When
it comes to training teams in Dallas, outsourced corporate trainers
-- especially if they are from out of state -- may brace to face a
group of stereotypical Texans: loud, swash-buckling, dominant
personalities overshadowing the masses. Sure, big personalities are
prevalent in Texas, where residents take pride in a land where
everything is bigger. But Texas corporate groups are no different
than many groups, says David Lengyel, founder of Venture
Up. Lengyel and his firm began team building in Houston in 1983,
then brought corporate
team building events to San Antonio , home of the famous River Walk
Amazing Races , held several times per month.
Texans
tend to stick together and many a Texas company tends toward home
grown talent. Texas is a diverse culture, and homegrown talent theses
days comes from many walks of life.
A
seasoned corporate trainer should always be ready for a diverse mix
when working with groups in Texas, says Lengyel. It’s always a good
idea to get to know as much about the group as possible before the
event, he says. “We like to mix introverts with the most dominant
extroverts,” Lengyel says. Next, we advise human resources or
meeting planners to combine people who work in separate locations or
departments. “Some of the staff may know each other only by
electronic means,” he says. “The face-to-face team experience
really bonds those team members.”
In
terms of a successful meeting, getting staff off to the right start
is key. “That’s why many companies hire us to kick-start their
meetings,” Lengyel says. “Engaging staff on the onset of a
meeting is a surefire way to energize the group.”
Here
are a few games Venture Up program managers use while team building
in Texas:
Barter
to Win
Barter
to Win requires creative teamwork on many levels. Groups are broken
into sets of even teams, teams of two, four, etc. Each team receives
a jigsaw puzzle, the same in difficulty. A time limit is set for each
group to complete its puzzle. The problem? Some pieces of each team’s
puzzle belong to another team. Cooperation is a necessary component
to everyone’s success. The goal is to cooperate with each team,
while competing to finish one’s own puzzle in time. Negotiating
skills come into play as players must convince others to relinquish
the pieces they need, either through barter, lending a volunteer to
help another team, exchanging members altogether, or even merging
teams. Whatever they choose to do, it must be a team decision. Anyone
who takes on a leadership role in the team must convince team members
to agree as a unit. A competitive element may be added if the program
leaders choose to reward the first team to finish the puzzle.
Category
Story
This
is a game of categorization and storytelling, using a flip chart and
small white boards. The program leader names categories, such as food
items, travel destinations, idioms. Custom programs may have
categories specific to the company, such as computer technologies,
products for sales teams, or other items suiting the company’s
training objectives and staff positions. The program leader also
provides a story line for each category. At first, each team has a
team artist draws the category on the flip chart in the 30 second
time limit. Then, team members, silent but writing on their white
boards, guess category. The first correct answer scores a point for
the respective team. Each player can be the artist as the story
continues thereafter, following the given story line. The first
player to guess the story line correctly scores a point for their
team. The team with the most points wins.
Team Hire
This
game is a large group activity of effective communication that fuels
group discussion. Each team receives a list of job titles of people
they need to hire. This list is often provided by the company’s
human resources department and relates to the participants’ work
areas. Each player must come up with one pithy interview question for
each applicant of every level, say from department manager to office
manager or secretary. After each question is completed, the leaders
gather the questions from each team player. The program leader reads
the questions for the first job category and facilitates the groups
discussion as to what question is most suitable. The same follows for
the other job categories. All team members have a chance to review
other’s perspectives and collaborate for the best approach in
hiring new staff.
String
Circle
The
program leader forms the group into a circle and places a string from
one team member diagonally across to another team member. Holding the
string waist high, the leader directs the team to form specific
shapes – a figure 8, a diamond, etc. Clear communication and good
leadership guide the success of this event. Once the team develops a
fluid way to create the shape, the leader ups the ante and blindfolds
some of the team members. The team players must avoid the “too many
cooks” syndrome and devise a way to make the shape in the time
allotted. Program leaders have the option to allow the team to take a
peak half way through the allotted time to check their progress and
improve their process to meet their goal.
Human
Knot
Standing
shoulder to shoulder in a circle, the team follows the leader as they
raise their right hands in the air and grab the hand of any other
player. Once everyone’s right hand is hitched, team players raise
their left hands and grab the left hand of any player. Each team
player must be sure they are holding the hands of two different
people. The big challenge is to untangle without breaking the chain
of hands. If the chain is broken, the team must start over.
