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How can you use team building exercises to build empathy and understanding among diverse colleagues?

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Diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but essential values for any team that wants to thrive in today's complex and dynamic world. However, diversity also brings challenges, such as misunderstandings, conflicts, and biases, that can hinder collaboration and performance. How can you use team building exercises to build empathy and understanding among diverse colleagues? In this article, we will explore some tips and examples of how to design and facilitate effective team building activities that foster a culture of respect, trust, and appreciation for different perspectives and experiences.

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1 Why empathy matters

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and understand their feelings, thoughts, and motivations. Empathy is crucial for building positive and productive relationships, especially in diverse teams, where people may have different backgrounds, values, and communication styles. Empathy helps you to bridge gaps, avoid assumptions, and resolve conflicts. It also enables you to appreciate the strengths and contributions of each team member, and leverage their diverse skills and insights for innovation and problem-solving.

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Luke Cavanagh

Wealth Advisor | Former Corporate Communication Executive
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With the help of a colleague, I ran a very powerful excercise in a group of about 40 colleagues where we had a bowl and everyone had one small square of paper. Everyone was asked to either anonymously write down on the paper something they are personally struggling with in their life or work; if they didn't want to write anything, they could just write "Nothing to add", and then everyone dropped their folded paper into the bowl. After a short break, volunteers read off some of the items in the bowl to the larger group. There were items in the bowl from the seemingly very small to quite existential and everything in between. The sense of empathy and shared humanity in the room was very powerful as we processed some of the things we heard.

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2 How to choose team building exercises

Team building exercises are activities that aim to improve team cohesion, communication, and collaboration, as well as enhance specific skills or competencies. However, when selecting or designing team building exercises, there are certain criteria to consider. Firstly, the exercise should be relevant to the team's goals, challenges, or context and should not conflict with the team's culture and values. Secondly, the exercise should be engaging and fun for the participants while also being accessible and inclusive. Different formats such as games, simulations, or discussions can be used to cater to different learning styles and personalities. Lastly, reflection and feedback should be facilitated after each exercise in order to provide opportunities for participants to share their experiences, feelings, and insights. Additionally, constructive and respectful feedback should be encouraged while allowing participants to apply their learning to their work.

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3 Examples of team building exercises

Team building exercises can help build empathy and understanding among colleagues. Storytelling, for instance, encourages participants to share personal stories related to a theme or topic, connecting on a human level and learning more about each other's backgrounds and perspectives. Role-playing is a more interactive and immersive exercise, allowing participants to practice communication and collaboration skills, explore different viewpoints, and empathize with each other's roles and responsibilities. Appreciation is another simple but effective exercise, involving expressing gratitude and recognition to each team member. This helps boost morale and confidence, as well as acknowledge and celebrate each other's strengths and achievements.

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4 How to facilitate team building exercises

Facilitating team building exercises is not just about setting up the rules and the logistics, but also creating a safe and supportive environment where participants can learn and grow together. To ensure that the exercise is effective, it is important to prepare beforehand by having a clear objective, agenda, and instructions. You should also communicate the purpose and expectations of the exercise to the participants beforehand, as well as prepare the materials, equipment, and space needed. During the exercise, it is important to observe and listen to the participants, providing guidance, encouragement, and feedback where necessary. It may be necessary to adjust the exercise based on their responses and feedback. Finally, after the exercise, facilitate a debriefing session to summarize main points, outcomes, and learnings of the exercise. Invite participants to share their reflections, feedback, and action plans. Thank them for their participation and commitment and celebrate their achievements.

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Liz Wright

Mother || Founder at LeadWright: boosting performance of 30,000+ leaders || xSpotify xBoozAllen
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As a facilitator you set the tone. Creating vulnerability begins with you. If your intention is to create empathy in the space, you need to allow participants to unveil who they are as humans. As a facilitator, you need to demonstrate how to do this, by creating a safe space for the exercise, modeling the openness you'd like to see, and guiding participants through how they can support one another.

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5 How to measure the impact of team building exercises

Team building exercises are not just one-time events, but part of an ongoing process of team development and improvement. Therefore, it is important to measure the impact of your team building exercises, and evaluate their effectiveness and outcomes. To do this, you can ask participants to provide feedback on their experience, satisfaction, and learning from the exercise. You can also track the performance of the team before and after the exercise, and compare the results using quantitative or qualitative indicators. Identifying areas of improvement or development that the exercise revealed or addressed is also important, so that you can create action plans to address them. Moreover, setting goals and milestones for the team to achieve, as well as providing ongoing support and coaching to help them implement their learning and action plans, will help ensure success.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use team building exercises to build empathy and understanding among diverse colleagues?

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1 Why empathy matters

2 How to choose team building exercises

3 Examples of team building exercises

4 How to facilitate team building exercises

5 How to measure the impact of team building exercises

6 Here’s what else to consider

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How can you use team building exercises to build empathy and understanding among diverse colleagues?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Why empathy matters

2 How to choose team building exercises

3 Examples of team building exercises

4 How to facilitate team building exercises

5 How to measure the impact of team building exercises

6 Here’s what else to consider

Facilitation

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