What are effective ways to boost team building participation?

I agree with many here who have suggested you do not need to know your team well. That said, how you engage with people matters whether you know them or not. Authenticity is detectable. How do you display authenticity in your getting to know your teams? Think purposeful vulnerability. This is not vulnerability for the sake of it but rather intentional sharing that relates to the content being covered. This creates connection and sets a tone of co-construction of knowledge. The best facilitators make you want to learn from them and part of that is being humble, vulnerable, open to the journey ahead.

By incorporating an intersectional framework to team engagement, you will be able to understand colleagues lived experiences, capacity and what informs their behaviour and style of communication.

Who says you need to know your team inside out before team building? Use Facilitated sessions as an excellent discovery tool and connection building mechanism. ● Personal map session, create and share mini mindmaps about themselves. The group actively listen to identify any similarities. ● Facilitate a team's ways of working session to help align and collaborate effectively. ● Experience based sessions, Think 'escape room' for problem solvers, 'improv games' for the creatives. ● Role reversal in sessions to help new skills and cross working natural emerge. Design activities that gently nudge your team out of their comfort zone to foster team resilience and adaptability. Then Iterate based on reaction to evolve your strategy.

Ensure that every team member understands the team's goals, objectives, and their roles and responsibilities, it is crucial to establish clear communication and alignment among the team members. Always facilitate open communication within the team, an environment should be created where team members feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Promoting trust and psychological safety is mandatory. Establishing trust among team members can be achieved by being transparent, reliable, and respectful. Create an environment where team members to take risks, share their opinions, and be vulnerable without fear of judgment.

A veces lxs lideres olvidamos que nuestra tarea es gestionar emociones. Imaginate que estás manejando y de repente se enciende una luz en el tablero de tu auto. Puede ser la de la gasolina, la de una puerta abierta, la del agua. ¿Qué hacés? Sencillo: cargas gasolina, cierras bien la puerta, le agregas agua. Las emociones tienen la misma función en nuestro cuerpo: avisarnos que una acción es requerida para seguir funcionando (en realidad, mas precariamente, para que sobreviva la especie). Te invito a que prestes atención a la zona de la garganta, hombros, pecho, panza. Qué luz se te enciende? Qué estás necesitando? Qué luz se le prendió a tu equipo? Que están necesitando hacer? Qué luz se le prendió a tu hijx? Cómo lx puedes acompañar?

Ensure the facilitators suit the audience (not senior management). Add friendly competition to the activities. Work the room to ensures the participates are motivated and having a laugh. Get informal feedback throughout the event to ensure a positive closing dialogue of takeaways.

Defining the purpose and sharing the desired outcomes with your team is key. If you skip this part, your team may have a lot of fun, but it risks being just that- fun and games!

¿Por qué hago lo que hago? Si no sabes la meta, cualquier camino es bueno, Establece tu propósito, y encamina tus esfuerzos en cumplirlo, puede ser laboral o personal, pero al definir el propósito y con ello el motivo por el cuál haces lo que haces, todo cobrará sentido y motivación.

I also recommend making sure this goal/purpose aligns with everyone involved and connects with their personal values and goals.

You need to recognize the current environment and adapt. If you have a hybrid/virtual team, I’ve put together a virtual escape room during the pandemic and it was one of the most memorable and engaging team builds yet. A little creativity goes a long way, and the tools exist now!

When choosing a team activity it needs to be inclusive of all team members. If someone is not able to participate because it is not accessible to them you may lose the impact you are hoping to achieve.

Constantly change your method to suit clients expectations. Not all applicable for everyone. Integration of modern technology with some learning activities to it will spice up the team building.

The words “team-building” implies fun. Whatever method you choose, make sure that your team members are “participants” and not simply an “audience”! When participants are actively engaged in the process the experience becomes more beneficial for everyone.

I would underscore the importance of involving the team in the planning, and especially in the execution. It encourages more ownership in the process/design of the team building experience and more individual accountability to the achievement of stated outcomes. When we don’t involve our team, we’re left doing all the heavy lifting and run the risk of others not being bought-in or excited.

I coordinated a national mentorship project with young woem living with HIV in all their diversity and it was impactful duing the cascacding of the training of trainers to have them lead all session and engage more with their peers, as participants.I also realised delegating tasks at the office helps challenge and motivate stuff to be more engaged in consultative manner rather than being instructed to deliver

En 2023, nous avons organisé un séminaire pour la PJJ au Centre d'Orléans, en impliquant activement les cadres dès le début du processus. Leur contribution a été essentielle pour façonner l'événement selon leurs besoins et attentes, ainsi que celles de leurs équipes. Pour cela 3x1/2 journées en amont de la journée départementale ont été nécessaire. Avec la participation de 110 personnes, les cadres se sont eux-mêmes attribué différents rôles et responsabilités, démontrant ainsi leur engagement et leur implication directe dans la planification et l'exécution de la journée. Cette approche participative a non seulement renforcé leur engagement, mais a également favorisé une collaboration et une autonomisation au sein de l'équipe.

Involving your team at every stage is more important to me. It is through involving your team in planning, execution and evaluation that you know each member's capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. This will lead you to direct each person's strength where he is best fitted. Each team member will feel useful, and self satisfied, leading to a strong and interesting team.

No estas SOLO. Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos, De igualmanera rodeate de los mejores y apoyate en ellos, el liderazgo es un ejercicio colectivo, no estas solo, involucra las personas, confia en ella y lograrás resultados de impacto

In my experience, a successful way to build meaningful connection is via many to many dialogue as opposed to 1 person at the front of a room talking and answering questions. Move tables out of the way to create 3-chair circles to allow small group dialogue. A facilitator can enable main insight share backs to the larger group. The result is high quality engagement and energy with lots of new ideas and insights shared. For even better results, have participants put their phones out site and off😊😊😊📱

The burden is not all on your shoulders! Make it clear to the participants that they are responsible for the success in the session and for following through with the action items agreed upon. If they leave with the impression that you as the facilitator will be taking full responsibility for the follow ups, they will quickly forget all the benefits that came out of the session. To avoid this, delegate follow task throughout the team along with expectations and deadlines.

Team building can feel transactional and this is when we anticipate Team-building to be done "to us" rather than "with us" or "for us". Authentic opportunities for connection at a human level are the foundation for any group of humans to better connect and support each other, i.e. to work as a team. Consider: a) How can I ensure that the team members are at the centre of our program for Team-building? b) How will we enable genuine connections to form and grow? and c) What will people take away from this, both for themselves and their respective roles within the team?

I am not sure if I agree with this one. Improve yes, but experimenting is tricky. The biggest cost to team building is generally not the activity itself but the combined salaries of the employees participating in the activity instead of doing their usual jobs. When pulling people from their normal duties, I highly recommend ensuring the time they spend serves a purpose and brings value. Nothing kills the reputation or attitude toward team-building like a waste of time activity that falls flat. Let the professionals experiment and test programs, I recommend using tested activities that bring proven results.

Surveys can be your best friend here - always solicit feedback from participants so you can learn what worked and what didn't.

Boosting participation in team building starts with tapping into individual strengths and channeling them towards collective goals. It's about crafting sessions that resonate on a personal level, making every member feel vital to the team's success. Encourage a culture where trial and error is celebrated as a path to innovation, fostering an environment where everyone is eager to contribute, experiment, and grow together.

Team building, some ideas here based on my experience: -Ensure that the objectives to be achieved are of interest to the team. -You must know in advance how the team is today, the concerns and personalities of the members. -Promotes engagement, productive dialogues, and challenging the status quo. -Inform the team in advance what the activity will be about. -Monitor the improvements to be made. -Request feedback on the activity. Stay with the positive and improve what is necessary. -Team building is not just a training activity, it is monitoring, effective communication and action on a daily basis.

Encourage daily motivation, individually and as a team, always baring in mind that we are dealing with human beings, not machines. Use feedback from training sessions and reports to review and make changes to the methods that are currently in use. Encourage innovative thinking amidst the ever changing digital and technological sphere, that can ultimately make things less of a challenge and get more done in less time..less fatigue and more energy to stay focused and prioritize the goals.