If you’re a manager looking for something to motivate employees or maybe a team leader looking for ways to improve communication and cooperation within the team, then a simple ten minute team building exercise could prove the ideal the solution.

Before delivering the team building session, it is important you take your time to plan in advance.  Every session should be developed from two or three goals that have been identified with the participants in mind. Once you have identified the learning outcomes then select an exercise that will help you achieve those outcomes.

Here are a few quick and easy to deliver challenges:

Team Building Session Structure

Once you have selected an appropriate challenge, then you have to plan each element of the training session. On a basic level the delivery of a team building session should consist of the following:

·         Introduction and explanation
·         Activity/Challenge
·         Review

Introduction

Introduce yourself (if you don’t already know the group) and the team building session. Speak to participants about similar past experiences. Set learning objectives for the exercise and discuss with the group to ensure understanding.

Next, explain the task to the group. Give them clear instructions including time allocated for completion and any rules for the challenge.

Activity/Challenge

The majority of your time should be given to actual time on task to ensure participants get the most from the experience. Although completion of the task is important, how they achieve that goal or get to the end result is the key part of the team building session and this is where the real learning happens.

Review

Reviewing is an important part of any team building session. It is a point in the session where you can connect the dots, confirm the learning with the group and consolidate any information that they may have taken on board.

If you hurry your review it can hinder the quality of learning and the outcomes for the session. You can however make the most of just a few minutes and get reasonably good results. 

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If you have any questions, then feel free to message me. Happy Team Building!