Activities for Team Building

Activities for Team Building Team Building activities are tasks given to a group of people and are meant to stimulate and develop their capacity to work together effectively and efficiently. The level of the tasks complexity depends on the objective of the exercise. Most team building activities contain an element of fun and function as the different team members combine forces to present the best possible outcome. Team building platforms vary from sports, training, presentation, youth to the more serious one that involve corporate groups. They can also be carried out within groups of all ages as long as they have a common interest. Most team work however requires a facilitator; this is an oversight element that makes sure that the team has everything needed in order to accomplish the tasks as required. In a sport team building, the facilitator could be the coach, in a corporate setting; a department manager could act as the facilitator.

He/she must have the ability to motivate, guide or counsel the rest of the team mates. His/her spirit is captured by the team and their performance to a larger extent depends on his/her guidance and attitude. Successful team building activities start with a strategy that involves each team mate's contribution. The strategy allows the team to define an approach to the task. If for example the team has gone camping and needs to pitch camp as well as get enough fire logs to keep burning through the night, one group can choose to take any of the two tasks while the other handles the remaining task. That way, they ensure that time is managed well and that both the camps and logs are ready before dusk. Often, the facilitator will be interested in the team building process rather than the outcome. Activities for Team Building Johannesburg However, this is not to mean that the end result is not important. On the contrary; teams get points or awards depending on both the process and the overall results. In the process stage, the facilitator is able to monitor individual inputs, how resources are allocated and used and the decision making process. He/she also looks out for leadership qualities among the participants and also keeps an eye on emerging conflicts and tries to strike a comprise.

The team building setting should provide a free environment, where every participant's contribution is welcome, although it may not be put to use. The facilitator must also consider the facilitation guide depending on whether the goals are fun based or learning based. Team building activities could include, racing, where the team members take turns on the wheel to steer their group forward. More complex corporate exercises may include developing a product right from the idea stage, development and marketing of the resulting product. The overall objective of the team building exercise is to encourage participants to assist each other as they work. The exercise also enhances the participants' skills in problem solving and most importantly, it encourages creativity and aids in developing skills for both the participants and the facilitator.