How To Lead A Team Building Activity

Recent studies show that leadership is more about being able to motivate people to work with you than it is about being a leader, standing over others and making demands. Rather, great leaders are known as influencers — they’re not always the ones who speak most publicly or carry out orders, but instead those who can get other people to agree with them, to contribute their own ideas, and to feel motivated and invested in the organization’s success.

Thinking of yourself as an influential leader will help you achieve this. But before you start trying to be top dog, there are some things first that need attention. Here are five easy ways to develop your influence as a leader.

1) Stop comparing yourself to others

This might sound crazy at first blush, but research shows it makes no difference whether you believe you are a good leader or not. What matters is how you perceive yourself as a leader compared to someone else. And the way to eliminate this perception is to simply stop looking at what others are doing and saying as examples of leadership.

It’s like believing that because somebody else owns a house, he or she is rich. Or thinking that because another person has a degree, he or she must be smart. Both these beliefs are wrong because nobody is equally strong in all areas of life.

Your perceived leadership ability comes from within yourself.

Make plans and invite people to join you

As mentioned earlier, one of the important roles that leadership plays in team building is creating opportunities for your colleagues to meet and connect with each other.

This can be done through organized gatherings or activities, as well as by offering your help when they are struggling to complete their work.

By being proactive about meeting new people and helping them achieve their goals, you’ll win trust and respect.

And don’t forget, while it may feel like there’s not much you can do to improve others’ behaviour, research has shown that things like asking questions, listening, acknowledging mistakes and giving praise all have an effect.

Prepare delicious foods or provide drinks

Having enough snacks and lunch is a good start to having a successful team building activity! If you are leading this event, you can either prepare food yourself or ask someone who knows better to do it for you.

If you know some of your teammates well, they might be able to help you make sure that their colleagues enjoy the meal during the last tour. They could also offer tips on how to motivate them while they’re eating!

Having fun with friends is great, but keeping in touch after the event will depend on whether or not you made any plans together afterwards. So, think about ways to facilitate these meetings before, during and after the event.

Make it a theme or a party

The best way to lead a team meeting is to make it fun and interactive. Why not use games as a tool for leadership?

Games are a great way to connect with other people. We all have different levels of game savvy, so why not use that knowledge to motivate others!

Playing games such as “Pinball” or “Rock-Paper-Scissors” can be done at any time, anywhere. Even if you don’t know how to play, there are many apps available where you can watch someone else play and then you can pick up the skills from there.

Some ideas: Ask members of your team to name two things they would like to do this week. Then, choose one thing each person says and make it a movie night! Or ask about their favorite movies and order some snacks and drinks (or ask what everyone wants) and let them enjoy them while watching a movie.

Communicate the plan well

As mentioned earlier, one of the most important things leadership does is to ensure that everyone knows what to do next. This includes knowing your role, how you can help the others succeed, and getting them to agree with those plans.

As leader, make sure you are constantly communicating and supporting your team members. When they ask questions or give feedback, listen and respond accordingly.

Your teammates will look up to you and trust you if you show interest in their work. Take an active part in meetings, discussions, and tasks to promote teamwork.

If someone doesn’t seem to be doing their job properly, don’t hesitate to speak up! Don’t assume anything- talk about the issue openly so both parties know how to address it.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the most important leadership qualities you can have as a manager or leader. It’s also something that people struggle with, especially in the workplace where there are so many different demands made on them.

As a leader, your job is to set clear expectations for how employees should behave, and then ensure those behaviors occur consistently every day. This way, they don’t need to worry about what actions they should take since you have done it before and what happened last time!

It sounds simple, but being a consistent leader isn’t always easy. Sometimes things just happen and you end up doing one thing instead of another because you didn’t plan for this contingency.

But if you are able to do that, then at least you left these situations unprepared which means you won’t feel too bad about yourself. On the contrary, you were smart enough to recognize an unexpected situation arose and you adjusted accordingly.

On top of that, being a inconsistent leader can easily create a sense of chaos and confusion among staff members. They may even begin to question whether their action was the right one since they couldn’t tell if what they did made any difference.

If you are already a good leader, then you will know that consistency is one of the key components to having successful relationships with others.

Celebrate together

As discussed earlier, leadership is a mix of things like motivating people to take action and supporting them while they perform those actions. Leaders also celebrate success for others and are aware of what’s going on in the workplace around them.

Celebrate milestones with your team, whether it's a big promotion, winning a competition or completing a project. Take time out every week as needed to have some group chats, organize events or activities or just spend time talking about things that matter to you.

Leaders don’t feel obligated to do something special every day but they make an effort every few days to connect with their staff. This creates a supportive environment where employees can come talk to you about things they need help with and you can provide guidance and assistance.

Weekends are usually pretty hectic so most employers don’t hold meetings then unless there’s something important happening. Make sure to keep in touch at least once per week even if nothing major happens.

Enforce respect

As a leader, you must create an environment where your team members feel respected and understood. When they do not, it can be hard to achieve their full potential.

Team member's trust in you will quickly break down if they perceive that you are not looking out for their best interests. If this happens, they may try to take matters into their own hands or even look for another manager.

Research has shown that when people have higher levels of trust, they are happier at work, perform better and stay longer within the organization.

It is also important to note that studies show that one third of workplace conflicts could be prevented by changing how leaders behave. This includes avoiding arguments, being more honest and clear with each other, and listening to what others have to say.

Follow up after the activity

The next step in leading a team building event is to make it meaningful by following up with your participants.

This can be done through meeting them for a coffee or lunch, staying in touch via social media, sending an email, and/or calling them directly.

It’s important to keep conversations light and casual so they don’t feel pressured into anything. Simply say hello and how their day went!

If you notice any signs of distress, ask if they need help or if there is something they would like to talk about.