Building Stronger Teams Through Outdoor Activities: Personal Insights and Lessons Learned

Is team building just a series of meaningless exercises or can they truly impact how you interact with your colleagues? Personal experiences have shown me that some of the best team building activities are those that take you outdoors and challenge both your physical and mental limits.

Experience at Team Building Outings

Contrary to what one might assume, the experience at team building initiatives like ropes courses, weekend exercises, and boot camps is not merely about physical exertion. While there are certainly challenging activities involved, such as overcoming fear, trust, and physical obstacles, these exercises also serve a profound purpose in strengthening relationships and deepening personal insights about one's self and co-workers.

The Magic of Outdoors

During one such adventure, we scaled mountains, learned trust, and jumped from a tall tree for a brass ring. I cursed when I touched the ring but couldn’t hold on to it. As I was lowered down by the security rope, a facilitator, a well-trained psychological jock, approached me with questions designed to draw out my true feelings and thoughts. He asked why I cursed and I responded with my frustration. He then pointed out the fear that people had climbing the wooden slats and how many had given up due to the fear of heights. His next point was how I, despite being at a height of 40 feet with people watching, managed to scramble up and secure a position after preparing myself to jump, making me the only one to even touch the ring. He continued with his insights, saying that he saw me as a perfectionist who doesn’t like herself unless she accomplishes something.

This statement hit a nerve, and I started to cry a bit. The facilitator’s approach was to push my buttons and help me understand my own fears and motives more deeply. The moral of the story is that it was through these kinds of exercises that people not only got to know me better but also understood my intensity about sales goals. I was consoled and in turn, encouraged my colleagues to keep going.

The Impact on Relationships

The key takeaway from these experiences is that although not everyone became huggy-huggy, the icebreakers and tests about personalities allowed us to understand each other better. The closeness and understanding we developed were a great bond for our company. Additionally, spending more time with these people can be closer than with our families, as we are home with them for only 4 hours of the 12 we are awake. It is important to nurture these connections outside of work through activities like going for drinks, a movie, a run, golf, or tennis. These shared moments can have a significant impact on strengthening the team and making it more cohesive and productive.

Conclusion and Advice

Team building activities can be a powerful tool for fostering trust and understanding within a team. If you find yourself struggling to relate to your colleagues, consider seeking out new experiences or even changing jobs if needed. Isolation is a terrible experience, and it is crucial to engage with your team and build meaningful connections that can positively impact both your personal and professional life.