team-building skills and is often used successfully as a kick off event for a team building retreat.

Energy Level: Very High
Physical Activity: High
Length: Minimum two hours, usually a half day
Group Size: 12 to 40
Material Costs: $12 per participant for instrument and booklet

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The Well Intentioned Branch (a.k.a. TheAggressive Corporation)

This is a powerful exercise that demonstrates how people really behave and not necessarily what they "would like to do". Based on the popular principles of "The Prisoner’s Dilemma", this goes beyond the zero sum set-up and incorporates the concepts of team loyalties, goal clarity, communications issues, trust, group dynamics and risk taking.

Each team represents a separate branch of a company and is required to make a "Buy or Sell" decision each month for 10 rounds. The objective is to make as large a profit by the end of the fiscal year and this will result in a bonus from company year-end earnings. A pay out matrix is provided and results are posted after each round.

Energy Level: Very High
Physical Activity: Medium
Length: Two hours
Group Size: 12 to 25
Material Costs: Nil

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The Leadership Maze Challenge

Two teams compete to get from one side of a maze to the others as quickly as possible with as many "poker chips" as possible. Each team is give 10 minutes to prepare its strategy based on the rules and then no vocalizations are permitted. This activity not only stresses group processes and systems thinking but also brings out the dangers of assumptions.

Energy Level: Very High
Physical Activity: Very High
Length: One and a half to two hour
Group Size: 8 to 20
Material Costs: $500 for the rental of the Electronic Carpet (Available only for groups located in Ontario and Quebec.)

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Manufacturing a Proto Type (Sample Variations)

Straw Building:
Each team has been given 100 drinking straws and 100 straight pins from which they are to build the highest possible weight bearing structure. Specifications and rules are provided.

Egg Protector:
Each team is given an identical bag of materials from which a contraption is created that will hold a raw egg that will not break when the model is dropped from a minimum of 10 feet. (The higher the better.)

Energy Level: High
Physical Activity: High
Length: One and a half to two hour
Group Size: 12 to 30
Material Costs: $2 per participant

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Survival Adventures

These activities simulate adventure situations that challenge participants to thing and work as a team. They present believable dilemmas that they must first solve individually and then as a team using consensus decision-making.

Topics:

  • Caribbean Island Survival
  • Alaskan Adventure
  • Earthquake
  • Landslide
  • Whitewater
  • Grand Canyon Adventures

Energy Level: High
Physical Activity: Medium
Length: One and a half to two hour
Group Size: 12 to 35
Material Costs: $15 per participant

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Zin Obelisk Problem Solving

In the ancient city of Atlantis, a solid, rectangular obelisk, called a Zin, was built in honour of the goddess Tina. The structure took less than two weeks to complete. The task of the teams is to determine on which day of the week the obelisk was completed. Cards containing information that appears to be gibberish but is related to the task are distributed.

Energy Level: High
Physical Activity: Medium
Length: One hour
Group Size: 12 to 30
Material Costs: Nil

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The Art of Cooperation

Each participant is given one card (with an object written on it) and one can of Play-doh.  They are given 3 minutes to sculpt the objection their card with the Play-doh. There is no sharing Play-doh, and no talking. Participants to stand up, and rotate a random number of spaces. They now have 3 minutes in which they can do anything they choose to the sculpture in front of them, but the object still remains to create the word on the card. They can leave it the way it is, they can add to it, or they can squish it and start from scratch. After another three minutes participants rotate for one more round and finally they return to their original sculpture.

Energy Level: Very High
Physical Activity: Very High
Length: One hour
Group Size: 6 to 20
Material Costs: $5 per participant

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Revitalizing Teams

The use of teams, be they project teams or intact work teams, is seen as a logical approach to address these challenges. This modular program is seen as one avenue to provide newly restructured work teams with the opportunity to acquire the needed skills.

The course material adopts a facilitative approach to working with existing intact teams and should be considered a facilitated process. The "workshop" has been divided into ten modules with various lessons. For training objectives, delivery options and course outline click here.

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Providing Management Consulting Services in facilitation, training, restructuring conflict resolution, team building, coaching, leadership and communications(specifically body language)

Providing Coaching Services in leadership,technology, assessments,learning styles, teleclasses, training and the coaches toolkit.

  
     

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