A Little Team Building Humor

We always catch our clients when doing a trust fall team building exercise at Upward Enterprises. Maybe Dinosaur Office needs to hire Clive!

The Anxiety of Fearfulness on the Ropes Course

One of the greatest challenges that I have found when working with team building clients is helping the organizer convince the adult participants not to be fearful of the ropes course experience.  Now I mention "adult participants" because with kids, I rarely have that problem of getting them to come out to the ropes course and try an activity, unless of course, their parents intervene by refusing to sign a standard waiver form because of their fear.

What is important to remember, is that Upward Enterprises follows the philosophy of "Challenge by Choice". The "Challenge by choice" philosophy of adventure programming allows the participant to have some autonomy related to the activities he or she participates in creating a safe environment. All participants have the right to say "no" to an event on the ropes course without the stigma of a loss of self worth. What we do at UEI when someone is fearful of an event is to have them participate in a way that is comfortable. For example, if the client has a fear of heights, we have them as cheer leaders on the ground.

Many times someone who indicated to me they were anxious over an event and considering not participating, changed their mind as they watch other in their group accomplish the task. When you push past the butterflies and pounding heart, great things can happen. That is what we see all the time at our team building ropes course. The possibility of what you and the group might accomplish will be transformational.

Dogs and Team Building

If you ever visited the Upward Enterprises office here you would be greeted by my two dogs, Jelly and Daisy. They usually keep me company as I work at my desk. You might have heard a bark in the background as we are talking on the phone together. That is them saying "hi".

As I was contemplating what to write in this week's blog, I looked down at Jelly sleeping behind my chair and thought that having a dog in the office has a calming effect. How does a dog's presence in an office effect workers? I did a quick internet search and found an interesting study done in 2010 at Central Michigan University by Christopher Honts and Matthew Christensen that posed the question: 

Could the presence of a canine in the workplace make people collaborate more effectively?

 They experimented with two groups - one with dogs underfoot and one without. As it turned out, their preliminary findings did show that there was indeed a difference in the way the two groups functioned. The group of workers who had dogs around them to pet and socialize with, proved to be more cohesive and trusting of their fellow team member. Could it be that the bond one feels when interacting with a pet be transferable to humans around resulting in workers also bonding? Interesting.

Companies such as Google, Ben and Jerry's and Proctor and Gamble's pet food division, let you bring your dog to work. And many presidents of the United States have pet dogs in the Oval Office. So, I am not alone in my thinking that pets have a place on the team. They build a special bond among humans without even uttering a word.

Scrum - New Corporate Lingo for Team building?

Someone mentioned to me the other day that they were hoping to be picked as a "Scrum Master". You're looking to play rugby I thought? Is this a new term for a rugby captain? No, A Scrum Master is the new corporate buzz word for a self-organized team leader. The goal of a "Scrum" is to take a group of individualistic people and create a cohesive, agile team where each member supports each other, ideas are shared and used to push a project forward even when it seems stalled.

When I talk to businesses interested in organizing a team building event, I often hear about how the employees are hesitant to participate in team building activities. They imagine that the ice breaker exercises and trust falls will be silly and the ropes course physically intimidating. Employees question whether or not they will learn anything about each other to function as a better team. I can tell you from over 37 years experience as a professorial team builder, that by the end of the day, I have never left a group who has not grown better for the experience. It's just getting them over the first hurdle of questioning and doubt that is key.

 

So where does my point of a "Scrum" come in? I see that the successful elements of the new corporate "Scrum Team" are no different than the teams I build on the ropes course. I am the Scrum Master. I give my groups a problem to solve. They brainstorm solutions. I encourage their success. We all sprint to a solution. Our sense of team is developed and pride is gained through what we have accomplished by the end of the day.

Why Everyone Should Experience the Strength Deployment Inventory

As the leader of team building adventure programs in the Washington DC metro area, UEI is pleased to introduce our latest tool that can be incorporated into your team development programs, Strength Deployment Inventory® (SDI) . The SDI empowers people in their relationships at work getting individuals to understand how and why people react the way they do in different circumstances.

So what is the SDI?
SDI is a program of psychometric tests and a practical methodology for empowering people to improve relationships and manage conflict more effectively. It is based on the theory of Relationship Awareness®, a self-learning model for effectively and accurately understanding and inferring the motive behind the behavior. 

How can SDI create effective teamwork for my organization?
SDI is memorable... It’s a highly visual, easy to understand tool that uses experiential teaching methods to help participants internalize the learning. Results are measurable by using the SDI approach.

SDI illuminates the reason for our actions... It provides a picture of what is important to us — going beyond behavior to reveal our driving motivation. Learn to recognize each individuals strengths and skill and how to harness this power for the betterment of the team.

SDI depersonalizes conflict... It’s a non-threatening way to deal with the interpersonal conflict that is too often avoided. Through SDI your group will gain respect and trust of other team members.

SDI honors our differences... It’s an inventory of the unique way we value different strengths and interpret the actions of others. It encourages the group to be more flexible and creates acceptance of each others ideas.

Interested and want to learn more? Let us know next time you call to book your organizations retreat at UEI. 301-834-6140

-Clive Felgate
SDI Level 1 Certified Facilitator, US11106

Heading into the Winter... Team Building Indoors

Team building can happen anywhere. You don't need come outdoors to our ropes course. Take a look at this cool indoor team building exercise.

Upward Enterprises can run an indoor team building program at your facility or at your conference facility at the Claggett Center. This is a great solution for running programs throughout the winter months and also a great add-on feature to a high/low challenge course.  301-834-6140