My Favorite 5-Minute Team-building Activities
Teamwork Requires Team-building
Ask any leader about the importance of teamwork and they will nod with a resounding yes. However, one problem I have noticed is that when working with teams, leaders tend to bias the transactional elements, while ignoring the relational ones. This looks like solely focusing on the tools and strategies of teamwork while neglecting the proper time to build trust and relationships amongst the group. We focus on the WHAT and HOW of teams, instead of the WHO and WHY.
This is where we need to understand the importance of team-building activities. Often we conflate this with training or socializing, however, it is not the same thing. You can find a great video that breaks this concept down here.
I love the definition of team-building used here:
“Any experience that intentionally invites people to engage, interact, and share trust.”
This is why fun experiences are not the same as team-building. They are often not intentionally designed to foster trust, and most of the time people will not engage in building new relationships with colleagues they don’t know well. It’s also why training is not necessarily team-building. During training, there is more of a focus on information, rather than facilitating interactions amongst the team.
Don’t get me wrong, fun experiences and training certainly can be team-building if they are designed in the right way. However, leaders need to have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish with these activities so they can assess whether they are truly achieving what they want. This is where small and consistent activities can make a big difference.
5 Minutes Can Go a Long Way
The next problem I often see is that the moment things get busy, we always seem to have an excuse to push this kind of team-building work to the side. Whether it be the pressure of deadlines or simple absentmindedness, people often take a back seat to performance in our organizations. As is the case with many things in life, if the benefits (or drawbacks) of something are readily apparent, or within immediate reach, it will often get prioritized. We love instant gratification.
This is why it’s so easy for leaders to slip into transactional thinking. It takes longer to see the benefits of investing in their team, and it’s harder to measure. Nonetheless, team-building is a crucial activity for the success of organizations, because a tool or system is only as effective as the people using it. Take for example some of these team problems I unpacked in a recent article I wrote. People problems are like weeds. When they present themselves outwardly, you are usually well past the point of a simple intervention. It’s as the old adage goes:
“The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago. The next best time is today.”
Team building is much more effective as a maintenance activity than a remedy. It also takes time to see the benefits. That is why I encourage leaders to think of this discipline the same way they would any other part of their business. Make is a regularly scheduled activity. The good news is that consistency is more important than intensity when it comes to team-building.
So today I wanted to get hyper-practical with this article. One of the biggest questions I get from clients is:
What are some easy team-building exercises I can do with my team?
Often we will go through some coaching or workshops, and leaders will be looking for something to help them build momentum and reinforce the concepts we went over. However, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes busy schedules can trump good intentions. That is why I like to go after the low-hanging fruit and suggest some exercises that have a low barrier of entry.
I will admit that some on my list might go over 5 minutes. However, they certainly can be organized in less time than that. And… 7-8 minute team building activities just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily. So let’s dive right into it. Without further a due, here are my favorite “5-minute” team-building activities!
5 Minute Team-building Activities
1. 1-1-1 Check-in – Trust and Communication
So this is a great exercise to set the tone for a meeting and get people talking. It’s also quite simple. Go around the room and have everyone describe how they are feeling in 1 word. Then they will share 1 challenge, and 1 win from the last week.
If you have a larger group or are concerned about people opening up, then I suggest splitting everyone up into smaller groups of 4-5. This tends to promote deeper conversation and also makes the exercise more time-efficient.
2. My Role Is… – Fun
This is a fun exercise that is sure to draw some laughs. Give everyone a couple minutes to write down on a small piece of paper their job description in the silliest way possible. Make sure they don’t use any part of their official title. Then gather the papers and mix them up in a hat, bowl, or whatever you have available. One by one, read aloud each paper and have the team guess who wrote it.
3. Personal Histories – Building Trust
This is one of my favorite exercises and is one that is always very powerful during workshops. Take turns having everyone answer 3 questions:
Where were you born?
Do you have any siblings and what order do you come in?
What is one unique challenge of your childhood?
It’s important that you clarify before doing this exercise that you are not trying to get at someone’s inner child. They do not have to share anything incredibly vulnerable, and it is completely up to their discretion. Also, it’s ok if they choose to pass.
My experience has been that in most cases, everyone will share something. Usually, at least 1 person will share something vulnerable. For this reason, it is good to make sure that you place this exercise at a time that is conducive to this kind of conversation. I would suggest waiting until the middle to end of a meeting after you have covered the more technical details.
What I also love to do is then ask the team if they learned something about their colleagues that they did not know before. Almost always the answer is yes!
4. Blind Count – Fun and Communication
Without any planning, you will have the group count to 10, but only 1 person can speak at a time. If 2 people speak at once, the group must start over. If you find this is too easy for your team, then you can split them up into smaller teams and have them race each other using the same rules.
5. Kill the Company – Innovation and Teamwork
This exercise helps the team practice thinking outside the box and brainstorming together. Split everyone up into groups of 3-5. Then ask each group to think of 1 internal or external event that could “kill our company” and how they would respond to it. Give them a few minutes and then have them share their answers with everyone. Sometimes you will find that you walk away with real ideas you want to implement.
Looking for more than 5 Minutes?
While I am a firm believer that small consistent habits often produce the best results, there are times when a larger intervention can be helpful to kick off momentum with your team. This is where team-building workshops and retreats can be so valuable.
I work with many leaders looking to build talented teams and navigate the challenges that come with that. To facilitate this I deliver a number of different workshops to facilitate team bonding and equip teams with the skills they need to work more effectively together.
One of my personal favorites for this is my Dynamic Workplace Program. If you are looking to help your team:
Deepen their understanding of self and others
Learn how to build better workplace relationships
Access real-time tips for more effective interactions with colleagues
Build the foundation for future social and emotional skills training
I would encourage you to check out this workshop. Furthermore, you can always book a Discovery Call with me to learn more about the different solutions I offer for building cohesive teams.
All the best in your leadership journey!
