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.

 Almost every team will tell you that they struggle with communication. And we've got some fresh ways to help you think about the communication challenges for the teams that you support.

In this "GO Communicate" TeleSeminar we will explore two unique lenses for communication: the "advocacy and inquiry" model, and the "directing and informing" style differences, based on the pioneering work of Dr. Linda Berens.
 
This free webinar was developed exclusively for members of IATF. Brought to you by Susan Gerke and David Hutchens, it is a follow up to their popular presentation from last year, "From Stuck to GO."

Susan Gerke is the president of Gerke Consulting & Development where she designs, customizes and implements leadership and teamwork programs.  Her clients include Bank of the West, BHK Accountancy, City of Anaheim, Human Options, Orange Coast College, Sole Technology, UC Irvine, and Warner Bros.

David Hutchens, a bestselling author, and organizational learning consultant. He  has worked with IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, Wal-Mart, GE, Nike, and many others.

Together, Susan and David have created GO Team, a library of 18 easy-to-deliver team-training modules that allow you to build your own team training agenda.

This TeleSeminar will be interactive - - you'll be able to talk with our special guest speaker and ask them your questions directly (or send them in as text).  It's "just in time" training and development! 

Dial in, share your experiences… and then start unleashing even more team power in your organization.

Call Details

TITLE

GO Communicate!: Exploring and improving how your teams interact.

DATE

Wednesday   February 22, 2012

TIME

Starts at 1 pm  Eastern (NY City time zone)
runs for 60- 70 minutes

PRESENTERS

Susan Gerke and David Hutchens, creators of GO Team Resources

Tom Heck, President & Founder of the IATF

REGISTER

 CLICK HERE to register.  It's FREE. Registration is closed.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Come to the call ready to participate in small group discussions, share ideas and resources, ask questions, answer quick polls, and be fully engaged as we put the newest distance learning telephone conferencing technology to use!

RECORDING

This call was recorded and is now archived in the IATF Members Only Area. Not yet an IATF member?  Join HERE.

CLICK HERE to download the recording for a limited time. (link coming soon)

Click on the link below to download the slide deck used during the call.

Download GoTeam_Communication_slide_deck_022212

Click on the link below to download directions for leading the experiential learning exercise mentioned by Al Weinberg during the call.

Download Al_weinberg_game

TELEPHONE CONFERENCING TECHNOLOGY

During this TeleSeminar we'll be using the newest telephone conferencing technology that provides a remarkably engaging experience.  CLICK HERE to learn more about this technology.