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2006-08-07
If anybody asked me which of the various team building activities is really effective, I would say it is team holidays. Last summer a group of my colleagues and I had a wonderful opportunity to see it ourselves. We were on weekend holidays in Lithuania, a European country on the East coast of the Baltic Sea. The skeet shooting event organized by a Lithuanian travel agency was an exciting and useful experience which, as I have experienced myself, noticeably improved communication and cooperation skills within our group.Skeet is a recreational and competitive shotgun shooting at clay disks flung into the air at high speed from a variety of angles. Before starting, our group was divided into two teams which then were appointed to different fields. Later on, the teams had to swap the places with each other. After the competition, the the scores were added together and the winners were nominated. For me, as a member of a team in the company I work for, it was a splendid opportunity to spend some of my leisure time with my colleagues. Shared experience encourages the sense of belonging among the members of the group, especially when the experience is pleasant. The skeet competition was a thrilling event. What a chance to hold a real shotgun in your arms and try out your shooting skills or feel the bitter dissappointment mixed with the bliss of success! It gets your adrenaline up and makes you feel as a real hunter…Moreover, the competition was a kind of a lesson where each group had to strive for a common goal. As games usually simulate real life, the skeet shooting event allowed for our self evaluation as a team. It revealed the strong as well as the weak points in our collaborative competence. The game also showed how your own personal improvement and the support and tolerance on the part of colleagues are important if you and your co-workers want to achieve particular results. Team holidays abroad as a team building event differs from other team building activities in that, besides the possibility of an informal, relaxed communication among the group members, it offers the opportunity to travel and get acquainted with a foreign country. You may choose among a variety of indoor and outdoor activities such as quad biking, gliding, karting, yachting, horse riding, airsoft, etc. New experience and good humour guaranteed; and when shared within the team – even very useful. So if you are thinking what could speed up the process of team building in your organization, I would strongly recommend a team holiday weekend. |
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