3 Tips for Non-Cringy Team-Building
“This could’ve been an email” has worked its way into meme culture and common vernaculars. But before it became a joke, we all knew the feeling.
At one time or another, a disorganized meeting or an ironic, three-day “productivity” conference wasted our time and required our mandatory participation. These well-meaning events could have easily been communicated in an email blast and left us with our brain cells and working hours intact.
But no.
The negative connotation of “team-building” is unfortunate. Healthy companies want to provide a positive work experience for their employees, but oftentimes, cringy methods eliciting eye rolls and sighs are the result.
Here are three ways to invest in team-building where activities leave an organization engaged and thriving, instead of irritated and unproductive.
1. LET THEM TAKE THE REINS
Imagine it’s Monday morning. You have your cup of coffee, make it to your computer to sort through your inbox, and the first subject reads:
“Calendar Invite: Trust Fall in Muir Woods”
How fast do you click decline? I’ve already archived it out of self-preservation.
Ambushing colleagues with an event they had no part in contributing to does a disservice to the unique team you lead. If you neglect to bring team members into the planning process, you run the risk of spending money, time, and energy on an idea that has no other buy-in but your own.
Think of it like this: your team members are the customers, team-building is the product, and their feedback is the key to unlocking their buy-in.
Brainstorm. Plan together. Listen to your people.
When given the opportunity, team members will provide the honesty you need to create an experience that truly serves them. Intentionally creating opportunities to receive feedback involves letting your people call out an unproductive plan when they see one–especially if it’s yours.
Let your people inform the creative direction, throw around ideas, and collaborate to settle on something everyone has the chance to get excited about.
An event will be better received when its recipients contributed to its formation and are therefore invested.
2. THINK PERSONALLY
Not everyone on your team is down for a long weekend getaway to connect with colleagues, nor do they have the energy for Friday happy hour after every long week.
It goes a long way to be mindful of the blend of personalities you’re working with. When considering the design of an exercise, the accommodations of a retreat center, and the way it’s all presented, put yourself in the shoes of every personality on your team.
These opportunities ought to be presented as optional rather than mandatory. Peer-pressuring your colleagues into participation does nothing but dress your well-intentioned event in the clothes of an obligation, and no one is jazzed by what they deem an obligation.
Choosing events that cater to the spectrum of personalities within your team is thoughtful planning, and thoughtful planning leads to effective team-building.
3. VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE
Don’t leave your leadership hat at the office. Be the first to jump in the fire of games, activities, and exercises and lead by enthusiastic example.
Team members appreciate a leader that gets the ball rolling. Even if you’re more comfortable in a boardroom talking projections, be willing to set the tone, be a little vulnerable, and put yourself on display.
Oprah Winfrey says it best: “You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others.”
Be the thermostat setting the social temperature of excitement in a team-building dynamic and watch the magic that happens when your team matches that energy.