The term “team building” is a term that covers many different meanings, and means different things to different people. In this article we will delve deeper into how Moodmaker makes its team building activities FUN and relevant at the same time.
At Moodmaker we divide our activities according to the intended goal – what do you want to achieve with the activity? We distinguish the following 3 levels:
- Just for Fun
- Message Creators
- Idea Shakers
What each of these levels have in common is that they are dynamic activities that strengthen team spirit and increase motivation . The differences lie in the intended goal and how this is achieved and measured. Our advice is therefore to think carefully about what you want to achieve with the team (ROI), and then choose the right level of team building.
Just for Fun
Just for Fun are activities focused on entertainment, togetherness & socializing . Activities at this level are mainly chosen because they meet a number of “external” requirements such as duration, available space, logistics and budget, but without too much attention being paid to other aspects such as the intended objective.
Within the Moodmaker range, for example, Soapbox Race falls into this category.
Just for Fun activities are conceived linearly. In other words, the course of the game is fixed. Since team building represents a cost (employees not being at work), it can be interesting for a deeper level – a team building where the end goal is fixed, but the process to achieve this goal is determined by the participants themselves . This way we have an activity that is more relevant, fits in with the reality of companies and of course is still fun, dynamic and energetic in nature. Steve Jobs with his famous quote is not far away:
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do, We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” 〜Steve Jobs
Message Creators
Message Creators use a team building activity to deliver a corporate message . This includes Collaboration (information flow, asking for & offering help, jointly drawing up a plan, breaking down silos – see also: ” Is collaboration a natural human way of working? “) or finding opportunities in change (how to get everyone on board in a changing context).
Now team building is becoming more interesting. Without sacrificing the fun factor, team building becomes a meaningful, thought-provoking activity with an added layer .
Within the Moodmaker range we catalogue Chain Reaction , Detour and The Chocolate Factory as a Message Creator.
Idea Shakers
Idea Shakers are challenging business games ; a useful method to simulate a work situation. Organizations that choose this level want to test, analyze and improve their own strategic thinking and actions . Idea Shakers aim to stimulate creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation among participants,… and to embed this in the corporate culture. Idea Shakers are still “fun”. Fun, however, is described here as “hard fun,” where happiness comes not from doing easy work, but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes from accomplishing a difficult task that has demanded the utmost of us, as individuals and as a team.
Idea Shakers are not boring coaching sessions. We often see the greatest intrinsic motivation in these types of activities.
Within the Moodmaker range, Before Mars is an Idea Shaker. This involves objectively measuring the data on how you, as a team, have completed the assignment (e.g. balance between cooperation vs competition, focus on tasks with high vs low added value, etc.) and providing feedback on reality.
You can also interpret the difference between the above as: Entertain (Just for Fun) – Inspire (Message Creator) – Engage (Idea Shaker).