The Nashville team building event I led at the end of May was truly a WIN. WIN stands for Women In Numbers, a nonpartisan organization established to engage, encourage and endorse qualified women to be elected to public office. As a junior board member of this organization, I well know the dynamics, dedication, and powerful personalities that make up both our senior and junior boards, but we don’t often get a chance to mingle and get to know each other. This Nashville team building event presented a challenge; to help all of us coalesce around a unified message, to have fun, and get to know one another better.
Nashville Team Building Event Goals
- Bonding and relationship building within the board
- Alignment on goals
- Assess workload and skill sets
- Engagement
The setting was perfect. One of WIN’s Jr. board members hosted the retreat at her outdoor pavilion, which really set the mood for relaxation and creativity. One of the main goals of this Nashville team building event was to get to know each other better. The Jr. and Sr. boards often work separately, yet for the same mission. Usually they are only together as a collective board when the workload and stress levels are high due to planning a WIN event, so it’s rare when both boards get to mingle and relax together. An important offering of WIN is their Ally Program where a Jr. board member is partnered with a Sr. board member as a mentor. This one-on-one networking and relationship building is invaluable. The education component is also one of WIN’s main differentiators from other women’s political organizations. Our Nashville team building event gave board members the chance to collectively talk about the challenges with workload, new ways to use everyone’s skill sets and talents to help WIN grow, and celebrate what makes WIN unique and successful.
Our Team Building Take Aways
- Relationship building – Some Jr. and Sr. board members had not even met before, so everyone got to know each other and hear different opinions about the direction for WIN’s future.
- Problem solving – One of the objectives for the Jr. board is better networking because they are young professionals who want to learn from and look up to the Sr. board who are trail blazers in their careers and communities. We came away with a few solutions to how we can better network within the organization. We also talked about the positive contribution that men make to WIN’s membership and how to continue their involvement.
- Fun and engagement – Isn’t this what team building is about? The ladies of WIN have strong opinions and great senses of humor. We laughed, we debated and we wrote a darn good song about the essence of WIN. By the time we created a lyric that represented what was on everyone’s mind, the ice was broken and everyone was on their feet singing and celebrating:
We’re Women In Numbers
Daughters, sisters, mothers but above all else
We’re leaders and teachers
Inspiring women just like ourselves
We educate and elevate
Girls it’s time to celebrate
Women In Numbers
Our Nashville team building event goes anywhere, even in the great outdoors, as you can see from the picture above. Whether it’s a group of 10 with a few flip charts, or a group of 1000 with a full band and video screens, this is an activity that gets everyone involved, having fun, telling their story and singing their song.