Team-Building Activities

I urge you—please take them away from their desks! Last month, my team and I spent a day at Lohagarh Farms, away from screens, meetings, and the usual work routine. No emails, no targets, just time spent together outside the office. On the surface, it might seem like just another team outing. But here’s what actually happened: [1] We connected beyond work Conversations shifted from deadlines and strategies to real-life stories. Team members who barely spoke in the office suddenly had endless things to talk about. [2] We saw different strengths.  Someone who’s quiet in meetings turned out to be fiercely competitive in outdoor games. Another, who’s usually reserved, took charge in organizing activities. You start seeing people in a completely different light. [3] We learned to collaborate without pressure.  In the workplace, collaboration is often tied to performance. But here, teamwork was effortless, whether it was completing challenges together or simply sharing a meal. The bonds built in those moments carry over when we’re back in the office. [4] A workplace functions best when the team works for each other, not just with each other. And that happens when relationships go beyond work. Many leaders think of team outings as an expense or a break from work. But the truth is, the best ideas, the strongest teams, and the highest productivity often stem from environments where people feel comfortable, connected, and valued. After this, I know one thing for sure that investing in a team doesn’t only mean training programs and appraisals. It also means creating shared experiences that make people feel like they belong. How do you build strong connections in your workplace? #teambuilding

An open letter to all the struggling leaders out there, pulling their hair out, trying to create a safe and valued space for their teams. 👇🏼 Where are all the empathetic leaders at? The ones who realise that creating a sense of belonging for their team members isn't just about putting a ping pong table in the break room or organising a team-building event once a year. I’m looking at you, the ones who understand that a sense of belonging goes beyond this, beyond the plastic plants and free coffee. It’s about creating an environment where each team member feels safe, valued, and heard. An environment where everyone willingly contributes and feels their input is appreciated. Yet, I see you. Leaders, sitting in your lofty towers, scratching your heads, wondering why productivity is down and commitment is wavering. You've got all the perks, right? Wrong. You've missed the point. It's not about the superficial perks. It's about empathy. Can you hear that? It's the sound of a penny dropping. A team that feels safe and valued will outperform a team with a fancy coffee machine, every single day of the week. Why? Because they are committed. They are productive. They are engaged. And it's not rocket science. It's about taking time to listen. To understand. To empathise. To recognise the efforts and contributions of each team member. To show your team that you see them, you hear them, and you value them. Don't get me wrong. It’s not an easy road to travel, it requires patience, understanding, and the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. But let me assure you, it's a road worth taking. Stop chasing the thumbs up and the fleeting gratification of superficial likes. Instead, take the time to tune in, to understand, and to foster a sense of belonging within your team. The result? A committed, productive, engaged team that will go above and beyond for your organisation. That's leadership. That's empathy. That's how you build a sustainable business.

Forcing introverts to drink cheap wine isn't team building. Even as a grad at a food tech startup, I never saw the appeal in getting pissed with colleagues as a way to "connect." You're hungover the next day. It's expensive (especially on food industry budgets). It's intimidating if you're not into banter culture. And what if you don't drink? 1 in 5 adults don't, and nearly 40% of 18-24 year olds are sober. Getting drunk together is just lazy team building that excludes half your people. We try something different at Bold Bean Co | B Corp™: Cooking together - monthly online cookalongs where Jessica Beddoe talks us through a recipe, and we all make it for lunch. Eating together - proper meals out (obviously!) Meditating together - every Wednesday morning online with Katie Hind Getting into nature - and this is the game changer. Some weeks ago we got everyone together in Wales for three days. Hiking, Qi Gong in the garden and foraging walks with MERA. We left feeling more connected than any number of G&Ts could create. Real connection happens when you connect over learning something, experiencing something and sharing something together. I would like to shout out Hector Turner and Tommy Williams-Jones for a truly unique experience using the MERA method. They showed us what a team experience can be! A truly smart and effective investment. Especially as a fast-growing remote team - this really did move the dial for our team connection and mission alignment. I'm not saying this works for every company culture. But more teams are gravitating towards values that go deeper than just "let's get drunk and hope we bond." What does genuine team building look like for you? _____ Follow me Amelia Christie-Miller for more behind-the-scenes startup stories of building Bold Bean Co | B Corp™

Personal development budgets are tight & travel restrictions mean fewer workshops and conferences. And what I’m seeing is this: people quietly stepping away from learning. No training budget? → “Then I’ll just focus on the day-to-day.” But that’s dangerous. Especially now—when technology is evolving faster than ever (hello, AI 👋). So what can you do when your budget’s been slashed? 🎓 Don’t stop learning. Start planning—smarter. A few years ago, I created the concept of a Learning Menu - a simple tool to map out all the ways your team can grow, even when resources are limited. Instead of defaulting to “we can’t afford that,” your team builds a list of low-cost or free learning options—and intentionally invests time in them. Here’s a sample menu to get you started: • Conference video watch parties with follow-up discussions • A curated product book library—physical or digital • A Community of Practice to regularly share knowledge internally • Peer learning sessions (e.g. “Teach Me Tuesday”) • Monthly peer coaching or “learning swaps” • Internal blog posts to reflect and share lessons • Sharing podcast summaries in Slack or standups • A monthly “what we’re reading” newsletter • A mini internal barcamp day • Inviting guest speakers for lunch-and-learn sessions ➡️ What else would you add to a low-budget learning menu?

Spoiler: Pizza parties aren’t a strategy. And another trust fall exercise? That’s a no from HR and your spine. Want to know what actually works? Let's look at the evidence: ✅ Google’s Project Aristotle studied 180 teams. ✅ Gallup surveyed 2.7 million workers. ✅ Harvard tracked motivation for decades. They all point towards the same pattern: Real motivation doesn’t come from perks. It comes from psychology. Here are 7 proven ways to motivate your team: 1. Turn Mistakes Into Growth Moments → Make it safe to fail by focusing on learning, not blame → Share your own mistakes first to model vulnerability → Ask “What did we learn?” not “Who’s to blame?” 2. Give Them Ownership, Not Just Tasks → Let them design the solution, not just execute yours → Connect their work directly to business outcomes → Trust them with real decisions (before they’re “ready”) 3. Share the “Why” Behind Decisions → Explain how their project impacts the bigger picture → Show them customer feedback and real results → Connect daily tasks to company strategy 4. Recognise Effort, Not Just Results → Praise specific behaviours you want repeated → Recognise the process: “I saw how you tackled that problem” → Make recognition immediate, not quarterly 5. Align Tasks with Strengths → Map individual talents before assigning projects → Let people volunteer for work that energises them → Rotate roles to help them discover hidden strengths 6. Remove Barriers, Don’t Just Add Pressure → Ask “What’s blocking you?” in every one-to-one → Fix the small irritants (slow laptops, clunky processes) → Shield them from organisational noise 7. Give Real-Time Feedback → Share observations within 24 hours, not at year-end → Make it specific: behaviour, impact, next step → Balance correction with recognition (3:1 ratio works) At the end of the day, motivation isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about small, science-backed actions that say: You matter. Stack enough of those, and you’ve got a team that brings their best. Every day.  Even on Mondays.  Even without pizza. What's worked for your team? Drop it below 👇 ♻️ Repost for your network (and look ridiculously clever while doing it.) Follow 👋 David Meade Keynote Speaker for science-backed strategies you can use this week.

I’ve spent the last decade building global MarComms programs within large, complex companies. Here’s what I’ve learned about activating internal partners and making quick progress toward goals: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁. Focus on winning allies across the organization by understanding each colleague’s objectives and finding ways to support one another. Don’t worry about empire building. On paper, you may have a team of two, but in reality, you’ll have 50 people in your corner helping bring your vision to life.   𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. When starting a position, quickly run a situation analysis and develop a hypothesis for the change that needs to take place. Even as your full strategy remains in development, identify and share a few core principles that can immediately unite your community. 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻–𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀. Folks in Greece may have a different idea for bringing a program to life than the team in Kuala Lumpur or Canada. It’s important to articulate non-negotiable standards while allowing for maximum local/regional flexibility. Results will be better if local teams feel empowered. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰. Communicate openly and often about your progress. Use internal communication channels to celebrate wins and recognize key players; make them look good to their managers. Host regular meetings to gather your internal community and even consider a light newsletter to share updates. When appropriate, communicate externally on LinkedIn – this can actually yield even greater internal momentum. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘁𝘀. Within large multinational companies, it’s common for a team in one part of the world to be wrestling with an issue that a team elsewhere has already faced. With a global view, if you can connect colleagues across boundaries, you’ll speed up problem-solving – plus, you’ll achieve goodwill, which feeds back into the community-building efforts mentioned above. #Marketing #Communications #SocialMedia #Leadership

If you’re not equipping your team to win, their underperformance is a reflection of your leadership, not their potential. Let’s be honest… most leaders are terrible at training and enabling their teams. A quarterly lunch and learn is not a training and enablement strategy. A library of recorded calls is not a training and enablement strategy. A day of shadowing a coworker is not a training and enablement strategy. Having your team attend a webinar is not a training and enablement strategy. Yet, when I ask leaders what they’re doing to help their struggling teams, this is what I hear. You can’t expect someone who’s never done the job before to figure it all out from a handful of recordings or a single shadow day. It’s no wonder your team is underperforming. Here’s the truth: You either need to hire the profile of the folks you want and need or invest in the team you already have. Writing a new job description and hoping for better results is not a strategy. If I was focused on helping my team develop new or improve existing skills here is what I would be doing: 1️⃣ Hire outside experts to deliver structured, role-specific training that builds real skills. 2️⃣ Invest in an L&D budget so each person can pursue learning in their areas of growth. 3️⃣ Build a clear onboarding and ramp plan, one that defines expectations, milestones, and success metrics. 4️⃣ Create playbooks and process documentation that make execution repeatable and scalable. 5️⃣ Provide ongoing coaching and feedback loops, because training isn’t a one-and-done event. Your people want to perform. But if you’re not equipping them to win, that’s on you.

After working with 200+ executive teams, I can predict offsite success in the first hour—and it has everything to do with the agenda. Last month, a tech CEO showed me their two-day offsite agenda. Eighteen hours blocked for strategic planning. Ninety minutes for "team building" squeezed between lunch and airport runs. "We want people to bond," she said. "But the real work is in those strategy sessions." Here's what she missed: Research on "self-expanding activities" from couples therapy shows that novel, challenging experiences together literally rewire our brains. Shared struggle and discovery trigger unique neural pathways and hormone releases that create deeper bonds than any trust fall ever could. The same principle applies to teams. When we navigate unfamiliar territory together—whether it's learning a new skill, solving a complex puzzle, or tackling a physical challenge—we build what researchers call "interconnected self-concepts." We stop seeing teammates as job titles and start seeing them as whole people we've struggled alongside. Three ways to design connection that sticks: Replace icebreakers with skill-builders. Cooking classes, improv lessons, or woodworking workshops where teams must collaborate to master something new. Create productive struggle. Design challenges that require different strengths. Conduct a Rube Goldberg machine competition to challenge collaboration, creativity and problem solving. Debrief the experience. Don't just do the activity—talk about what you discovered about each other. What surprised you? What strengths emerged? ___ The pharmaceutical team that rock-climbed together still references that experience in meetings two years later. Not because they loved the climb, but because they learned who stays calm under pressure and who celebrates others' victories. What This Means for Your Team This Quarter: Budget equal time for connection as you do for strategy. Both require intentional design to deliver results. What novel challenge has brought your team closer?

What makes a team thrive? Spoiler alert: It’s not just talent - it’s how the team works together, supports each other, and aligns around a shared purpose. Years ago, I was tasked with leading a team to execute a high-stakes project with an impossibly tight deadline. On paper, this team looked incredible - each member was skilled and experienced. But in reality, progress was painfully slow, and frustrations bubbled under the surface. It wasn’t a talent issue... it was a team issue. Communication silos and unclear roles were creating chaos. So, we hit pause and reset. I introduced weekly “team huddles,” where we shared progress, clarified responsibilities, and addressed challenges openly. We also carved out time to understand each other’s strengths and work preferences. The difference was night and day. Not only did we deliver on time, but we also built a level of trust and camaraderie that made every future project smoother. Effective team building isn’t about forcing collaboration - it’s about creating the conditions where collaboration happens naturally. Here’s what I’ve learned: Clarity is Key: Everyone needs to know their role, how it contributes to the goal, and who they can rely on for support. Communicate Relentlessly: Regular, transparent communication keeps everyone aligned and prevents small misunderstandings from growing into big problems. Celebrate Progress: Recognize individual and team wins along the way—it keeps morale high and strengthens bonds. Building a cohesive team takes time, intentionality, and, sometimes, a willingness to step back and re-evaluate. "Great teams don’t just happen - they’re built with trust, clarity, and a commitment to grow together." What’s the most impactful strategy you’ve used to build a strong, collaborative team? Wishing you all a productive, energized, and fulfilling Tuesday evening. Let’s keep building teams that make success not only possible but enjoyable! Chris Clevenger #TeamBuilding #Leadership #Collaboration #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment

Twenty minutes. One question. Eight team members in a circle. That's all it takes to transform how a team connects. I call it a Connection Circle, and here's how it works: You gather your team and sit them in a circle (this can also be done on Zoom). Once everyone is seated, you ask the team a Connection Question, like "What brings you joy?" But here's the key to making this technique so effective in fostering meaningful relationships. Instead of going around once with everyone sharing briefly before moving on to "more important" things, you carve out at least twenty minutes for just that one Connection Question. You heard that correctly. Twenty minutes for just "What brings you joy?" That means people are going to end up sharing multiple times, and that is incredibly important for fostering collaboration and teamwork. In my experience facilitating Connection Circles hundreds of times across hundreds of workplaces, three consistent outcomes emerge during debriefs: The first outcome is empathy – understanding who people are and what is important to them. Empathy activates people to support and help each other. That's why it's critical for increasing team engagement and problem solving. The second outcome is common humanity – recognizing all the ways in which we are interconnected. When team members see their shared experiences and values, this builds and strengthens trust. The third outcome is prosocial behaviors (things good for relationships) such as smiling, laughter, vulnerability, and listening. In a world where people barely know their coworkers, these twenty minutes (implemented weekly, biweekly or monthly in a team meeting) can be the difference between a person staying and a person leaving. The team at Genesys Works NCR (pictured below) experienced our Connection Circles firsthand during a recent team retreat where they practiced this technique alongside other connection-building exercises. If you are looking for an authentic team building experience, you can learn more about Connection Trainings offered by my nonprofit, Evolving Minds, here: https://lnkd.in/e6xicxXV P.S. Here's our Connection Questions Curriculum: •Seeking Gratitude: What are you grateful for? •Sharing Joy: What brings you joy? •Seeing Goodness: Where do you see goodness in the world? •Sparking Hope: What gives you hope? •Speaking Inspiration: What inspires you? •Standing for Peace: Where do you find peace/what brings you peace? •Striving for Curiosity: What are you curious about? •Spreading Love: Who or what do you love?