Team Building Exercises

Three Team Building Exercises to Improve Group Performance

Working in a group can be a challenge. Some people are just more comfortable working alone while others just do not have the social skills to communicate well with others. This is why team managers tend to give out team building exercises that are meant to improve the individual as much as the group as a whole in order to optimize the group’s performance, whether they are at work, in the home or at school.

These exercises can be done with little to no equipment at all since the goal of these activities is to form stable communication, a varying degree of dependence between the participants, and to establish the role of each individual as they work together for the group for them to achieve their goal.

The main hindrance that many team building exercises encounter is that they are too competitive in nature; these exercises are meant to help the group work together, not for one individual to rise above the rest. Some competitive exercises work very well since they are able to formulate group tactics and the focus is still on a group working together but this time they are competing against another group as well. To get a clearer view on the different activities that can help any organization formulate stronger communication and a relative bond between the members, here are three team building exercises to improve group performance and to improve the individual’s role as well.

Team Building Exercises For Kids

First up is an activity designed for kids and it is really easy and advisable to be done in school. This activity, known to many as a lighthouse game, is ideal for young kids to get to know each other when they first get into school because it makes them work together even though they may just met on the first day of classes. The lighthouse game involves one child being blindfolded – this child will play the role of a ship.

Three other students will be lighthouses and they will be scattered across the room. The room will be filled with different obstacles like chairs or cones. The goal is for the lighthouses to verbally guide the ship to each lighthouse for the ship to deliver his cargo, which in many cases is represented by a candy bar.

To make sure that the event is played out neatly and that no one is hurt, only one lighthouse must be guiding the ship at a given time. When the ship has given his candy to that lighthouse, the next lighthouse may begin his turn to guide the ship. The game builds communication between children and a strong bond of trust since the ship, being blindfolded, will have to rely on the verbal guide of the lighthouses.

Team Building Exercises At Work

The second exercise is ideal for those at work. The exercise is popularly known as Paint Me a Picture and it
focuses on team management and coinciding an individual’s skills and knowledge to help the group work against a clock and an opposing team.

These goals improve communication and interdependence. The task is simple: the facilitator will give them an “image” like “statue”, “rock concert” and “bus” and the members of the group have to work together to give a visual picture within a given time limit.

For example: when the facilitator mentions “helicopter” each time has five minutes to paint the picture. One member of the group could crouch and waves his hands to represent the tail of the helicopter while another could stand in the middle with his arms wide open to represent the rotating blades. Another could be the pilot and the others could form the frame.

Team Building Exercises For Sports Teams

Another great team building activity is one for members of a sports team like a baseball team or football team. This exercise is known as Group Genius. One team member will sit down and then a member from the opposing team will write a word on a piece of paper and attach it above or behind the member of the team in a manner where he or she cannot see it.

The person will have to guess the word without looking at the paper. He can only ask questions to his teammates like “is it a car?” or “is it red” or “can I eat it?” and such. The teammates are limited to answering only “yes” and “no” until the person can guess what the word is.

Just Three Great Examples Of Team Building Exercises

These are but three  good team building exercises that focuses on bringing a group of individuals together to working as a group. Strong communication, trust and interdependence are what makes a team work better. Do not limit your schedules to just one exercise per year; try to have them at least once a month for your team to resolve issues and competency that may arise.