What has psychology got to do with team events?
02/11/2009, Author: Luigi Paiano
Hands up, or wave your mouse in the air…
• Who has been on a team-build event that didn’t quite cater for all tastes, abilities or character types?
• How about those of you who thought “Well that was a great ‘jolly’, but where is the impact? What difference will this make back at the ranch?”
• Or, at the other end of the scale the event was a disguise for ‘outing’ problematic individuals or for providing a day out before the proverbial hits the fan?
I wouldn’t mind betting that at no point in the design of those days were the individual behaviours of the team members considered – or if they were, it was only as a passing thought. I would also venture that the consultation was steered by one strong individual and as such everyone went with that person’s idea of ‘team-building’.
Human beings make up teams and, without the consideration of their impact on team dynamics, the event you end up with will always leave you feeling like something is missing.
This was proven yet again to me about a month ago when we ran a taster day to showcase what we do at Criterion Partnership in terms of Team Psychology. We provided our 14 invitees with a snapshot of one of our off-the-shelf team events, and of a bespoke event that could be tailored in any direction. Before the day they were strangers, but by the end of the day there was more teamwork in evidence than I have often seen in established units.
We didn’t ram psychology down their throats. We couldn’t have had an idea as to how the guys would gel together, but our experience in the human condition meant that we selected events that we felt would be a good fit for a bunch of strangers who hadn’t previously met.
So, based on our experiences, here are 3 essential ingredients to a successful team event…
1) Carry out a diagnostic of your team prior to planning an event to be clear on what outcomes you want to achieve from it
2) Consider the needs of each individual as well as the team as a whole so that everyone is fully engaged
3) Make sure you follow up with your team after the event and measure the impact it has had on your desired outcomes – was it a success or do you need to try something else for next time?
So what about you…?
Have you had good or bad experiences of team building in the past?
What do you think was the key reason for the event’s success or failure?
I’d be really interested to hear your stories….
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