Adebayor's started so well for Man City
Have you ever been on a team building day?
One of our production team - who will remain nameless - is going on one next week and is extremely nervous about it. The bit he's dreading the most is having to bring in an object that means a lot to him and talk about it. Blimey.
So I want to hear from you if you have been on one - perhaps you've had to build a bridge across a river - maybe you've had to reveal a deep, dark personal secret to a load of people you really don't like.
Tell me whether or not you think they're worth the time, effort and money.
We may get you onto the show tomorrow
I recently was recruited to videotape and produce a DVD of one team building exercise for a sales group in a US fortune 500 company.
The exercise was corny. It was not the exercise, but getting the team to know one another better, build informal lines of communication, and get out of the work setting whilst doing so.
Ironically, the entire group from VP on down was fired a couple weeks ago, not two months after the team building exercise.
I worked for a High St bank years ago and went on a week long activity course, a bit like outward bound but they weren't allowed to call it that. We had to go hiking in the middle of the night, pot-holing, abseiling, canoeing, build a bridge across a river, do trust exercises, camp overnight in sub-zero temps, make videos about our time in Derbyshire in January
I know these things cost a lot of money but for me personally the only thing I learnt was that I definitely did not like outdoor pursuits.
The report that was sent back to my office said that I was not a team player, which incidentally I disagreed with. It is very hard to be a team player when you are thrown into activities that scare the living daylights out of you with a bunch of complete strangers.
I think this sort of activity can work at some level but only if you are doing it with the people you are supposed to work with.
It also helps if you've been a guide or a scout and can live without en-suite facilities, hairdryer and chocolate.
Best regards
Nikki
I work for company that provides teambuilding events as part of our change management activities. These events need to be well prepared and geared to the circumstances within the organisation.
Like all of these type of things there are good and not so good. The key is to make it relevant but also take people out of the work environment so that everyone is starting from the same level so status, technical expertise and other differentiators normal in the workplace are not factors.
They need to be fun but also faciltated well so that there is a meaningful learning experience and that any feedback is handled sensitively and managed in a positive way.
Happy to talk tomorrow