Leadership skills and team building programs go hand-in-hand. You can’t have a team unless you have a leader. Uncover how team building programs unleash learning, camaraderie and leadership especially for college students!
Due to the rise in tech-driven interaction, many teens feel uncomfortable and anxious during in-person socializing and interactions. Team building games and activities bring together strangers or acquaintances and challenge them to perform unusual tasks in a positive and supportive environment. Without even being aware, participants laugh, debate, decide and form bonds of friendship quickly.
Once students are engaged and lured into competing (emotionally charged), they lose their inhibitions and communicate freely. They express ideas, argue and collaborate – all this while having fun in a safe environment.
Well designed team building games and activities almost always provide controlled or limited resources with out-of-reach results demanded. This forces teams to huddle, work together, face challenges and solve problems.
Confidence is lost when you find that others are better at particular tasks compared to you. Team building games and activities, when well designed, put all participants into unique situations – all are now inexperienced learners. Simultaneously, these games and activities will require a maximum number of participants (team players per game); this encourages even shy and introverted participants to offer opinions and participate actively. All hands (and minds) on deck. The side-effect for participants is self-confidence and empowerment!
The best way to learn is while you are supercharged with emotions – joy, excitement and glee. Learning is made enjoyable and thus kids develop a positive attitude towards learning. Students learn valuable life skills subconsciously and this is deep rooted – often ensuring lifelong changes.
Team building games and activities should be designed with inclusivity and diversity in mind. To do this, games should have different segments. A segment could weigh heavily on intellectual capabilities (puzzles, riddles, crosswords, quizzes…), another on artistry (painting, drama, improv, dance…) and others on hand-eye coordination (sports, games usually involving a ball). A segment may play on a combo of physical fitness, mental agility and creativity (Treasure Hunt, Scavenger Hunt, Herculean Hunt etc). This automatically squeezes all to bring their “A-game” to play and gets students to appreciate each other and celebrate the differences.
Team building activities and games require someone to take charge and since different segments require different skill sets (see point 5), students learn leadership (if it is leaning on their strengths) and followership (if it’s leaning on another teammate’s strengths). Students learn to take initiative, trust their own judgment, stand up for themselves and defend classmates (now on their team).
Engaging in team building activities and games creates lasting fond memories, and adds to joyful memories of school life!
Pro Tip: Resilience.
No matter how smart, strong or capable anyone is – they are bound to fall or experience failure. During team building sessions, participants are broken into teams and for each segment, one team only wins. The others lose – naturally. But in a few minutes, the next segment or activity starts off and students in losing teams don’t get time to lick their wounds before they have to throw themselves into the next segment. Consciously or subconsciously, they are learning to bounce back after the fall – develop resilience. Which is so important for our kids to learn – the “never say die” attitude.
