How do you adapt team building activities to different team sizes, stages, and dynamics?

1 Assess your team

Before choosing or creating a team building activity, you need to assess your team's size, stage, and dynamics. The size of your team affects the logistics, complexity, and duration of the activity. The stage of your team refers to the level of development and maturity of the team, based on the Tuckman model of forming, storming, norming, and performing. The dynamics of your team include the relationships, roles, norms, and culture of the team. By assessing these factors, you can identify the goals, challenges, and opportunities for your team building activity.

2 Choose the right type of activity

There are different types of team building activities, depending on the purpose and outcome you want to achieve. Some common types are icebreakers, energizers, problem-solving, creative, and trust-building activities. Icebreakers are useful for introducing new team members, breaking the ice, and creating a positive atmosphere. Energizers are helpful for boosting morale, motivation, and energy levels. Problem-solving activities are effective for developing critical thinking, decision making, and collaboration skills. Creative activities are beneficial for stimulating innovation, imagination, and diversity. Trust-building activities are essential for fostering trust, respect, and accountability.

3 Adapt the activity to the team size

The team size affects the design and delivery of the team building activity. For small teams, you can use more intimate and personal activities that allow for deeper interaction and feedback. For example, you can use a one-word game, where each team member shares one word that describes their current mood, feeling, or goal. For large teams, you can use more structured and scalable activities that involve subgroups, roles, and rules. For example, you can use a scavenger hunt, where the team is divided into smaller groups that compete to find items or clues.

4 Adapt the activity to the team stage

The team stage affects the focus and challenge of the team building activity. For forming teams, you can use simple and fun activities that help the team members get to know each other, establish rapport, and set expectations. For example, you can use a two truths and a lie game, where each team member shares two true facts and one false fact about themselves, and the others have to guess which one is the lie. For storming teams, you can use constructive and supportive activities that help the team members resolve conflicts, clarify roles, and align goals. For example, you can use a SWOT analysis, where the team identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of their project or situation. For norming teams, you can use collaborative and creative activities that help the team members develop norms, values, and trust. For example, you can use a vision board, where the team creates a visual representation of their shared vision, mission, and values. For performing teams, you can use challenging and rewarding activities that help the team members celebrate achievements, enhance performance, and learn from feedback. For example, you can use a debrief session, where the team reviews the results, processes, and lessons learned from their work.

5 Adapt the activity to the team dynamics

The team dynamics can have a significant impact on the engagement and outcome of the team building activity. It's important to take into account the personalities, preferences, and perspectives of your team members, as well as any existing or emerging issues, conflicts, or gaps in the team. To assess and improve your team dynamics, you can use tools like personality tests, feedback surveys, or coaching sessions. Additionally, you can use strategies like providing clear instructions and expectations for the activity, assigning roles and responsibilities that suit the strengths and interests of the team members, encouraging participation and input from all members, balancing competition and cooperation among the team members, providing positive and constructive feedback during and after the activity, and recognizing and rewarding individual and team achievements. By adapting the team building activities to your team's size, stage, and dynamics, you can ensure that they are relevant, meaningful, and enjoyable for everyone involved.

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?