Team-Building Exercises 

Each group member must have a team building exercise and outline it, including directions, and proposed results, (properly cited). You must then perform each exercise and explain your process, results and learning for each group member for each game, AND the overall team view of the game’s results and learning. Cite your sources!

Michael

Activity: Revealing question about yourself.

Directions: Answer the following question honestly.

Proposed results: Better understanding of the team members passions and desires.

Process: Each person take turns answering the question and giving their reasons for their answer.

Source: Prevost, S. (2013). 25 Revealing Questions That Build Better Work Relationships. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/shelley-prevost/25-revealing-questions-that-build-better-relationships-at-work.html

Question - If you had no need for money, what would you be doing now? Job or other activities:

Michael - I would go back to farming, maybe not dairy farming, but farming or some sort of agriculture work.

Sarah - I would travel to different countries and spend a couple years in each country and teach english to classes of students.

Kim - I would run an animal rescue shelter.

Dan - I would have a micro bus that would be the delivery van for my wife's floral business and I would deliver flower arrangement and listen to my music.

Ray - I would be a grounds crewman at a golf course somewhere nice, like Florida.

Team results and view: This provided us all with a better understanding of our passions and allowed us to see what our desires for work would be. It revealed what makes us happy internally.

Sarah

Activity - Desert Island

Directions - Answer the following question.

Proposed results - Better understanding of the team members thoughts on being alone or what they value in life.

Process - Each person take turns answering the question and giving their reasons for their answer.

Source: Knox, G. (n.d.). 40 Icebreakers for Small Groups. Retrieved from www.insight.typepad.co.uk

Desert Island

You’ve been exiled to a deserted island for a year. You may take one personal item, this can be music, a book, luxury item or something important to you (but may not a boat to leave the island) what would you take with you and why?

Michael - A hammock - because I don’t want to spend a year sleeping on the sand.

Sarah - I would bring my dog - because she is a companion and would keep me entertained.

Kim - bring my cat - for the companionship and comfort.

Dan - 64 GB ipod with tons of music pre-loaded- because I can’t live without music.

Ray - some kind of ball, preferably football or soccer ball - because it would be entertaining

Team results and view: This activity allowed us to see what we value in our lives or what would be important to use to have if we were forced to be alone.

Dan

Activity - Penny for your Thoughts

Directions - There is a pile of pennies, everyone take 2 pennies and look at the year on the penny.  Describe an event that happened in your life that was significant in that year (from the penny).

Proposed results - Better understanding of the team members backgrounds and significant life events that have shaped them.  

Process - Each person take turns answering the describing their life events for the years they choose.  

Source: Wormley, R. (2016, February 16). An Epic List of Great Team Building Games. Retrieved from When I Work: https://wheniwork.com/blog/team-building-games/

Penny For Your Thoughts
Michael

2013 - My daughter was born May 5

2012 - The year I graduated with my bachelors and started working at Quantico base

Sarah

2006 - Turned 16 this year and I started driving

2014 - started my first full time job and got my dog - Raleigh

Kim

2016 - I started my MBA program

2000 - My parents moved to Japan while I was in college

Dan

2003 - Went on my first Ship after 2 years of schooling - USS Vella Gulf

2007 - I got married April 17

Ray

2011 - I started college
2012 - I got my mentor as the dean of the economics department and he was able to get me a job working for him without having to go through an interview

Team results and view: This activity provided insight into a few of each team member's defining life events.  It also illustrated the different ages that we are and how our life experiences have been been so diverse.  It was very eye-opening to hear what each team member was doing in their lives and relate it to our own in that same time frame.

Kim

Activity: You Get One Question

Directions: Given the following scenarios in which a person would be chosen to do something: Lead your Organization.  Each team member is to come up with the “perfect” question — but only one! — that should be asked of a person that would determine if they were the perfect fit for the scenario. Have each team member write their question down (or say their question), discuss the questions as a group and see what each team member thinks would be the perfect question.

Proposed results: Team members quickly learn how each other thinks differently. The perfect question that each comes up with will reflect their motives and what they think matters the most.

Process: Each person take turns coming up with the ‘perfect question’ then we discuss as a group which is the best.  

Source: Wormley, R. (2016, February 16). An Epic List of Great Team Building Games. Retrieved from When I Work: https://wheniwork.com/blog/team-building-games/

You Get One Question

Scenario is you are: Choosing the leader of your organization

What is the one question you would ask them to know if they were fit for the job?

Michael - Are you a micromanager?  

Sarah - What would you do if you found a wallet on the side of the road with a thousand dollars inside?

Kim - What do you see as your role in the organization and how will you support the organization?

Dan - What was your greatest failure and how did you overcome that failure?

Ray - If you are playing monopoly and are trying to create a hotel, which group of properties do you target first and why?

Team results and view: This activity gave insight into what each individual feels is important  in the workplace and how to determine how a leader should lead.  In some ways, it reflects how the individuals themselves lead. In looking at the questions, we also asked a lot of ‘what’ questions, there was only one ‘why’ question.  Some of our discussion around these questions were also what the follow up questions would be or what insight we would hope to gain from the answers.

Ray

Activity - Two truths and a Lie

Directions - Give each team member three identical slips of paper. Instruct them to write down two truths and one lie. The lie should be believable to some extent (i.e. not “I’ve been to Mars”), and the tenor of the truths and lie should not be offensive or crude. Go around the group, one at a time, and have them read the truths and lie in random order. When they are finished, the team should discuss which they think are the truths and which are the lies.

Proposed results - This exercise fits into the “get to know each other” category. Extroverts have no difficulty in making themselves known, but introverts often remain an enigma, bowled into silence. This exercise gives them equal footing to reveal facts about themselves as well as expose the assumptions others have made. Participants learn about others and also learn about themselves through the lies they thought were true.

Process - Each person take turns stating their truths and lie and the team guesses which is the lie.

Source:Wormley, R. (2016, February 16). An Epic List of Great Team Building Games. Retrieved from When I Work: https://wheniwork.com/blog/team-building-games/

Michael - I have a gun safe with over 100 firearms in it; I am pro gun control; I won the Marine Corps shooting competition in 2008 as high shooter.

Sarah - I have been snowboarding since I was 10; I have played basketball with a Harlem Globetrotter; I have never broken a bone.  

Kim - I have watched a horse give birth; I have climbed a volcano; I have been skydiving

Dan - the first concert I went to was the Beastie Boys; my wife and I  honeymooned in Maui; I proposed to my wife at the Colosseum in Rome.

Ray - My family has Redskins family season tickets from before I was born; since the travel ban was lifted, I have been to Cuba; I have broken 7 bones in my body

Team results and view: This showed an interesting aspect of the team members and gave little known items of interest that hadn’t already been shared.  We did this activity last, so we all had come to know each other better, so tried to out-guess the speaker with what we thought might be plausible given what we already knew. We didn’t get them all right, which goes to show that there is a lot we still don't know about our teammates.

Summary

Summary: Overall, all the team building games that we choose were with the goal of getting to know each other better, either through our history and backgrounds, or our values and interests.  The games were fun to perform and we had set up a ground rule at the beginning of ‘vegas rules’ so everyone felt safe in sharing honestly their thoughts and background. The overall takeaway is that we all have a lot to contribute based on our experiences and background and come from a wide range of places which makes us who we are. Even with all the sharing we did, there is still more to learn, but this was a great first step to building a high performing team that has trust and respect for each other and hopefully building our communication skills as well as understanding and appreciating the strengths and weaknesses we each bring to the team.