Insights
Don’t Create Team Building Horror Stories
While team building horror stories abound, it's important to remember that effective, enjoyable, and meaningful team experiences are possible. At IN8 Create, we're committed to changing the narrative around team building, one LEGO brick at a time. By focusing on creativity, respect, and shared vision, we're helping teams build stronger connections – without the need for mountain treks, trauma circles, or soda swapping.
Do You Have “That Guy” on Your Team?
Have you had this discussion with your team? Are they holding people accountable in ways you are unaware of?Here’s a tip - Have a theoretical conversation on what it takes to be a good teammate. Have the team list out qualities and agree on a top 5 . If there is an issue on your team, a “quality” will be surfaced that is being broken.
Who are Your Team Anchovies, Who is Your Salt?
This is the hard part of being a leader - often times leaders are given teams that they didn't hire, figuring out how to assemble the best recipe with a set amount of ingredients. While the leader may set the table for the culture of the team, how each person shows up and interacts determines the true flavor of team itself.
Does Your Team Cheer Each Other On?
When Lily Zhang of the US Ping Pong team was playing for gold, Ant was right there in stands cheering her on. And you can tell he is truly excited for her. This is the person we all want to be on a team with. A person that wants to win and one that will cheer us on with full throated support.
Team 101: What Does It Mean to Be Part of a Team?
Being part of a team, whether in an office, on a sports field, in a kitchen, or on stage, involves adhering to core and basic expectations that ensure success and cohesion. Here are some universal principles that apply across all types of teams
Unlock Team Potential with Magical LEGO Sessions: Integrating Psychometrics for Better Collaboration
Understanding these traits helps in appreciating the diversity within any team. Each person's unique blend of abilities and values can create a more cohesive and effective group dynamic. During our LEGO Serious Play sessions, we often see that the key takeaway for participants is how these varied strengths build uniquely within the team, fostering a deeper understanding of each other.
Hierarchy of Communication Challenges: Unveiling the Layers
Effective communication is often cited as the cornerstone of successful organizations. However, communication issues are typically symptoms of deeper, underlying challenges. By understanding these layers hierarchically, companies can pinpoint where true communication challenges lie and address them more effectively. Let's explore this hierarchy and uncover the root causes of communication breakdowns.
An Easy Team Building Question to Boost Connection
Here is why I think its such a powerful question:
1. Its safe: We don't know much as kids, so whatever we wanted to be was guided by the small world we understood.
2. It's fun: This brings us back to a simpler time, and when we use LEGO's, this adds to the playful nature of the question, and a playful time in our lives.
3. It's somewhat revealing: Not too deep, but it can show passions that may still be alive today
4. It allows us to see others with more depth and dimension.
Building Empathy in Teams With Personal Stories
Steve from accounting becomes Steve the guy who played baseball in the Little League World Series. Your team has a ton of stories like this and when shared, they will add depth and dimension to the relationships in your team. When we can hear, see, and understand the depth and dimension behind our teammates histories, we gain appreciation for them as a person. We understand they are more than the role they fill.
Navigating Territorial Expertise in Teams
Imagine a department is represented by physical territory. When someone represents a department, they are a representing the whole territory. Basic expectations, norms, communication modalities and even how the mission, vision, and values show up can be vastly different in each territory. As organizations get larger, so can the variance between these territories.
Use This Playful Exercise to Open Up Creativity, Imagination, and Openness in Teams
A little bit of play can go a long way. Next time you need an ice breaker for your brainstorm or team building, give this a try. It will put people in a place of heightened creativity, imagination, and overall openness to ideas
How Much Time Do You Spend Observing Your Team?
Try this out 🤔 ▶ Delegate an activity for someone else to run, something where everyone needs to share their input, possibly a brainstorm or something similar. 👀 Participate yourself, but spend your time also paying attention to how people are interacting. Not just the speaker but the team as a whole. The idea here isn't to spy or call people out (Don't do that!) Instead, look and listen. 👀Are people attentive? Supportive? Do they build off of one another or do they take their turn and shut down?