Relypsa Leaders Set the Tone for Hilarious but Productive Redwood City Workshop

It speaks volumes when company leaders are part of team building workshops.

It’s not every leader who can interact in a workshop setting where hierarchy is checked at the door! The message being sent: this stuff is important so let’s do this!

A recent workshop for a group from Relypsa included several layers of the company, right up to a cluster of VP’s who arrived for the challenges. Meeting in Redwood City at the Sofitel Hotel San Francisco this Fall, they had booked a Bike-A-Thon workshop and arrived ready to go…

Demonstrating the power of positive energy.

Well they were almost ready to go! We had a late start so there was very little time for icebreakers. And with a group like this, whose members may not know each other well because they come from varying ranks in the company, icebreakers are pretty useful!

No worries, though: the little cluster of VP’s made everyone feel right at home with their wonderfully powerful positive energy.

That kind of energy is highly contagious, and it soon spread to the other groups in the room (even one which didn’t seem to be feeling the whole workshop thing at first…).

From reluctant doubters to creative singing geniuses- team building works!

Those VP’s again…they turned out to really lead the way in creativity, too. In our “Commercials” activity, the group is divided into teams. Each team must write an original TV commercial for a product, then perform their commercial for the others.

If you were to measure energy levels, the VP group certainly went off the charts. Their commercial involved dancing and singing and even jumping around the room.

Of course it looks and sounds like fun and games, but all this is actually the result of some very good communication, collaboration and other important skills.

Hands-on activities that work for the whole Relypsa group.

Once the “reluctant” group felt the energy, they got into their commercial as well and actually produced a nice piece. Their collaborative creativity had the rest of their colleagues laughing and applauding them.

You could feel the teamwork growing- the high-energy activities and the very high-energy group was able to overcome a tiny bit of negativity in the beginning, with a little help from their leaders.

There were new Relypsa employees present, who didn’t know anyone…the team building even worked for them as they were made to feel that they were part of the group, and their input mattered during the creative problem-solving activities.

In the end, the Relypsa group left with newly formed bonds, some grounded practice with communication skills, and a whole new regard for their Vice Presidents…just some of the important ingredients called for in teamwork.

Relypsa Leaders Set the Tone for Hilarious but Productive Redwood City Workshop

Team Building Tuesdays: Lao Tzu

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

~Lao Tzu

Team Building Tuesdays: Lao Tzu

Schneider Electric in Nashville Gets Help in Dealing with Change

Like many of our clients, Schneider Electric came to us with a very specific goal in mind: they needed help dealing with the repercussions of some major corporate change.

Not only that, but they needed it right away!

With only a week to get ready for the customized workshop events, we all worked very hard to pull everything together.  Judging from the impressive results of the workshop, it all came together beautifully in the end!

First, we ironed out the kinks with some ice breakers.

Before we begin any team building games and challenges, we always do ice breakers. With a group that’s dealing with some internal issues stemming from changes in the workplace, it’s even more important to set the tone with some effective ice-breaking activities.

This group from Schneider Electric in Nashville, Tennessee had recently suffered through some organizational restructuring, and they had a new VP.  Things like that can set a group on end, disrupting productivity in a big way.

Corporate team building games that get everyone on the same page serve to realign the group and build trust back to up healthy levels.  Only then do we begin the team building challenges that follow.

We had to deal with a little change ourselves: the assigned room for this workshop was an IT training room, set up in a traditional classroom style.  Since our workshops are more interactive, we moved to the cafeteria, which suited our needs perfectly.  Good thing the workshop facilitator arrived a day early to check out the space!

Then we addressed corporate change with Minefield.

The Minefield activity is a great one for building trust and strengthening communication.  Team members must guide one another through a “minefield” of small physical obstacles, using only words.  There’s a direct link between good communication skills and success in this team building game.

The takeaway from this activity was the importance of your peers when navigating unknown territory…the perfect metaphor for corporate change!

Then the fun began: building bikes for charity!

Now that teams had worked to a certain level of trust and communication, they could put it all together and compete to earn bicycle parts and tools for assembling their donations.

Gears for Years was the chosen charity for the Schneider Electric group, and a representative arrived to see that the bikes went to the local charity: a shelter for children in downtown Nashville.  They provided a gratitude plaque for the team, and presented it to the Schneider Electric group as their way of saying thanks for giving back.

 

Schneider Electric in Nashville Gets Help in Dealing with Change

Team Building Tuesdays: Hard Work

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

~Colin Powell

Team Building Tuesdays: Hard Work

Bicycle Team Building: Pumped For Success

Depending on your weight, age and a few other vital statistics, you could burn 40 calories per mile riding a bike. Imagine how many calories you could burn building one! Bicycle team building is a great physical, mental and social workout for any group of rising corporate stars.

Today, corporate social responsibility is an important part of every successful business model. Bike building for low-income kids is one of the best ways for a company to create goodwill in the community, pull employees together, and have fun at the same time.

The whole process of planning the bike assembly, collecting all the parts and necessary tools, and assigning tasks takes the kind of teamwork most staffers don’t experience in the office. That’s the point. Everyone has to step out of their corporate comfort zones and learn to relate to each other in an entirely different setting.

No Spare Parts

Bicycle team building levels the playing field. How? Although it may not always be immediately apparent, everyone has an important role to play and each person can feel valued.

Through the skillful leadership of a wise facilitator, the normal pecking order that usually persists at work may disappear as team members are given the freedom to let their creative and organizational talents shine.

A seemingly quiet manager-in-training may rise to the top of the heap as a tough negotiator when the time comes to parse out bike assembly assignments. Even when a teammate’s worst character traits surface, the others have an opportunity to learn how to unruffle his feathers and get him back on track in a less politically risky setting than the workplace.

More Than A Vehicle

The bicycle can become more than a vehicle for a needy child. It can take the team from one level of cohesion to another through clearer communication and a spirit of camaraderie.

Bicycle Team Building: Pumped For Success

Team Building Benefits Leaders Too

Team building isn’t just about the members of the team, it’s critical for the leadership as well.

What’s true in science, as in the case of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project boys, and in sports, such as Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, can hold true in organizations as well.

Successful leaders usually have great teams behind them. In most situations, teams are able to accomplish what individuals find difficult or impossible to do alone.

Trust is Essential

The first step in the team building process is identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, defining the tasks to be completed and assigning each task to the member best suited to do it.

A clear delegation method will create trust between a leader and his or her members, with both parties coming to a better understanding of the specific task that has been delegated and how it should be done.

Timelines are also in order and need to be discussed with team members, allowing them to air out their view to find out whether or not compliance to these timelines are possible.

Team Work without Friction

A good team is made up of members who are committed to one another in particular and to the team in general bound by a common vision. The need of the team to accomplish the goal provides them with a strong driving force. The vision gives them the compass for reaching that goal, keeping all team members moving not only at the same common speed but in one singular direction.

Because they are united in arriving at the same destination, there is little or no friction during the journey. This is the ideal process by which an ideal team moves. The commitment of the team members extends to their priority to work as a team, giving up their individual needs if necessary to reach the goal.

Happiness is Not Self-Serving

Choosing individuals, each with a different set of skills, talents and interests, as team members involves discretion and wisdom because it’s really all about forging those individuals as tightly as possible to fit them together and establish bonds with each other. Getting them for a team building workshop helps them strengthen these bonds, with clear-cut team building objectives that emphasize motivational participation.

A team that works well can be likened to an individual who is multitasking all at once, and then it becomes an assembly of several individuals doing his or her own thing, making the whole far greater than the totality of all its parts.

Simply put, good team building programs designed by experts will inspire a team member to set aside his or her own motives to achieve more than the members can accomplish if each of them worked alone.

Team building is an excellent way to recognize that happiness in the workplace is possible when a member is supportive of the others, and each member’s task complements the rest of the team’s work.  Contact us today and let us show you how we can help you succeed!

Team Building Benefits Leaders Too

Bicycle Team Building - Cycling



Cycling can be described as one of the most popular sports globally. As this is the case, it has also started gaining popularity as a prime team building opportunity for any business. While one might think that bicycle team building may not be effective, due to the fact that it is mostly considered an individual sport, it is not entirely true. In fact, cycling is one of the most powerful activity for team building. Furthermore, when cycling is used as a team building activity, the event can also be used to raise some funds for charity or any other need.

Cycling for the team

The dynamics involved in such an activity will vary substantially in different workplaces. Obviously, there will be a large number of different types of people all who have different backgrounds. The fact that cycling caters to all levels makes bicycle team building one of the best team building activities available. Cycling is not only rewarding, but it is also fun as well. You actively select an activity that can assist your employees meet their own personal goals and develop long lasting relationships that they probably would not have had when you choose a cycling team building activity.

 How it works

One might be wondering how cycling works as a team building activity. If you ponder on it for some time, you will find the answer being quite simple; cycling is a good team building activity as it will take any kind of person to compete or participate in the event. Team building is basically about teaching your employees how they can work as a unit. When bicycle team building is used, a very strong team is the only that will ensure each member crosses the finish line or does their part to ensure a win.

 

Team building activities that are based around cycling can help members of a team learn a lot of positive things. The first thing to learn is time management; watch the team building magic work once a goal time has been set. How to work together is the next important lesson to be learnt. Participants with little or no experience will have to rely on the team if they are to make it to the end. There isn’t any team building experience that is as wonderful and strong as looking at your employees as they help each other get across the finish line.

 

Bicycle team building by cycling can also assist those who are a bit in their shells to come out and interact. As much as it may not sound like a team building quality, it is as it effectively strengthens a team’s dynamic and relationship. When a member of a team who has been providing minimal input for some time takes part in such an activity, they will definitely have an increase in communication. Better communication will directly translate to better efficiency.

 

Organizing the event

For a great bicycle team building activity, you can either make one of your own or join one that is already in progress. The ultimate experience can be felt by joining one in progress because your team will experience the strongest team building moments when they cross the finish line.