The more a team trusts each other, the better they will perform together. Whether you’re on a professional sports team or a team at the office, this statement still rings true.
Unfortunately, building trust and authenticity might not always be easy. When you assemble a team, you bring in people from all different walks of life. They have different experiences and different perspectives that may not allow them to mesh well together. Once you’re on the job, there’s only so much time to get to know one another because there is work to do.
Trust and authenticity sometimes come naturally, but often they don’t. How, then, do you cultivate a team that trusts each other? How do you build a group that wants to work hard with one another and pushes each other to improve?
If you’re ready to build a team based on trust and authenticity, the five team-building activities below are a great place to start.
1. Enjoy the Great Outdoors
One of the best ways to grow closer as a team is to get outside. There are numerous possibilities for all types of people. Whether it’s a game of soccer, horseback riding, or river rafting, not much can beat the childlike wonder that the outdoors brings us.
You could go to a nearby park and play various team-building games. But if you’re an adventurous bunch, consider getting a little further away from the office for a while.
Riding horses is a great way to bond with each other. For some, it will be an exercise in overcoming fears, while for others, it will be a bonding experience with the team and nature. You could also go fly fishing. This activity will allow you all to talk as much or as little as you’d like while also making for some gorgeous photo opportunities and stories you’ll tell for years to come.
2. Blindfolded Obstacle Course
A blindfolded obstacle course will help build trust because communication is crucial in this exercise. You can do this in the office with smaller obstacles or outside for a more significant experience.
You will want to set up an obstacle course — nothing too dangerous — and pair team members up. One person will be blindfolded, while the other will lead them through the course.
It’s an activity that requires communication, but it can also generate amusement, a sense of achievement, and a closer bond as a team.
3. Scavenger Hunt
This is an all-time favorite and a classic, the scavenger hunt! You can either do this at the workplace or somewhere else of your choosing. For example, if you wanted to be creative, you could do it at different grocery stores.
Scavenger hunts are great because they are entertaining, can be as competitive as you like, and are great for building communication skills.
You can set up the rules to help incentivize working together and communication. Instead of sending everyone off on their own, split your team into smaller teams, so they have to work together. After one round, change up the teams.
A scavenger hunt is a great activity because you could even do it during the workday. All you need is 30 minutes and a little bit of creativity.
4. One-Cent Story
One of the best ways to trust someone is to get to know them. However, sometimes work can be so busy that we don’t get to take the time to get to know the people we sit next to for 40 hours a week. A one-cent story is a quick activity that will allow your team members to get to know each other a little bit better.
Have each of your team members bring in a penny (or any other coin), ensuring that the oldest penny is the same age as the youngest team member. You will put all the coins in a box and then pass the box around. Each team member will take one coin and then share a story of something that happened to them from the year on the coin.
This is an especially effective way to allow open communication among your staff.
5. Escape Rooms
Escape rooms have become quite popular, and for a good reason! They are fun, exhilarating, rewarding, and excellent at building team camaraderie.
Most employees will be happy to take a day off to go to an escape room. They will have to work together to figure out how to escape. The difficult challenges in escape rooms help with communication and promote group problem-solving as well.
If you want to add a fun twist, break your staff into teams and have them compete to see who can escape the fastest!
Team building activities should be something that happens annually. You will find your staff more trusting of each other and, in turn, willing to work with each other that much more.
Patrick Sipp of Flying Pig Adventures has been getting his clients back into the outdoors, where the spray of the river, the warmth of the sunshine, and the immensity of the world around are clear and present. The most recent trip includes horseback riding and river rafting by Yellowstone National Park. Patrick is a family man who has turned his passion for the outdoors into a gateway for his guests to experience an adventure unlike anything else.
The post How to Build Trust and Authenticity in the Workplace appeared first on HR Daily Advisor.