In this post we delve into the significance of incorporating engaging team building work activities to enhance team unity and productivity. It offers a deep exploration of different team-building exercises, all designed to strengthen trust, bolster communication, and stimulate creativity within a team setting.
Key Takeaways
- Fun in teams enhances creativity, communication, collaboration, and productivity
- Thriving teams have clear goals, effective communication, trust, high engagement, and embrace change, while surviving teams struggle with these aspects
- Strong leadership creates a fun, productive, and positive work culture by modeling positivity, incorporating fun, and motivating team members
- Left-brain thinking focuses on logic, while right-brain thinking encourages creativity and holistic problem-solving. Prioritizing left-brain thinking in workplaces hinders innovation
- High ropes team building activities push teams outside their comfort zones, fostering resilience, confidence, and trust. Being outdoors reduces stress and improves mental health, leading to better performance
1 | Have some fun with your team, improve productivity & give back to the community
When it comes to achieving success in a team, it can be easy to focus on productivity, efficiency, and hitting targets. However, it’s important to remember that having fun can be a critical component of team success, and fun reinforces productivity.
First, let’s look at the benefits of fun in teams. When team members are having fun together, they tend to be more relaxed and open to new ideas. This can lead to improved creativity, as people feel more comfortable sharing their unique perspectives and taking risks.
In fact, studies have shown that laughter can stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Additionally, having fun together can improve communication and collaboration. When team members enjoy spending time together, they’re more likely to communicate openly and honestly.
This can lead to better relationships, stronger trust, and a more cohesive team. Team Building that focuses on how easy it was to participate in fun as children such as Jump Start Your Team can also help team members develop their collaboration skills and learn to work together more effectively.
Now, some may argue that having fun and being productive are mutually exclusive. They may believe that prioritizing fun will lead to wasted time and decreased productivity.
However, research has shown that the opposite is often true. When teams prioritize fun, they tend to be more engaged and motivated, leading to higher levels of productivity and better quality work.
It’s Play Time with Jump Start Your Team
All of Summit’s team building programs are fun and engaging, but Jump Start Your Team has a specific focus on the benefits of play.
After all, built into this program is a monetary donation to a children’s play charity. It feels great as teams when we are focused beyond ourselves and so it’s like a double win.
Teams win by spending 90 min having fun and competing in some activities and kids in underserved communities win by funding the programs and equipment that they need in order to have fun.
Jump Start is a series of head-to-head team challenges all based on team versions of games we may have played as kids. The challenges require great teamwork and teams are earning points as they face off against other teams.
Summit is Here to Bring the Fun!
We strike the balance between fun and professionalism as we’ve been working with corporate teams for over 20 years. We’d love to facilitate some fun with your team. Contact Us to discuss how.
CHECK OUT: The Definitive Guide to Team Building 2023 | Reasons Why Team Building Activities are a Good Idea
2 | Building Your “A” Team
When it comes to teamwork, there’s a big difference in teamwork (or lack thereof) between teams that just survive and those that find ways to thrive.
Teams that just survive tend to struggle with a lack of clarity on goals and roles, ineffective communication, absence of trust, limited engagement and motivation, and resistance to change.
On the other hand, teams that thrive tend to have clearly defined goals and roles, open and effective communication, trust and psychological safety, high levels of engagement and motivation, and a willingness to embrace change.
Create Some Healthy Competition with Survive or Thrive
If your team is looking for innovative ways to raise the bar and build team skills that contribute to teams that are consistently and sustainably thriving, The Survive or Thrive team building program is a fun way to practice.
As competitive teams work together to find success in a series of activities, they might notice the skills required to succeed in their competitive challenges are skills that thriving teams need in the workplace.
Challenges are fun and active and don’t have much to do at all with the kinds of challenges teams would face in their workplace, but they do require the same kind of great teamwork to thrive.
Thriving teams in both this team building challenge and the workplace are demonstrating open and honest communication, they are brainstorming and building on the ideas of others and there trust from each teammate as they have fun completing challenges.
Survive or Thrive can be a stand alone fun series of challenges with one team coming out on top, but if desired, we can also facilitate a few high level debriefs on the kinds of skills required to thrive as a team.
Of course we don’t anticipate that you will need to chuck some chickens with a giant slingshot or collectively deliver marbles into a cup in your workplace, but the skills required to find success are definitely transferrable.
Survive or Thrive can be done in a nice big open space outdoors or indoors in a conference room.
We’re Here to Help!
Contact Us if you’d like to discuss including Survive or Thrive into your next team offsite or meeting. We’d love to connect with you to find the best way to support your team.
3 | Creating a Fun and Engaging Work Culture
Incorporating fun into team culture is an important way to promote productivity, creativity, and positivity in the workplace. However, for many leaders it can be challenging to know where to start in creating a workplace culture that is fun and engaging.
Leadership plays a critical role in modeling and encouraging fun in the workplace. By demonstrating a positive attitude and incorporating fun into their own work and interactions with team members, leaders can create a culture of fun and encourage others to do the same.
This can include things like starting a meeting with a short icebreaker or by participating in team-building activities that incorporate humor, playfulness, and adventure.
It’s important to note that fun and adventurous play is not just about taking a break from work, but it also has huge work benefits by promoting collaboration and communication.
We at Summit often quote the ancient philosopher Plato who says in essence that you can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Have Some Fun and See the Sights with Adventure Quests
Summit’s Adventure Quests (the Niagara Falls Adventure Quest and the Blue Mountain Adventure Quest) help team members learn to work together more effectively and communicate more openly while incorporating fresh air, humour, adventure and playfulness into the team challenge.
An Adventure Quest is a quick way to help break down barriers and foster a more positive and supportive team culture than can carry on well after the team challenge is done.
Both Adventure Quests are a combination of a scavenger hunt/adventure race where some clues require teams to complete a facilitated team challenge to receive points. In Niagara Falls – the team adventure clues require teams to complete various Clifton Hill attractions.
At Blue Mountain, teams have the choice to pre-determine which Blue Mountain Adventures they want to include in their Quest.
For example, if chosen, riding the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster could become one of the clues within the Adventure Quest.
Summit takes care of all the planning and details, and you get to focus on having fun with your team.
Incorporating fun and adventure into team culture can have numerous benefits for productivity, creativity, and positivity in the workplace.
Leaders can model and encourage fun by incorporating it into their own work and interactions with team members, while team members can take an active role in organizing fun activities and events.
By prioritizing fun and promoting a positive and supportive team culture, teams can achieve greater success and build stronger relationships. So go ahead, have some fun!
Let Summit Organize Your Fun and Adventure!
Contact Us to discuss incorporating a Niagara Falls Adventure Quest or Blue Mountain Adventure Quest into your next team meeting in Niagara Falls or Blue Mountain.
4 | The Meeting of the Minds! The Cerebral Jam Session
To truly understand the benefits of utilizing the right brain in teams, it’s important to first compare left-brain thinking versus right-brain thinking. While both hemispheres of the brain work together to create our thoughts and actions, they each have their own distinct functions and strengths.
Left-brain thinking is often associated with logical, analytical, and linear thinking. It’s the part of the brain that helps us analyze and break down information into its component parts. It’s also responsible for language, math, and reasoning skills.
When working in teams, left-brain thinking can be beneficial for tasks that require detailed analysis, precise planning, and clear communication.
On the other hand, right-brain thinking is associated with creativity, intuition, and holistic thinking. It’s the part of the brain that helps us see the big picture, recognize patterns, and come up with new ideas.
Right-brain thinking can help teams approach problems from multiple perspectives, identify opportunities, and develop innovative solutions.
When working in teams, right-brain thinking can be beneficial for tasks that require brainstorming, innovation, and open-mindedness.
It’s important to note that both left-brain and right-brain thinking are necessary for success in most areas of life, including teamwork.
However, many workplaces have traditionally emphasized left-brain thinking, leading to a lack of creativity and innovation in problem-solving.
By intentionally focusing on right-brain thinking, teams can overcome this limitation and develop truly unique and effective solutions.
Team Building Programs Engage and Practice Right Brain Teamwork
Many of Summit’s team building programs will tap into the collective right brain of a team as they will require brainstorming, creative problem solving, collaboration and thinking outside the box, but one team building program stands out as it focuses exclusively on right-brain thinking and experiences.
See Yourself and Your Team in a New Way with The Art of the Team
The Art of Team program is designed with right-brained thinking in mind! I have witnessed skeptics and anxious painters from all sorts of teams lean into the big picture and creative visioning that the Art of Team provides.
It’s not really about your painting skills, and this is not a group paint class where an expert shows you how to paint your masterpiece and you all paint the same thing.
The Art of Team will have your group brainstorming and collectively contributing individually painted canvases into one larger mosaic that tells a story about your team.
No art skills are needed or expected in this experience because its more about the story your team tells rather than the skills of your paintbrush.
The Art of Team pairs very nicely with a glass of wine or some appetizers if you want to arrange that with your venue, and with some great music, this experience is relaxing, involves a lot of collaboration and creativity and visually is a great metaphor of how diversely painted canvases and people come together to create a beautiful picture, story, and team.
Summit is Here to Help!
Have a theme for your offsite? Want to focus on a specific company value? The Art of Team is customizable to compliment your theme or value. Contact us to discuss how the Art of Team might be the right fit for your team.
5 | Unplugging and Building Trust
When it comes to corporate team building activities, there are countless options to choose from. One activity that won’t be for every team, but is amazing if your team is up for the challenge is a high ropes team building program.
An outdoor high ropes course is adventurous, physically challenging and offers unique benefits that can help corporate teams grow and succeed.
One of the biggest benefits of adventure and being outdoors is the opportunity to push outside of your comfort zone.
Adventure activities such as high ropes team building often require participants to take risks and face challenges, which can help build resilience, confidence, and trust among team members.
When teams work together to overcome obstacles, they develop a sense of unity and shared purpose that can translate to the workplace.
Additionally, being outdoors offers a change of scenery that can be refreshing and rejuvenating for team members. Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and improve mental health, which can lead to better overall performance and job satisfaction.
High ropes also provide an opportunity for team members to unplug and disconnect from technology, requiring them to be fully present and engaged in the challenging experience.
Build Reliance, Relationships and Your Team with High Ropes Team Training
Summit offers a high ropes based fully facilitated team building experience at several Ontario based locations.
What all these programs have in common is that high ropes course is the tool used to build your teamwork and trust.
This includes tie ins back to your workplace and how what we learn up off the ground also applies to our workplaces.
We have several partnerships with venues that have high ropes courses, and if one of these destinations might be in your future, we’d love to discuss a high ropes team building option for you and your team.
- The Kingbridge Centre: Kingbridge Reaching New Heights
- Blue Mountain Resort: Blue Mountain 7 Summits Challenge
- Hockley Valley Resort: Hockley Valley Reaching New Heights
Take your team to new heights!
Conclusion
At Summit Team Building, we believe in the power of engaging team activities to boost unity and productivity.
We offer a range of team building activities including: “Jump Start Your Team” for fun and communication, “Survive or Thrive” to build essential skills, “Adventure Quests” to foster a fun work culture, “The Art of the Team” to stimulate right-brain thinking, and outdoor high ropes challenges to build trust and resilience. Join us in creating a positive, creative, and adventurous work environment.
Contact us to discuss what team building work activities can work for you, your team and your company’s team building goals.