In an environment where employees are encouraged to score individual accomplishments and come on top of the competition, it is very difficult to build a sense of team among your employees. Moreover, the corporate culture per se is such that it singles out individuals to appreciate and reward accomplishments rather than reward them for their team play. Such strategies may improve individual productivity but not the team. So, can team building exercises work as icebreakers here? What are the activities that can be fun and entertaining, helping in building a stronger team? And, what are the things to be considered while conducting team building activities?

1. Team-Building Exercises As Icebreakers!
Teams thrive on collaboration. Collaboration is possible when team members find value in
working together. Your team-building exercises should, therefore, be directed at building a
culture where individuals value collaboration and share a sense of team. You need to inculcate in
them that “none of us is as good as all of us” (High Five) and emphasize how they can benefit
personally by complementing each other to achieve the team’s objectives.
There are different types of activities that can improve team spirit. While choosing a suitable set
of activities for your employees, keep in view the following aspects:
Create Fun Environment: Your team-building activities should be a lot of fun. Fun
environments lighten pressurized minds and make them more positive and productive.
Remember that team-building activities should not serve to inculcate any additional skills that
make your employee more productive but to convey to them that they need one another to
achieve their common objectives.
Improve Communication: The activities that you choose should encourage a lot of
communication among team members. The more they talk, the deeper their understanding of
each other will be. It will also dispel misunderstandings that had formed previously between
individuals on account of lack of communication. These activities should be opportunities to bury
the hatchet and form effective teams.
Do not Encourage Competition: Creating competitive environment can be counterproductive
because it encourages your employees to try and outdo one another. In that effort, they work
against the others instead of working together. Therefore, discourage this. Design and
implement activities that require collaboration and interdependence to succeed. This brings up
unity among the members and helps them take a lesson or two to the workplace.
Do not Cause Confusion: The activities that you take up should be communicated without any
ambiguity to team members. There should not be any confusion because it will dissipate the
team’s enthusiasm and puzzle them. So, make your expectations of them absolutely clear, and
give them clear instructions on how to proceed and be successful in team activities.
Make It Frequent: If you are to truly improve team spirit among your employees, have
frequent team-building activities. Make them part of your corporate culture. Conduct them as
often as you can, at least once or twice a year.
Team-building activities show how working together can help individual members fill talent gaps
and achieve their common objectives effectively. To this effect, you should plan activities and
execute them with effect.
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