The 5 Pitfalls of Team Building Events

The middle of the calendar year (I don’t count December!) is the perfect time to bring people together and agree how they will achieve the goals they’ve been set for the remainder of their year. Yet organisations continue to get team-building events wrong, not only leaving employees underwhelmed, but in many cases undermining the culture and generating disengagement, the very thing that the event is meant to enhance.

So here are the top five pitfalls to avoid in your team building events and my insights for what you can do instead to ensure you get the results that you’re looking for and, when we get to the end of the year, you’ll be reflecting on success.

Pitfall 1: No clear goals

Often team-building events have to be ‘sold’ by senior managers to team members as things that must be done in order to set the team up for success. Despite that, the goals of the event are very rarely made clear. This makes team members sceptical of what to expect and makes them question why they should attend. They will often bring the wrong intention and mindset to the event, immediately undermining what it set out to achieve.

When two hours are spent talking through the strategy or goals on a never-ending rotation of Powerpoint slides, their worst fears are confirmed and any chance of the event bringing the team together will be lost.

What to do instead:

Be clear that the goal of a team building event is to build relationships between team members such that they can make agreements on how they can work better together. It’s not for unexpected announcements or digging over old ground; it’s about the future. This should be made clear at the start and all activities undertaken should be weighted towards this goal. Give the team a goal to aim for and the chances are they’ll hit it, together.

Pitfall 2: Same sh*t, different venue

Hosting a team building event at a winery, in a marquee at a stately home, at a sports ground or in a disused church is a great idea to put people in a different frame of mind. That said, if the content delivered is the same as that trotted out at regular team meetings, the fabulous venue is a huge waste.

This is a mistake that many teams make. There’s an agenda, but items are frequently allowed to run over time with a few individuals dominating the narrative. There isn’t enough time for people to work through questions together. There are side conversations and cliques. Introverts are put on the spot and extroverts won’t shut up. It’s the same sh*t, in a more expensive location, leading to a rubbish experience for all involved.

What to do instead:

Create an experience that matches the venue. Hire a great facilitator who can guarantee that you’ll hit your objectives for the day and create an event that people will talk about for years. Don’t fall into the trap of doing the things that you always do. Have a mix of content, conversation and activities and keep it moving!

Pitfall 3: Celebrity speakers

Whilst bringing that person from the telly, or that once great sports icon that some people know, might represent a great photo opportunity for LinkedIn, ask yourself whether their hour-long $30k+ speech will actually improve the team culture — in a meaningful way — when people get back to work?

Now don’t get me wrong, at the right time and in the right place (at the dinner after the team-building event is completed) a notable speaker could add some humour or insight to generate individual motivation or reflection, but unless it will change the behaviour of team members or improve the way you work together every day, then it’s best to give it a miss.

What to do instead:

Invest in a team building program to provide a mix of inspiration and motivation. The best team building days mix thoughtful reflection and practical content that’s tailored to your organisation and the challenges and opportunities that you have. These should be enhanced with conversations, actions and accountability that lead to positive cultural evolution.

Pitfall 4: Gimmicks

Let’s go canoeing, do an army course, go karting or camping together! Let’s not. There’s no evidence that any of these activities are proven to improve team culture, collaboration or the behaviour of individuals that’s often responsible for holding the team back when they return to their daily place of work.

The same goes for anything old fashioned (trust exercises, role playing, spaghetti and blu-tack etc.), anything that requires physical agility or anything that involves children’s toys (Lego etc.)

What to do instead:

Focus instead on challenging the cultural norms that get in the way of people’s productive time and agree new principles around how you can work differently. People just want to have more time to do their jobs, small improvements that can transform their mindset, more time to think, fewer distractions, surrounded by fewer poor behaviours. They want to feel respected and recognised for the work they do, excited about the future and their role in it. Building a bridge out of 50 different coloured bricks won’t change that.

Pitfall 5: Waiting for the perfect time

You may have heard one or more of the following; ‘We’ll do it next year’; ‘It’ not the right time’: ‘We’ll do it when we’ve hired [insert role name here]’; ‘We’ll do it when everyone is here’; ‘We’ll do it once the strategy is finalised’; ‘We’ll do it once the operating model has been approved’ and so on.

The best time to build the team is usually right now. The perfect time simply doesn’t exist and waiting will only make things worse.

What to do instead:

Pick a date within the next 1–3 months and give people notice of it. Get it into diaries, set expectations, notify people of the pre-work and don’t move it. Moving the date will merely undermine how people feel about those leading the team and generate apathy for the future.

When done well, team building days are crucially important in ensuring that the culture is defined and agreed upon in order to deliver the results expected. These experiences should enhance belonging, build meaning, improve communication, challenge existing norms and generate laughter and excitement about what’s possible.

Don’t fall into the pitfalls that others have. Demonstrate your difference and your commitment to enhancing the working culture — and lives — of your people.

Colin works with teams and organisations around the world to help them transform their cultures and build the foundations for future success. Every experience is tailored to address your challenges and opportunities, deliver demonstrable change and embed skills for how we work now and in the future. Find out more about the Culture Experience here and schedule a call with Colin by emailing his business manager Aileen: hello@colindellis.com