How To Plan For Team Building

As an executive leader, you will need to create an environment where your team can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, experiences, and feelings. This is important not just at times of success, but also when there are breaks in action or morale is low.

Team building is a persistent process that requires repeat engagement. It takes time to connect with different people and come up with creative ways to do this.

Here are some tips to help you plan events, activities, and programs. Make sure to organize them into groups by genre to make it easy for participants to find something they like!

Event planning is a fun way to use your leadership skills and creativity. If you’re ever struggling to come up with ideas, look no further than these group activity templates.

Held every year since 2008, The Best Time To Change Your Career Is Now event is attended by over 1,000 professionals from various industries across the globe. More than 70% said it was helpful to learn new things and improved their career prospects.

You don’t have to be involved in organizing such events to get benefits from them — simply watching one should give you enough inspiration to put together your own program.

Keep reading for more insights about how to organize effective team-building exercises.

Establish a theme

As mentioned before, team building is not about what you do, but why you do it. This can be difficult at first as most people enjoy doing things because they like to, not necessarily because of past experiences or lessons learned.

However, by asking yourself “why” you are organizing an activity or event, you will know if your ideas work and whether they are effective. You will also learn more about how to motivate others.

Your participants will feel more connected to each other and the organization if you discuss the reasons in detail.

The best way to organize an activity or event is to establish a them — something everyone involved knows well already.

A good theme gives people clues about next steps and helps connect individuals and groups together. It creates conversations that matter and inspire action.

Choose a time and date

As mentioned before, team building is not about having fun at a party or going out for drinks together. These are definitely good ways to do it, but they are not necessarily the best types of activities for group building.

Team-building exercises should be focused more on creating relationships than anything else. This can include things like taking a walk outside or doing something active such as hiking or kayaking.

Planning your activity ahead of time will give you an opportunity to find the right people for the event and work with them effectively.

Some groups may need extra time to get along, so don’t feel that you have to go through with the exercise if this isn’t the case.

Invite people

Team building is an excellent way to boost team morale and productivity. It can be done at any time, whether it’s during the winter months when employees are idle or in the summer when everyone has time off.

Teambuilding can include anything from attending sports games together to going out for drinks after work. More interactive activities like cooking or swimming are also great ways to strengthen relationships!

Interacting as a unit instead of individually will help you achieve your goals more quickly and effectively. A good place to start with teamwork is asking how each person feels about their job and what they could do to improve their performance.

There’s no wrong way to plan a team activity, but here are some tips to make it fun for all involved.:

Ask around and find out if anyone knows of any events or opportunities. Sometimes there’s an employee event that people don’t know about because it’s not advertised very well.

If you’re hosting the event, let people know early so they have time to prepare. Decorate for the event appropriately and give enough notice so people can come!

Don’t forget to reward the participants afterwards! Give away prizes or take advantage of the opportunity to socialize.

Provide food and drinks

A lot of people do not realize how important it is to organize a team building event or activity. You would think that spending money on snacks and beverages would be the main focus, but actually planning where to hold your event is just as essential!

Teambuilding can cost anywhere from $500 – $5,000 per person depending on the type of event you have and what types of activities you include.

The timing and location are also very important since most employers will require at least a one week notice. Many times, they will provide funding for attending events, but only if you tell them about it ahead of time.

Create a theme

As mentioned before, team building is more than just going out for pizza together or taking an unexpected trip somewhere. It’s exploring what makes your group of friends strong, figuring out how to bring those strengths into the workplace, and celebrating those successes.

That last part can be tricky. A lot of times we get so focused on our jobs that we forget to celebrate the things that make our colleagues great.

But if you want to keep people working with you, you have to show them that you appreciate their efforts. You need to let them know they matter.

So, during next week’s team meeting, ask each other about projects you've worked on recently that you felt made a difference. Tell stories about how someone else's ideas changed the way you approach assignments, and praise anyone who went above and beyond the job description.

You'll also want to invite everyone in your department to a gathering outside of work to meet some of the others in the organization.

Tell your friends

As mentioned earlier, team building is more than just having fun together. It’s an opportunity to expose your colleagues to new experiences so that they can develop relationships with them.

By bringing people together outside of work, you increase trust among coworkers and create opportunities to show off strengths. This helps promote productivity and efficiency in the workplace.

Plan some group activities or events for your staff every month. You could do something casual like going out for coffee or doing yoga at the office, or make it bigger by holding a conference or meeting.

The most effective team-building exercises don’t cost a lot of money, but they should be planned with enough time to prepare. Try organizing a game day where everyone has to dress in themed clothes and participate actively.

Tell your family

This is probably one of the most difficult things to do, but making time as a team member means investing in your colleagues and encouraging teamwork outside of work.

Running a group activity or outing can be organized by someone other than you. For example, if there’s a pool at work, you could organize an underwater exercise session or a swim day.

You could also invite some of your coworkers to join you for lunch or a movie — anything that doesn’t require too much conversation!

If necessary, ask if anyone else would like to come along with you so they don’t feel left out. It might seem awkward at first, but sometimes people need just this kind of invitation to bring up tough issues.

In addition to spending time together outside of work, traveling as a team can strengthen relationships. If possible, find ways to connect while you’re apart – maybe share costs for a holiday, or set up separate meetings via video chat or phone.

Do not invite your boss

As mentioned earlier, team building is an excellent way to boost employee productivity and morale. A fun event that requires you to work with others can strengthen relationships in the workplace.

Inviting your manager or senior leader at the company as part of a group activity is not recommended unless it has been approved through the appropriate channels and they have given permission.

Never invite someone on a business trip or paid holiday during the day if this is a working week for them. This is unfair to them and could be considered discrimination or even illegal.

If you must organize an off-site, make sure it is for a good cause and that it will promote teamwork and productive conversations. Avoid events that are too expensive or require formal registration like workshops or courses.