Can leading team building exercises (games) ruin your company offsite?  This article from Inc Magazine says yes.

From the article:

Method # 6 for ruining your company offsite:

Include teambuilding exercises when teambuilding isn’t the point. Teambuilding exercises, like ropes courses, puzzles, treasure hunts, etc., were incredibly popular in 90s corporate America.

They’re still fairly popular. After all, who doesn’t want a stronger, more cohesive team?

Still, a one-off teambuilding exercise will not result in a stronger, more cohesive team. Workplace trust is not built on a ropes course. Trust is built when employees know, through long experience, that they can count on each other.

Skip the exercises.  Get down to business instead. Great teams become great teams when they produce great results.

Focus the meeting on how to produce great results, and let your team discover how great it is through their achievements.

 

I agree with the author. A one-off teambuilding exercise will not result in a stronger, more cohesive team.  However, some organizers like to believe in teambuilding mirages.

Thank you IATF member Mike Cardus for pointing this article out.