All teams need team building. Here are examples of great team building activities that everyone can join in and most people enjoy. We've collected fun, exciting, relaxing, cheap, tasty, educational and crazy ideas.
Start by answering the questions:
- What is our budget?
- What do we want to achieve with the team building activity, what is the purpose? The answer may depend on where the organisation is going and where the team is mentally at the moment.
- Is the team building to support an ongoing change journey, do you need new ideas or do you just want to have fun? Do you need to get to know each other?
- Once those questions are answered, you can move on to: Ok, so what do we do?
What is team building?
Teambuilding is anything that creates team spirit or team spirit. It is exercises, activities or actions that weld the group together on different levels. For example, experiencing things together, talking and getting to know each other or being challenged and achieving common goals.
What is good team building?
Good team building feels meaningful and fun and includes everyone. Good team building strengthens the team and makes members feel valued and appreciated on all levels.
What is less good team building?
Anyone who is perceived as meaningless, superficial, contradictory or has an "us and them" mindset.
Proven effective team building with Teamr - try it here
Things that a teambuilding activity usually does not solve
- Serious conflicts or trust issues in the team. Don't duck, get help, it usually pays off.
- Ambiguous goals in everyday life Where are you going? When will you arrive?
- Unclear roles and mandates within the group. Who does what, how, when and why?
Teambuilding activities for different purposes
Do you need to break the ice?
Buy a deck of cards with personal, fun questions that will help you get to know each other outside of your professional role. Run "Two Truths and a Lie" and let the others guess what's true and what's false. A third option is to share three more fun facts about yourself and do a tip walk with the questions. Then go out to dinner together.
Do you want to get to know each other better?
Everyone is good at something. Ask everyone to show their skills in a hobby they had, or have. Or ask everyone to tell you about something they're proud of, something they want to start, continue, stop or maybe are afraid of?
Need a golden edge or reward?
What does everyone crave most? Reward yourself with just that. Give it some wow feeling! Give extra time off, offer a spa or massage. Make sure you mentally tie the knot, pat yourselves on the back and look ahead.
Do you want to be inspired and get new ideas at work?
Say hello to colleagues elsewhere who have done something good and inspiring.
Do you want to bring different departments together in a new way?
Workshop on the customer journey. Invite participants from different departments and methodically go through customer touchpoints. Find the gaps in the customer journey and propose solutions. It's a great way to build team spirit across the company.
Want to learn something new?
Invite a leading figure in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency or brain science if it supports your vision and clarifies for everyone where you are going. Or browse local food producers, breeders and artisans. Buy a tasting of tomato varieties or take a course in chocolate making.
Are you always competitive? Or do you need to awaken your competitive instincts?
Try experiencing instead, doing something that doesn't involve competition. Run simple games and games with fun prizes that everyone wants to win. Lock yourselves in an escape room, go bowling, play some segway football, organise a pentathlon.
Is management driving a change process and you are not on board?
Suggestion: discuss what the company's vision means. Write three concrete suggestions on how you as a team can contribute to achieving the vision or goal.
Do you have unclear roles or goals that confuse? Lax routines?
Suggestion: try Teamr. You'll get small, simple tasks that move you forward. Takes 15 minutes a week and is suitable for all workplaces, large and small.
Proven effective team building with Teamr - try it here
Examples of teambuilding activities
Run a laughter party
For example, the game Speakout, the game that promises laughter.
Hike
Walk a distance, see beautiful scenery and bring refreshments.
MTB course
A suspension mountain bike is not difficult to handle and can be appreciated by many.
Music quiz
Choose music that most people know and have fun.
Painting paintings
Organise a vernissage - suitable for the creative gang.
virtual reality
Find the nearest VR centre and see space or fight orcs.
Cooking
Many restaurants offer company nights, suitable for everyone if allergies are taken into account.
Build something out of nothing
Have different small things in front of you and build something, for example a house as tall as possible.
Build for real
A real raft, sled or boxcar, with a guide.
Adventure Island
Climb, shoot a bow and arrow, camp and build a fire.
Brew your own beer
Contact local breweries.
Femkamp
Make it easy at home or at an amusement park.
Get to know the city
Go on a city walk or take a guided castle tour.
Padel
Everyone loves padel. (Right?)
Ride an Icelandic horse
Make sure the horses are well trained and that the leader can handle the fact that many are beginners. Safety above all.
Train together
Have a steeplechase or sign up for an athletics race like the Vätternrundan.
Silversmith
Learn to make your own jewellery.
Dance
Hire a dance teacher. Walk in big circles on two lines, ladies separately and gentlemen separately, and dance buggy and salsa.
Turn
Or knead in clay.
High Altitude Railway
A high ropes course is like a climbing course up in the trees. Challenging and fun.
Zipline
Also challenging and fun.
Boat trip
Speedboat, steamboat, sailboat or motorboat? Boating is always great. Why not grill sausages on an island too?
Bowling
The classic team building activity.
Talent
Are you good at head counting, walking the wheelbarrow or pulling a condom through your nose? Find your weirdest talents and invite yourselves.
Singing
Start a choir at work. Book yourself into a karaoke room. Or write a song and sing it in a studio.
Shuffleboard
A fun and slightly addictive game similar to billiards.
Board game night
Order pizza and play Monopoly or another fun game.
Charader
Laugh-fest for those who love charades, a torment for those who don't. There are also simple 30-second charades for a faster pace.
Flowers
Tie Christmas wreaths or arrange flowers. Consult a florist for professional advice.
Paddle
Canoe or kayak. Bring food and get ashore somewhere.
Standup paddleboard
Take a SUP course. Get out on the water and enjoy the summer.
Escape room
Escape together from a locked room.
standup comedy
Laugh so hard your jaw will ache.
Festivals and stages
Keep an eye on what's on offer and find something that suits you.
Lecture
The perfect lecturer can really create a great shared experience. A great team building activity, but choose a speaker who fits in with your company's culture and reinforces the messages that apply to everyday life.
Thanks to our sources: Kryast, Motivation, Eventeffect and Contrast