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Team Building

 
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My supervisor's manager suggested some "team building" activities would be good for us in the near future. I've never actually been through team building stuff, but I've seen examples (wilderness type stuff, rope climbing) and I shudder at the thought. I'm professional at work (except for posting at Javaranch) why must go through this?

Tell me it won't be so bad...
 
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The best team building exercise I've come across was where teams jumped out of airplanes and had to organise themselves in some sort of formation.

Needless to say I opted out in that I avoided the team thereafter. Didn't trust the team one iota.

Is playing golf in teams a good TBE ? I should think so after Europe won the Ryder Cup !!!
[ January 13, 2005: Message edited by: Helen Thomas ]
 
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I've never actually been through team building stuff, but I've seen examples (wilderness type stuff, rope climbing) and I shudder at the thought. I'm professional at work (except for posting at Javaranch) why must go through this?

I share your grief, Herb. My company also treats the employess like the little kindergarden children. The examples include rope pulling "team building" exercises, posting the pictures of overweight single women who need my money to survive, the donors lined up and shedding blood near the cafeteria, and all of that other nonsense that makes me feel like am hired to be a social worker here.
 
frank davis
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Originally posted by John Smith:


I share your grief, Herb. My company also treats the employess like the little kindergarden children. The examples include rope pulling "team building" exercises, ...



"Rope pulling" ? You mean "tug of war" as we call it in the States?

After 41 years, I just want to maintain the tiny shreds of dignity I still have left; a "tug of war" would be the last straw. I'd rather volunteer for duty in Iraq and die an honorable death.
 
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I had a corporate function not so long ago where as part of a tram building excercise we were encouraged to join in with some tribal dancing...

Needless to say at least 70% of the company just walked off and refused to participate. The irony being that perhaps this was fantastic team building because from that point on we left the organised activities and headed to the bar where we were all united in discussions about how it was a totally ridiculous thing to ask people to do!
 
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Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
The irony being that perhaps this was fantastic team building because from that point on we left the organised activities and headed to the bar where we were all united in discussions about how it was a totally ridiculous thing to ask people to do!



There's the answer - for a good TBE a company should just put some money behind the bar in the nearest good pub and let the staff spend the afternoon there. Productivity may not be that good for the rest of the day (and possibly the next morning), but people would probably bond a lot more. Maybe it could be made a weekly thing.....
 
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Didn't such thing die out with the .com boom?

Never been on such things myself but been exposed to them indirectly (as an outside consultant I wasn't invited to them, apparently only insiders are supposed to be(come) part of the team in many companies) and they're indeed totally ridiculous.

After one such event about a third of the team was out of action for several weeks with various diseases and wounds (broken bones, etc.) as a direct result...
 
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Needless to say at least 70% of the company just walked off and refused to participate.



Adrian --

Prediction: The other 30% will be collectively known as "Managers" soon.
 
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"about a third of the team was out of action for several weeks with various diseases "

 
Helen Thomas
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Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:

After one such event about a third of the team was out of action for several weeks with various diseases and wounds (broken bones, etc.) as a direct result...




Weekend in Thailand or THE clubbers island Ibiza ?
 
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A few years back I help to run command tasks for youths in the cadet force. It was fun for both us and for the kids who really enjoyed themselves. But I have never understood why companies do this to their staff. Are the top management saying that the company does not have teamwork already � which really has to be their fault in the first place!

I�m currently reading, and would recommend Peopleware , only wish I had more time to do so ( reading for SCJP/D/BCD as well).
 
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Team building really doesn't have to be that elaborate or dangerous, just something that the entire team would consider fun and not obnoxious, ridiculous, or embarassing.

Going to a movie together works too, even without the speaking.

Mark
 
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