Business team building games and other ice breakers are so important to maintain cohesiveness in a company and in individual working groups. With remote workplaces and segmented teams it’s now easier for people in the workplace to become estranged from each other, even from the people on the other side of their cubicle. When silence lingers or team members flee, you know you have an internal communication challenge that could benefit from effective team building.
Whether your goal as a manager is to build up an already existing work group or forming a new team, team building games can provide opportunities for new and deeper connections among members. These quick and easy activities can help them solve problems together and allow team members to get to know each other’s working styles. Here are examples of team building games you can use at your next meeting or away day.
1. DESCRIBE YOURSELF OR TEAM DISCOVERY
This team building game allows for teams to discover how well they know each other, and how well each member knows themselves.
In groups of 3-5 people, each person is given a pack of index cards. All team members receive the same color cards and pens. On one card, each individual writes their name in plain block letters.
On the three other cards, each team member writes three strengths or descriptors they feel best represents them in the workplace. Examples include “social,” “well-organized,” or “good with numbers.”
Have your team turn the cards face-down, and move all their 4 cards to the center of the table where they will be mixed together. Turn over the cards and names. Have the team arrange the correct descriptors beneath each team member’s name.
This team building game will let you know how well the team members know each other’s skill sets and personalities and how accurately the employees describe themselves.
2. PUB-STYLE QUIZ BASED ON YOUR TEAM’S HISTORY
In this simple team building game you start by asking all team members for facts about themselves. For example you may ask your team to report any:
- little known achievements
- favorite leisure activities
- favorite customers
- most common lunch
Basically, any facts the team could know about each other.
Organize the team into groups of 2-3 people. Give each group a moment to choose a team name – encourage them to get wildly creative! As facilitator, ask the questions or mix in questions about pop culture, sport, and industry news. Give the teams 30 seconds or a minute to confer on their answer, before calling time. The answers get submitted on a piece of paper with their team’s name.
At the end of 10-20 questions, as the facilitator you tally up which teams have the highest and lowest scores. The highest scoring team wins a fun prize; the low scorers win a “donkey prize.”
3. TRUTH GAME FOR INTRODUCING NEW TEAM MEMBERS
Not to be confused with Truth or Dare, this team building game is perfect for a round table meeting as a way of introducing team members.
Give the members 30 seconds to think of two true statements about themselves, and one false. As introductions get made around the table, the person announces their true and false facts. The rest of the attendees guess which is the true statement and which is the false!
LOOKING FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL TEAM BUILDING GAMES TO IMPROVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION?
The most common problem teams have is communication. No matter what, it never leaves the top 4 common issues that teams experience. Investing in your team’s ability to communicate, through team building programs, delivers immediate value to the team and to those they serve.
You can get teams talking and sharing a lot of personal insights with others through an exploration of their natural communication approaches. Ensure learning gets applied as a team so its not just team building. You want the team building to lead to team action that achieves impact. Looking for more ideas? Learn2 offers a number of programs to build your teams and improve communication.
A Strong Company Starts with A Strong Team. Plan your Next Team Building Experience.
