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Team building games designed to improve the abilities of a team divided into business groups can focus on developing certain qualities and skills, including the development of communication and teamwork skills, the ability to adapt or strengthen the ability to make joint decisions. The list below lists the various games (exercises), each of which is dedicated to a specific priority skill for dealing with obstacles and adversities on the way to achieving the goal of uniting the team and increasing the ability to deal with problems.
Every problem-solving process begins with its identification. When a problem is found, the team must evaluate the possible course of action and then choose the best solution. This requires a good knowledge of your team and its strengths. The purpose of problem-solving exercises is to identify these strengths and to form skills and strategies that help solve the most complex problems and at the same time have fun with your colleagues!
Source: www.indstate.edu
By the way, team building games are not suitable for every team. Participants must be sufficiently receptive and prepared to make any ideas and decisions. They also need flexible thinking and the ability to go beyond old structures, plans and processes. Problems usually arise at the most unexpected moment, so there is no better way to prepare for them than to learn to be flexible and always act in a non-standard way. In this case, the manager can safely use flexible methods to manage the project team, knowing that his subordinates are independent enough to handle without rigid instructions.
Another aspect to consider when participating in team games and events is the following: no winners or losers. Of course, in some team building games there is only one winner, but their real goal is for people to learn how to work in a team and develop flexible thinking. For training purposes, after each game, the participants in the winning team should talk about the strategy that led them to victory and the actions they have taken.
From the list of team games that develop problem-solving skills and use a variety of accessories, from tape measures to raw eggs, we've selected the best ones that are sure to teach you how to solve problems as quickly as the Scooby-Doo team.
Classic team building games, developing problem solving skills
1. The sinking ship
Develops the ability to adapt.
Equipment needed: rope, blanket or duct tape to mark a place on the floor.
Rules of the game. Use a rope (blanket, ribbon) to mark a limited area of the floor and let your team stand on it. Gradually reduce this space for 10-15 minutes and let the participants look for a way to stay inside and not "fall overboard".
2. Spaghetti tower and cup
Develops teamwork skills.
Equipment needed: 20 pieces of raw spaghetti, a pair of duct tape, a meter long piece of rope and a plastic cup for each team.
Rules of the game. Your goal is to build the tallest tower that can stand alone, in front of rival teams. If you want to complicate the game, set an additional condition: the cup must be on top of the tower and be used as a "dome". This exercise teaches active thinking, but also strengthens team spirit and develops leadership skills.
3. Egg fall
Develops teamwork skills, decision making skills.
Equipment needed: raw eggs; building materials (newspapers, cocktail straws, tape, duct tape, balloons, rubber bands, ice cream sticks, etc.); tarpaulin or protective foil, a place in the parking lot or in any area where you are not afraid to get dirty.
Rules of the game. Each team receives an egg and chooses building materials for themselves. For 20-30 minutes, participants must build a protective container that will not allow the egg to break. Then drop the egg containers from a height (from a high table or even from the second floor) and see whose egg does not break. If several eggs survive, gradually increase the height of the fall until only one winner remains.
4. Survival
Develops communication skills, ability to make decisions.
Equipment needed: no.
Rules of the game. Imagine that your team was locked in an office. All doors are locked; they cannot be broken or removed. After 30 minutes, team members must select 10 common items from your office to survive and rank them in order of importance. The aim is to discuss the proposed lists and the order of the items in thirty minutes, as well as to reach an agreement between the team members.
Team building games that develop a creative approach to problem solving
5. Lego
Develops communication skills.
Required equipment: Lego set.
Rules of the game. Divide into small teams of two or more participants. Choose a leader who is not included in any of the teams, who must build a random structure of Lego blocks in 10 minutes. The teams must then reproduce this construction in exactly 15 minutes, using blocks of the same color and shape. But only one participant from each team can see the original design. This participant will need to clearly and accurately describe the size, color and shape of the original design. If this seems too easy for you, do not allow the "seeing" participant to touch the structure that builds his team. This game will help you understand the importance of effective information sharing.
6. Escape
Develops teamwork skills.
Equipment needed: 1 rope, 1 key, locked room and 5-10 puzzles, depending on how much time you want to spend on the game.
Rules of the game. The purpose of this exercise is to get out of the locked room at the appointed time, finding the key with the help of prepared tips. The key and tips must be hidden in advance. The team is locked in the room and after 30 minutes or an hour the players must find the key with the help of the hidden tips. To successfully complete the game, you must be able to act together through a brainstorming session, trying to understand what a clue means.
7. Polar researchers
Develops the ability to make decisions, the ability to adapt.
Equipment needed: eye strips and a package of "building materials" (cardboard sheets, toothpicks, rubber bands or stickers) for each team, electric fan.
Rules of the game. Imagine being a brave Arctic explorer wandering the icy desert. Choose an "expedition leader" in each team. After 30 minutes, a blizzard should appear and each team must build a shelter to stay alive. Unfortunately, the leader of the expedition froze his hands, so he could not participate in the construction, and the others have snow blindness and they can not see. After 30 minutes, turn on the fan and see whose shelter survives.
8. Minefield
Develops communication skills.
Necessary equipment: empty room or corridor, blinds and a set of typical office supplies.
Rules of the game. Scatter objects (boxes, office chairs, water bottles, etc.) on the floor at random so that you can't walk from one end of the room to the other and not stumble. Divide the participants into pairs and tie a piece of cloth around the eyes of one of the partners. The second must lead his partner from one end of the "minefield" to the other, not touching or injuring in any "mine". However, he is not allowed to touch his partner. If you want to complicate the task, start all the pairs on the "field" at the same time, so that players must listen carefully to the instructions of their "escort".
9. The blind
Develops communication skills.
Necessary equipment: eye bandages, rope.
Rules of the game. The players put on bandages and stand in a circle. The ends of the rope are tied together and it is placed in front of the participants also in the form of a circle - so that each of the players can bend down and touch it. The host tells the players to lift the rope and form a geometric shape with it: square, triangle, rectangle, etc. Players can talk, but they can't take off the bandages. If you have many participants, they can be divided into teams, with a rope given to each team. The team that will build the desired figure the fastest wins.
Simple and easy team building games that develop problem solving skills
10. Blind stacking
Develops communication skills in the team.
Necessary equipment: cloth, rope.
Rules of the game. Participants cover their eyes with a cloth, after which the facilitator whispers a number to each player, starting with one. Then the participants must line up in ascending order, without talking to each other. They can also be arranged not by number, but by height, age, birthdays, etc.
11. Invert the pyramid
Develops the ability to adapt, teamwork skills.
Required equipment: not required.
Rules of the game. Participants stand to form a pyramid, like balls in a pool table. The facilitator then says that three of the team members should move in such a way that the top and bottom of the pyramid are interchanged. It is best to do this exercise in a large group, which can be divided into small teams and see who flips the pyramid faster.
12. Change of places
Develops the ability to adapt, teamwork skills.
Necessary equipment: chalk, rope, paper tape, paper (to mark the place where you can stand).
Rules of the game. Divide the group of players into two teams and arrange them in two lines facing each other. Use chalk, tape, rope or pieces of paper (depending on which floor you are playing on) to mark where each player is standing, as well as an additional blank area between the two rows. The goal is to exchange lines.
Use the following restrictions:
Only one person can move at a time.
You cannot swap places with a player looking in the same direction.
You can't move backwards.
In one move, a player cannot swap places with more than one player from the second team.
13. An intricate story
Develops the ability to adapt, teamwork skills.
Required equipment: not required.
Rules of the game. All participants must stand in a circle, after which each player takes the hands of any two players who are not standing next to him. Once everyone is holding hands, ask the players to "unravel" and form a perfect circle without opening their hands. For this, the participants in the game will need creative and strategic thinking.
The last two games are suitable for situations where you have a problem that needs to be solved.
14. Competition for the dumbest idea
Objective: to solve a current problem.
Required equipment: not required.
Rules of the game. Sometimes stupid ideas turn out to be the most successful. Ask each participant to suggest the stupidest solution to an urgent problem. And then, after making a long list, try to find a solution that is not so stupid.
15. What would X do?
Objective: to solve a current problem.
Required equipment: not required.
Rules of the game. Have each participant introduce themselves as one of the celebrities they like. Then ask each player what opinion their character could express if he encountered the current problem? How would you solve it? This will allow each participant to think about a possible solution from a different angle.
Or read about other ways to increase the motivation of your employees.
Do you know a business game that everyone likes?
Remember that another easy way to manage a project team is to choose appropriately designed online training for your team.