Team building: explore beyond the escape room
When enjoying yourself isn’t enough
It’s common that in end-of-year or may meetings the idea comes up to do a team building activity. We often fall back on the standard suggestions, such as an escape room or a pinball competition. They are fun, of course, but do they really achieve the goal of bringing the team together?
Experience shows us that this type of activity, purely fun and competitive, can have the opposite effect. Rather than uniting, they can reinforce differences or let the same people take centre stage, while others are excluded.
The importance of cooperation
It’s not a case of removing fun. Quite the opposite. Loosening up, having a laugh and releasing some endorphins are vital for any meet-up. But if we want a real impact, we need to incorporate a cooperative and creative element to group dynamics that reinforces both group cohesion as well as connection to the company culture. They shouldn’t be ready-made experiences.
The key is designing experiences that:
- Encourage collaboration more than competency.
- Allow everyone to contribute, not just the extroverts.
- Align with the goals of the organisation and the desired processes of innovation.
- Reinforce necessary soft skills: communication, active listening, confidence and lateral thinking at work.
Creative experiences that transform
At Art for Life we facilitate participatory activities that combine fun, creativity and purpose. Along with shared reflection, the basis for team growth.
A few examples:
- Art Thinking in a museum: take inspiration from artworks to observe and create, activating strategic reflection and creativity when thinking about ideas.
- Game Storming: games and dynamic activities that help to increase motivation, generate ideas, and open the way for innovation.
- Visual Thinking: making the invisible visible by drawing together as a team and creating visual metaphors for the challenges the organisation faces, facilitating participation and group cohesion.
These methods, combined with your organisational goals, can result in unique experiences, designed just for your organisation. They are not generic activities, they are a route towards team creativity that boost motivation and strengthen shared culture.
Creativity with purpose
To sum up: having fun and growing professionally are not mutually exclusive goals. They can, and should, go hand in hand. A good business consultancy will design sessions that generate cohesion, innovation and commitment within the organisation.
Trust in your team, they can be even more than you imagine.
Do you want your next team meeting to be as transformative as it is fun? Let’s design a creative session that will create real motivation and strengthen your company culture.