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As the halfway point of the fiscal calendar year approaches, many organizations are examining year-to-date results, opportunities in the funnel and are already beginning to plan for next year as the first half of 2006 is almost over. That said, often times the teams need a little boost in their energy levels to keep the momentum going for the remainder of the year.
So, as the leader of your organization, is it time to have a team building event and recharge the troops? Hummmmm. That depends on a few things:
- What is your feeling about whether this could bring benefit to the group?
- Who would be invited to such an event...only your immediate team or your team and others who support the success of your organization?
- Do you have the budget to hold a half-day or full day offsite team building event? (Notice it is not called an offsite meeting because just the sound of a "meeting" sounds too serious and not a venue for having fun.)
As you consider the questions mentioned above, think about what team building is supposed to accomplish and what it actually does or does not accomplish. Many feel it is intended to bring people together away from the office in a pleasant setting to engage in enjoyable activities where they get to know one another better. Sometimes it is intended to build a bridge and establish a relationship between parties who have never met or who have become adversaries in their past interactions.
Whatever your intentions are for having an offsite event, make sure you communicate them to your team. Explain what you would like to accomplish so that everyone has a clear understanding. Perhaps you feel that everyone in your group just needs to have a FUN time away from the office and really enjoy themselves. If that's your intention, then indeed make it fun: play games, relax, engage in good conversations, etc...Since this event is intended to be TIME AWAY FROM WORK, then let everyone know they should have no outside contact except for emergencies. Otherwise, they tend not to really relax.
Great relationships sometimes evolve from these events as individuals become more comfortable in dealing with one another and form strong bonds. However, other times individuals are brought together and pre-existing perceptions are held onto such that the event does little or nothing to develop better relationships. That is why it is important to let your team know what you would like for them to get out of the event.
Remember that team building is an on-going process. Holding an offsite event can certainly help to forge new relationships and build better ones, but it can also do little towards developing solid relationships if the day-to-day dealings between individuals and teams are not actively focused on. It takes time to build good relationships. By devoting attention to and working on improving them on a regular basis, it will yield excellent results!
As always, wishing you much success,
Laura
Note: If budget constraints are an issue to holding an offsite team building event, please contact me at coach@energizeyouroutlook.com or give me a call on 713-385-1013 for some fun ideas on a minimal budget.
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