You’ve done it all, the good, the bad and the okay. Your team loved the good ones, collectively agreed to forget the okay ones, and remain scarred by the bad ones.
Now, you’re tasked with finding your company’s next event and you need to do something different. You want better than good, bad, or okay. You want a team building activity that will actually engage your team and bring them together.
It’s not an impossible order! You just have to find the right activity. And that means it’s time to branch out.
Here are some unusual team building ideas that will bring your team together in fun, interactive and productive ways.
Flash Mob
For those who missed that cultural moment, a flash mob is when a group of people suddenly assemble in a public place to perform something unusual for a brief time and then disperse.
Flash mobs are fun to watch, but they require quite a lot of coordination and thus are a challenging and unusual team building ideas. Every member of the flash mob has to know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing and when, or else the flash mob loses its effectiveness.
This is a great opportunity for your team to learn how to coordinate. It’s creative and silly, so your team can let loose, but it also allows your team to see the results of their collaboration pay off.
Flash mobs are often dances, but if a few of your coworkers have two left feet, you don’t have to do a dance. Any kind of coordinated activity can be a flash mob. In fact, the more creative you are, the more fun it will be.
Bonus points for combining your flash mob with a music video. More about that further on in this article!
Blindfolded Food Tasting
Blindfolded food tasting is more of a trust exercise and definitely would be one of the most unusual team building ideas, definitely not overdone. Taken from a popular YouTube trend, this team building exercise has participants wear blindfolds while their team members feed them food or liquid. From there, the blindfolded person has to guess what the food is.
This demands that the blindfolded person trust their team members and learn to let go a little while also thinking on their feet. It can also get ridiculously funny if your team has a good sense of humor.
That said, make sure to check for any food allergies before proceeding or this can get ugly fast!
Play Board Games
Remember when you were a kid and you spent hours laughing with friends over your favorite board game? Or the board game you always played when you visited your relatives?
If your workplace has a mix of ages, mobility levels, fitness, and interests, it can be difficult to find a physical activity everyone can equally enjoy and participate in. But everyone can agree on the childlike joy of a great board game.
You could have multiple stations going, or just have one game going and say the winner continues to the next round. The key is to pick a game that’s not too short or too long and that appeals to multiple playing styles. For a team, games that encourage players to laugh and let loose are the best option.
Monopoly won’t work if you have a big team, but there are plenty of fun board games for adults to choose from. You can also use cooperative board games which force players to work together in order to win the game.
Team Yoga Class
Yoga class is often thought of as a workout, but it doesn’t have to be. There are several restorative styles that focus more on mindfulness than fitness, while other styles emphasize letting loose and learning not to take yourself quite so seriously.
The right yoga instructor can even incorporate yoga poses that require partner support, teaching team members to rely on each other.
Plus, everyone on your team will appreciate the chance to wind down from stress and take advantage of the many benefits of yoga.
Book Club
Have you got a literary crowd? Why not get them to bond over a monthly book club? Pick a book each month and invite anyone who’s interested to participate.
Do some research on the best new books hitting the market, or look for a theme of each book club (like spooky books for Halloween or beach books for the summer when your colleagues are all dreaming of sand and sunshine).
Talking about books is a great way to build communication skills. You’ll have the opportunity to develop options and then share and explain them.
Everyone can communicate politely and articulately while still disagreeing and debating. It’s great practice for team dynamics. And it’s totally unusual for a team building activity.
Another benefit of the book club team idea is that you can get it started at your first team building gathering and keep it going all throughout the year.
Make a Music Video
Remember watching music videos on MTV? Or, for a younger workforce, watching music videos on YouTube? Remember that feeling of watching videos and thinking, “Man, wouldn’t it be cool to be in one of those?”
Why not make that dream happen, and better still, use it to bring your whole team together?
As part of my company’s team songwriting programs, we offer a great music video event. We’ll help your team write and record your own song. Then you’ll create a music video.
This is your song and your show, which means that your team can call the shots, have some fun, and create a lasting take-away you’ll be proud of.
The music video is a great way to show the rest of the world what your company is all about! It shows your team having a great time, learning together, and ultimately performing effectively.
Want More Unusual Team Building Ideas?
If you’re looking to bring your team closer together without doing the same ole’ thing, all you really need to do is think of activities that you or your colleagues enjoy in your lives. Then, see if you can harness and customize those activities to become fun and effective team programs.
If you have an idea but aren’t sure how to turn it into a team program, reach out to a professional facilitator to see if they can help. Personally, I love getting unusual requests from our clients and then seeing how we can create a dynamic event.
Let your imagination be your guide!