Team building organizations and clients looking for a team building program often do not understand what a “team building agenda” looks like. Below is an example of a full day group schedule:
special notes
The Sample Groups team training will take place over a period of 7 hours with 1 hour for lunch at a location to be decided.
Team Building Program (10:00 am – 5:00 pm: all times are approximate and subject to change)
(?) Participants will arrive at the meeting location ~9:00 – 9:30 am, have a light breakfast, and the Program will begin at 10:00 am.
Program objectives
1. Strengthen the existing community: So that the participants acquire a greater understanding of the members that make up the group. Develop respect and appreciation for the skills, diverse backgrounds, values and talents that each member brings to the group and understand that their individual attributes are a resource to be harnessed for group effectiveness and learning.
two. Collaborative teamwork: For team members to see a “whole team” approach understanding that high-quality customer service requires the best work of all and is interrelated for success. Participants will examine what their role is on the team and how a shared collaborative community is more successful than a competitive community.
3. Have fun through a shared experience: The team building program will be enjoyable and will set the expectation that the work environment will be rewarding and require hard work to increase and maintain effectiveness.
10:00-10:30 Opening: Establish the atmosphere of the team program
o Introduction of the Team Building Facilitator
o Site logistics: restrooms, general property layout, etc.
o Program Agenda
o Team expectations for the program
o What the team expects from the Team Building Facilitator for the success of the program
10:30-11:00 Icebreakers and Disinhibitors
Overview: Participants are guided through a series of initiatives that will open up the team building experience for them.
Results: Participants will have fun and begin to open up to each other. The initiatives are all low risk, low physical contact and minimal. By creating an atmosphere of slow introduction to more challenging initiatives to come, participants become part of the experience and take more personal responsibility for the success of the program. These initiatives will also allow the group to get to know Mike and give him a better idea of how to progress with the team’s programs.
11:00-11:45 DiSC Overview
The participant will have already taken the DiSC profile online prior to the Program. They will know their results (the team building facilitator will also know the results of the team)
Overview: This program trains team members to understand individual behavioral styles and group dynamics. Each participant will have completed an online DiSC® Personality Profile, which highlights their specific DiSC profile. Participants will receive information that illustrates their styles and other useful information on how to create productive relationships. The team will also be able to view and discuss the dominant style of groups, highlighting strengths and potential blind spots.
Through dynamic and highly interactive activities, participants will experience their DiSC styles as they are involved in a variety of team building initiatives. In addition, they will have the opportunity to adjust behaviors to improve individual and team effectiveness. Fun, powerful, and immediately applicable in the workplace, this program provides a foundation for further organizational development. The respect, teamwork, and trust created by this approach develop a framework in which all team members can excel. This is an investment in the true power of diversity and how it can be harnessed for organizational growth and success!
Results:
o Trust and respect between people
o Increased understanding of individual behavior and its impact on personal and group productivity and group morale.
o Improved communication by breaking down communication barriers
o New techniques to tailor behaviors based on individuals they work with
o Key challenges inhibiting optimal team performance
11:45-12:30 What is your style
Overview: Participants choose several different cards that list behaviors that correlate with the DiSC profile words. They place these behavior cards on posters with the name of the departments written on them (for example, Human Resources). After a public demonstration of which departments are dominant in which dimension of the DiSC profile, participants are placed into teams according to their dominant DiSC and lead some challenges.
Results: The participants will know the results of the DiSC profile. The “What’s Your Style” activity helps reinforce participants in the DiSC language. In addition, it gives participants the opportunity to see how they relate to other members of the team. With the “What’s Your Style” processing session, team members will have a greater awareness of each other and the foundation for a collaborative atmosphere will be created.
Additionally, team members will see DiSC in relation to departments within the sample team.
12:30-1:00 rope cuffs
Overview: Departments are connected to the people in their department; more departments are connected to each other with the cuffs of the ropes. All departments and team members in each department are now connected to each other. The challenge is to get all team members and departments separated, which will lead to company-wide success.
Leave: The concept of solving a problem that seems to have no obvious solution is a valuable job skill. Creative and out-of-the-box thinking is required. Retracing the steps between the initial formation of the puzzle and finally solving it provides a roadmap for future research and solutions to other problems. Finding the answer as part of a group investigation and then sharing the solution is also a living lesson in an abundance mindset towards information sharing that can grow the sample organization. An exploration of the DiSC profile in relation to working through this initiative will be discussed.
1:00-2:00 FOOD
2:00-2:15 rebound cooperative
Overview: The team chooses a game closing score and is then challenged to reach this score in the given game time (usually around 10 minutes). Each player chooses a shooter and, while standing in a large circle, must catch a “bouncing ball” on its first bounce. FUN!!
Results: Have fun after lunch and energize the group.
2:15-3:15 PVC net
Overview: Participants are divided into mixed subgroups based on their dominant DiSC. Each group must work together to accomplish a challenging goal with a tight deadline. Each team receives a collection of PVC pipes with connectors and must assemble a single interconnected structure so that there are no open holes. Each subgroup will work independently on this project.
Results: This activity is rich in results. Read to understand and follow rules, organize your workspace and gear, take inventory (of gear items and talents), work as a team, use all available information, take care of gear vs. getting the job done, starting over if needed, empowering other team members, and celebrating a job well done are some of the possibilities.
3:15-4:00 Trap’Tory
Overview: The sample group is challenged to replicate a work environment. Although instead of making high-quality products to deliver to customers, they use mousetraps that must be arranged according to strict customer guidelines. The team will be provided with tools (spoons, plates, mousetraps) and will have time to delegate responsibilities among team members to achieve success.
Results: This activity is physically and mentally challenging enough to push team members out of their comfort zones. Trap’Tory explores shared teamwork and holding the team accountable for results. The team members quickly discover that each part of the Trap’Tory requires various sets of skills and talents to keep customers satisfied; teamwork and commitment to the project are illuminated in the activity.
4:00-4:15 Discussion of goals, learning and blockers
Overview: The team will break into subgroups to discuss what was gained from the team training, what they want to bring to the workplace, and what will prevent the team from achieving their goals. They will be asked to write these targets, tilts, and blockers on tennis balls.
4:15-4:45 focus ring
Overview: Subgroups will be led into an area with a focus ring (one for each group). They will be asked to rest their learning ball on top of a PVC pipe. Teams are challenged to transfer their learning ball from the PVC pipe and place it on the other teams’ pipe. The focus ring is a 2-inch diameter key ring with several thin strings radiating from the ring.
Results: When a group works together to complete a task, the impact each person has can be profound. In this activity, the ball can drop if one person does not do their job well. This fact can be useful for the group during the debriefing (processing of the activity).
The group identifies their most important goal and is asked to identify the biggest obstacles to achieving this goal. The team writes the goal on the tennis ball using a marker and then places physical objects (tables, chairs, doors, etc.) in the path of the group – the group identifies each obstacle with a token (example: table = lack of time appropriate). Then the group goes under the table, over the chairs, through the door, etc. During the processing, I will ask the group to describe how they handled each of the physical obstacles and how they can use similar skills to handle the obstacles that are real to them in order to achieve their goal.
4:45-5:00 Summary and now what?
Overview: Participants are shown a series of images on cards. Participants are placed in their work department and asked to choose three cards with an image that metaphorically symbolizes the past, present and future of their respective department. The group will then discuss and choose three final cards that represent the past, present, and future of the sample group.
Results: This is a great closing activity as each department states their personal vision for the day and declares their commitment to what they will do to take their team to the next level. The team that decides their future gives them ownership of the results and supports a team community.