In our technological era, the virtual office was inevitable. The current pandemic hastened its adoption. Along with remote offices comes the concept of remote teams. Many people seem to think that building teams remotely is difficult. There are plenty of blogs, articles, and online “workshops” to help people build better teams. 1 2 3 4
All of these games miss the main ingredients for building a great team: trust and communication. These activities waste valuable time. They have nothing to do with the skills people use on the job, the knowledge people need to do their jobs, or how to communicate effectively with their colleagues.
Companies spend Ridiculous amounts of money on these activities. If you’ll notice, the links I’ve provided, (and any other “team building” activity company you look up on your own) don’t have any prices listed on their site. That’s because they claim to tailor the activities for your team. The truth is, these places don’t tailor anything. That’s just an excuse to charge companies anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Whether team building activities are designed for face-to-face or virtual offices, most employees do not want to participate because they feel like they were designed for preschoolers. Adults want to be treated like adults.
The above video is quite long, so don’t feel obligated to watch it. Mr. Moriarty here spends 20 minutes explaining how to play different versions of Pictionary with your teammates online…yeah, seriously. At least that’s better than what happens in those in-person team building activities…
Really? Oversized playing cards and running around like an idiot? Who honestly thought these activities would build strong teams? Certainly not someone within a strong team…
The foundation of a great team is trust. That trust comes from honesty. Honesty is formed through open and transparent communication. When team leaders are open, honest, and communicate well with team members, it builds the trust necessary for strong teams. It also sets an example for the other team members. Team leaders should also be vulnerable enough to admit when they don’t know something; be willing to accept that leaders are not “all knowing and all powerful”, but able to learn along with the team. Most of all, leaders should be accountable. Accepting responsibility for the team will build strong team trust and loyalty.
Contrary to common belief, team building has nothing to do with playing silly games that cost an exorbitant amount of money. What really counts is good leadership and open, honest communication within the team. By learning, growing, and communicating with the team, team leaders are already building a strong team…without the need for silly games that no one really wants to participate in anyway.
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