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Team building events

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    #32
    RainyDay
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,925 ✭✭✭RainyDay


    skallywag wrote: »
    I've personally experienced several examples where the team dynamic has improved by virtue of such exercises, in particular with respect to encouraging shyer members to come out of their shell, and also with improving the relationship between team members and supervisors.
    When I asked for evidence, I was looking for something more than personal experience or anecdote.
    skallywag wrote: »
    I fully understand that there are those who simply wish to get the job done and go home, and will naturally do their best to give such events a swerve. And that's all well and good, and needs to be respected. In doing so though one is clearly limiting future potential promotion into team/project lead roles, or any other roles where softskills may be considered essential.
    'getting the job done and going home' and 'softskills' are not mutually exclusive. 'getting the job done and going home' and project/team lead roles are not mutually exclusive.


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    #33
    skallywag
    Registered Users Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭skallywag


    RainyDay wrote: »
    When I asked for evidence, I was looking for something more than personal experience or anecdote.

    I have first hand experience of several instances where members of my own team have benefited in the manner that I described. I am not sure as to why would discount that as being proper evidence.
    RainyDay wrote: »
    'getting the job done and going home' and project/team lead roles are not mutually exclusive.

    You can dress it up whatever way you like, but the fact still remains that openly avoiding an event such as this is going to damage your chances of moving to a project or team lead role in the future.


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    #34
    georgewickstaff
    Registered Users Posts: 360 ✭✭georgewickstaff


    Its not a real life version of the Full Metal Jacket boot camp. Go with an open mind, you might actually enjoy it.

    Bit of food etc, sounds alright to me.


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    #35
    RainyDay
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,925 ✭✭✭RainyDay


    skallywag wrote: »
    I have first hand experience of several instances where members of my own team have benefited in the manner that I described. I am not sure as to why would discount that as being proper evidence.
    Because evidence is independent and verifiable. When I say evidence, I don't mean anecdote. A paper in a peer-reviewed publication would be a good start.

    Typically, such evidence would go beyond your own view as to whether people benefited. It would also get their view. It would also look at some metrics to confirm or deny the theory.
    skallywag wrote: »
    You can dress it up whatever way you like, but the fact still remains that openly avoiding an event such as this is going to damage your chances of moving to a project or team lead role in the future.

    You may well be right, if the organisation in question is populated by small-minded managers who cannot distinguish between social events and getting the job done.
    georgewickstaff wrote: »
    Its not a real life version of the Full Metal Jacket boot camp. Go with an open mind, you might actually enjoy it.

    Bit of food etc, sounds alright to me.

    Indeed, it may well 'sound all right' to most people. But it certainly doesn't sound all right to everybody. Some people will abhor the idea of outdoor activities like this. Some people will abhor the idea of socialising with work mates. Some people will abhor the idea of getting back to their desk to find they are a day behind on the work they are expected to produce. What 'sounds all right' to you is not all right to everybody.


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    #36
    skallywag
    Registered Users Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭skallywag


    RainyDay wrote: »
    Typically, such evidence would go beyond your own view as to whether people benefited. It would also get their view. It would also look at some metrics to confirm or deny the theory

    I'm not just counting on my own opinion here, I'm also considering feedback from the team afterwards, employee feedback at appraisal time, etc.

    I fully accept that there are those, such as yourself, who take nothing bar contempt from such occasions, but I cannot argue with the fact that there are also those who do take positives, when I'm getting this feedback first hand myself in an open and honest environment.
    RainyDay wrote: »
    You may well be right, if the organisation in question is populated by small-minded managers who cannot distinguish between social events and getting the job done.

    Do you really think that one can blatantly not attend something being billed as a team building event and then not have this effect the chances of being chosen for a leadership position in the future? You may think that I am being small minded with my logic, but that same logic is telling me that your opinion is quite naive.


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    #37
    triple nipple
    Registered Users Posts: 334 ✭✭triple nipple


    RainyDay wrote:
    You may well be right, if the organisation in question is populated by small-minded managers who cannot distinguish between social events and getting the job done.


    Emmmm fáilte go Éirinn


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    #38
    RainyDay
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,925 ✭✭✭RainyDay


    skallywag wrote: »
    I'm not just counting on my own opinion here, I'm also considering feedback from the team afterwards, employee feedback at appraisal time, etc.
    That's why I mentioned 'independent' in terms of gathering evidence. There is a good chance that at least some of the participants will give a different view to an independent researcher than to their manager.

    skallywag wrote: »
    I fully accept that there are those, such as yourself, who take nothing bar contempt from such occasions, but I cannot argue with the fact that there are also those who do take positives, when I'm getting this feedback first hand myself in an open and honest environment.
    Actually, I've generally enjoyed such events in the past, as I generally like outdoorsy-stuff, while taking the 'team building' bit with a large pinch of salt. And I don't dispute that there are those who do take positives.

    But a team building event that is not designed to accommodate ALL members of the team is not going to achieve its objective.
    skallywag wrote: »
    Do you really think that one can blatantly not attend something being billed as a team building event and then not have this effect the chances of being chosen for a leadership position in the future? You may think that I am being small minded with my logic, but that same logic is telling me that your opinion is quite naive.

    As I said, it depends on how small-minded the relevant decision-makers are.


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    #39
    Irish_Elect_Eng
    Registered Users Posts: 1,260 ✭✭✭Irish_Elect_Eng


    There are a wide range of reasons to embark on team building activities, and there are a wide range of the activities and many work well if they are paired well with the initiating reason. Activities will be different for forming a new team from strangers, building on a particular shared skill or addressing a problem within the team. Where a particular activity is successful, it comes from the selection of the correct activity, preparation of the team, having the team understand the goal of the activity and buying into achieving that goal. Just like every other team activity.


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    #40
    Stavro Mueller
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,673 ✭✭✭Stavro Mueller


    markiemark2005 wrote: »
    Thanks guys, have a week to decide between "career" or sanity.

    If this issue it's still a live one for the OP (he said he had a week to make up his mind and a week has now passed) the above quoted text is what needs to be borne in mind. Debating about how good or bad a team building day is won't help him.

    The OP doesn't want to go and he'd be no different to a lot of people there. A lot of his colleagues would rather not be at the team building day either I'll bet. However if it is something that will be frowned upon by managers who buy into team building and will damage his career, then he's being needlessly childish. He might also be resented by fellow team members who sucked it up and went along for the day. These are all ifs though. It really all depends on where the OP works and the sort of job/career prospects/plans he has. It might be no big deal either - none of us can say.


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