Occasionally we’ll be talking to a manager about their goals for a teambuilding program and they will comment that they don’t want to do one of those “lame” activities that they remember from somewhere like PE class or summer camp .  This is the reason that teambuilding businesses are constantly hawking new programs based on current trends, from “Fear Factor” and “The Amazing Race” to geocaching and alien encounters.  We’ll let you in on a little industry secret…these activities with catchy names are really just variations of those same activities we remember from PE class. 

The most effective teambuilding activities are going to combine two factors:  an engaged and experienced facilitator leading a group that is enthusiastic and open to change.  Here’s an example.

You’re familiar with the old gag rubber chickens right?  Well, when you mix four of them to a group of Arizona insurance salesmen, things get a little crazy.  The catch is that the salesmen don’t just get to have the chickens to horse around with, they have to capture them from the facilitator through an extreme, fast-paced version of mother-may-I. 

That’s right, the kids game.  But these guys are really getting competitive with it. That’s because the facilitator has put the rules into language that they can latch on to and they quickly make coorelations – like when the chicken squeaks when it’s held too tight, just like clients react to overly aggressive sales tactics.  By the end of the game, they’ve worked together to develop a strategy where every chicken, or client, has been won from the competition and is properly cared for. 

Afterwards, in the debrief they talk forever about the strategy that they developed and how that relates to the real world, what they have learned about their effectiveness and competitive advantage.  All you have to do is attach the right language to an engaging activity and motivated participants will have fun and run with it, making the connections and correlations.  Even in an old childhood game.