Keeping your workforce engaged and motivated over time is always a challenge. Balancing work with fun is important. All work and no play results in loss of engagement and motivation. So I’ve assembled a list of simple team building activities you can implement on a regular basis to keep your group rocking along.
The Power Of Simple Team Building
Why does putting people in a room together and giving them a simple task help form bonds and create a better work environment? Howard Schultz once said, “success is best when it’s shared.”
When we work together, we’re able to learn from each other’s abilities and expertise, thus being able to come up with creative and practical problem solving. This is why they always say two heads are better than one. As humans, we just feel better when we’re helping others do better.
There are accessible and simple team programs that will help build trust, boost engagement and broaden creativity. Some of my favorites are below.
10 Easy DIY Team Exercises
If you’ve been searching for simple team building activities to get your team working together, look no further. The following list includes games and programs for groups of any size. These can be as quick or as long as your agenda allows.
1 – Word Association
If you haven’t played a word association game, it’s an incredibly easy one to use as your first game to create team engagement.
Here is what you do: Sit in a circle. The first person chooses a word and says it out loud. In the order of your choosing, the next person quickly responds with a word that is connected to the previous. You continue around the circle until someone can’t think of one. This game can be played for as long as you like and it’s great one to use as an icebreaker!
2 – Would You Rather
Do you remember playing Would You Rather as a kid? The nostalgic factor is what makes this a great game to play!
The rules are ever changing, but here are the basics: One person comes up with a question that has two options as answers for what you’d rather do. The team members have to answer quickly and can only choose one option. This can be a quick 20 minute game or as long as you want. It’s a great one to add to your weekly meetings. It leads to laughs and will actually give everyone more insight into their colleagues. This is an easy team activity that is deeper than it first seems.
3 – Two Truths and a Lie
One of the most simple team building activities to play is two truths and a lie. I’m sure we’ve all played this once or twice throughout our lives, but for those of you who haven’t this is how it works. Each team member comes up with two truths and one lie. As each person tells their truths and a lie, the rest of the team has to guess which are the truths and which is the lie.
You’ll definitely see another side of your team members through this program, getting a window into things you wouldn’t ordinarily talk about at work.
4 – Emoji Quiz
Emojis have pushed their way into our everyday language. Have you ever sent a message made of only emojis? Well, this game is basically that. To play, you’ll have to either create or find a list of songs, celebrities, or movie titles written entirely out of emojis. Cosmopolitan Magazine has a few categories of quizzes that you can choose from if you don’t want to make your own. See if your team is up to the challenge of deciphering emoji codes! It’s as easy as 🥧.
5 – Coworker Bingo
Bingo is a classic game that everyone knows! It’s also easily customizable. All you need is a bingo card. You can make your own or find a pre-made one. Add common interests such as, “loves to ski,” or “has a dog.” Get creative with it! Then the team gets a few minutes to fill up their bingo cards by going around the room and finding coworkers that share the same interests.
6 – Twenty Questions
One of my favorite road trip games is 20 questions. You can easily play it for hours, or 15 minutes which is why it’s a great activity to bring your team together.
One person thinks of a plant, an animal, or a mineral. Then the rest of the group gets 20 questions to guess what the person is thinking of. The trick is that you can only ask yes or no questions. If the team guesses within 20 questions, they win! The fewer questions asked, the more points the group receives when they win.
7 – Positive Affirmations
One of the simplest team exercises you can do with a group is work on positive affirmations. It might sound and feel silly to start, but it’s scientifically proven to boost self-confidence and self-worth!
In your next team meeting ask your group to think of a phrase — for example “I believe in myself — and have them repeat it to themselves for 60 seconds. You can even think of one phrase and have everyone say it out loud kind of like a mantra. It will take some time, but the more you practice positive affirmations, the easier it gets and the better your team will feel about themselves.
8 – Writing Lyrics To Existing Songs
Music is always an easy way to make a connections with others. So why not try writing your own lyrics? Lyric writing is a fun creative challenge for all groups!
Pick a well-known song and find a karaoke track for it. In other words, an instrumental track with no singing on it. Then create a set of questions to get your lyric brainstorm started.
For example, you could ask, “What differentiates us from our competition?” Put all your ideas on flip charts and ask another question. After you have lots of ideas, you can choose themes and find a song title. Create your lyrics by singing your ideas to the instrumental track you’ve chosen. The sky is the limit when it comes to writing music and once people get in the groove it flows naturally. After a while the complex will seem simple.
9 – Lip Sync Battle
Have you heard of the show Lip Sync Battle? It’s like karaoke, but you only pretend to sing.
Here is what you do: Split up into as many groups as you want, give each team a song, and practice your performances. To make it more of a challenge, set a time restriction. After the clock has run out, it’s time for everyone to perform! I promise that the end result will be the most fun you’ve had in a long time!
10 – Paint and Sip
Who doesn’t enjoy a glass of wine after a long day of work? It’s even more enjoyable when you can enjoy it with your coworkers while getting crafty! This is such a popular and yet simple team program that you can even do it with your virtual team. All you have to do is find a Paint and Sip near you, or a professional artist that can guide your team into a creative mind set online. They will handle the rest.
Creative exercises like painting will help build confidence and give your team a chance to bond over their shared experience.
Simple Team Building On A Regular Schedule
The above list only scratches the surface. There are so many simple team building activities you can easily do yourselves. Most important is to integrate teamwork programs on a fairly regular basis. The more you encourage engagement the better off you’ll be. Try to plan quarterly events to keep your team fine tuned, energized and communicating well.
And when you’re ready for a professionally led team building program I hope you’ll check out the work we do here at Kidbilly Music. We can build on the great DIY work you’ve been doing!