Have you ever heard the phrase “teamwork makes the dream work” or “If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together”? These phrases and others like it are both well known and speak a universal truth. That if you want to achieve something big, you require a team working together in order to achieve it. In a professional setting, if you want to have a team pull together, you need them to act like a team. In order to do this, they need opportunities to bond. Team bonding activities are often treated with disdain by many, but they can be incredibly effective if used right.
Improve Communications
In order for employees to properly work as a team, they need to be able to communicate. Within a team bonding exercise, they need to talk to each other about the task at hand and decide on the best way to achieve the desired result. They will need to come up with a strategy, perhaps even need to divide themselves up into smaller groups, keep each other updated and complete the task as quickly as possible. All of these skills are incredibly useful when they return to the office! Likewise, this way of communicating also allows each employee to understand their role and what their teammates are working on. Then when the team what their colleagues are doing, they will also understand if there are any challenges and proactively offer to help each other resolve those issues.
Build Trust
Another benefit is that teams are more likely to trust each other. If you want an effective team that can work together, they need to be able to trust each other. If there is a lack of trust, there will be a lack of sharing. If someone needs help but feels like their colleague will throw them under the bus, they are unlikely to reach out for help. But if they know that they can rely on their colleague to help them out, they are going to ask for help. This element of trust is critical for a team to function properly. If one employee knows they are bad at a certain thing and another colleague is better, they are much more likely to collaborate and get the best result if they trust each other. This also means that the team are significantly more productive as they will share the workload and utilise each other’s strengths accordingly.
It promotes inclusivity
Finally, there is a reason sport is usually at the forefront of social issues, it naturally breaks down barriers. By participating in team events, the only thing that matters is that the team wins. It does not matter if the people in the team are from different genders, races, religions, sexual orientation, or any other kind of different background. Everyone is included and works together to achieve the same goal. Its why in the Israeli football league you will find Israelis and Palestinians playing in the same side. Its why when you look at any top-level sports team, there are incredibly examples of diversity and inclusion. When the whistle blows, people are not whatever background they are part of, but instead a member of the team. Team Bonding allows for a similar opportunity for barriers to be broken down.
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Lee Nallalingham 