Teammates with successful leadership styles not only steer their colleagues towards success but also cultivate a culture of collaboration and adaptability. As we delve into creative team building activities and leadership games tailored to enhance leadership and problem-solving skills, let's remember that fostering strong leadership is not just only an individual goal but a necessary foundation for a thriving work environment.
How do you develop essential leadership skills?
There are many ways you can help team members develop leadership skills:
- Lead by example: Mirror the behavior and work ethic you expect from your team members. Be proactive, reliable, and open to feedback.
- Communicate clearly and effectively: Foster open communication channels where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback. Be transparent about goals, expectations, and project updates.
- Encourage collaboration and inclusivity: Create a collaborative environment where every team member feels valued and respected. Encourage diverse perspectives and ideas, and promote inclusivity in decision-making processes.
- Provide support and development opportunities: Offer mentorship and leadership training opportunities to help team members learn new skills and advance their careers.
- Foster a positive work culture: Promote a positive company culture by celebrating successes, recognizing achievements, and fostering a sense of belonging. Encourage a healthy work-life balance and prioritize employee well-being.
- Set clear goals and expectations: Clearly define team goals, priorities, and expectations. Be sure that team members understand their roles and responsibilities and have the tools they need to succeed.
Here are 5 leadership team building activities to use with your team:
By incorporating these leadership development activities into the workplace, you can bolster the confidence of potential leaders, strengthen team dynamics, foster collaboration, and create a more productive and cohesive work environment.
1. Mindful Leadership Workshop
Have you ever wondered what it truly means to have a mindful leadership style? If so, this workshop is for you. Led by a mindfulness expert, this interactive session explores the significance of mindful leadership on personal and organizational impact. Through engaging lectures, your team leaders will:
- Reflect on their current leadership styles 🤔
- Grasp the importance of mindfulness and its results 🧠
- Learn practical strategies for achieving mindfulness in the workplace 🧘♀️
Leave the workshop not only with a broader perspective but armed with mindfulness tools to reshape decision-making and create a more intentional and welcoming workplace. (Plus, mindfulness is an excellent skill to learn for our own personal development. It's not just a workshop; it's a journey towards a more mindful, empowered team!
How to get started 👉 Invite your employees to learn thoughtful leadership qualities in a Mindful Leadership Workshop!
2. Eyes Closed Drawing
This eyes closed drawing game is a creative way to practice leadership with your team. Here's how you play. First you'll need to split your group into pairs.
One person picks a picture of an object, while the other uses pen and paper to draw. The person with the picture must describe it thoroughly without revealing details, and the challenge is for their partner to successfully draw the image based solely on verbal instructions. The twist is that the drawer can't see the actual picture. (For virtual teams, it'll be easy to keep the image a secret from the drawers. If your team is in person, make sure your partners are back to back so there's no peeking!)
Set a time limit that they'll have to complete their drawing. At the end of each round, take time to show the other groups your picture. If your team loves friendly competition, have everyone vote on a winner! Then, have the pairs switch their role as the eyes and the drawer so that everyone gets a chance to be in the driver's seat.
Leaders practice clear and effective communication, learning to convey ideas precisely. The activity encourages adaptability as leaders adjust their approach based on their partner's understanding, which is a crucial skill for beneficial leadership in various professional settings.
How to get started 👉 Mix blind drawing with a fun happy hour in Drink and Draw!
3. Think Faster
Think Faster is an activity that focuses on developing crucial leadership qualities. Facilitated by an experienced improvisation instructor, this workshop engages teams in interactive, playful, and professional exercises tailored for corporate team building.
The activity allows you to choose a focus, each targeting specific skills and takeaways (and making it a great team building experience to revisit):
- Collaboration: Learn how to build on each other's ideas and hone collaborative skills essential for effective leadership.
- Conflict Resolution: Through a series of exercises learn how to navigate conflicts collaboratively. This aspect of the workshop equips leaders with the skills to manage and defuse conflicts in a constructive manner.
- Adaptability & Flexibility: This focus challenges teams to think on their feet and react with confidence in unpredictable situations. This skill is fundamental for leaders who need to navigate uncertainties and keep colleagues and clients at ease.
- Positive Culture Club: This focus promotes team bonding by encouraging laughter and mutual understanding. Leaders who foster a positive and enjoyable work environment contribute to increased employee interaction and anticipation of each workday.
How to get started 👉 Practice your leadership through improv in Think Faster!
4. The Human Knot
Here's a leadership activity that's great for team offsites or in-person teams. Gather your group members in a circle with everyone standing shoulder to shoulder. Instruct each team member to extend their right hand and grab the right hand of someone across the circle. Then, have them extend their left hand and grasp the left hand of a different person. This will create a tangled, interconnected human knot.
Now here's the challenge! The objective is for the team to work collaboratively to untangle the knot without letting go of each other's hands. In order to navigate through the maze of arms and unravel the knot without breaking the chain, teams will need to encourage open communication, problem-solving, and strategic thinking.
As the team engages in this physical and mental puzzle, they'll naturally develop skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, communication, as well as problem solving skills. The Human Knot is not just a fun and free team building activity – it's a perfect metaphor for collaboration in the workplace and the importance of positive leadership.
5. Culture Club: Work Community
This is a dynamic workshop designed for team building and leadership enhancement. Through mini exercises and games, participants will explore their workplace culture, focusing on understanding individual and collective needs, values, and goals. The activities include rating workplace scenarios, engaging in discussions about subjective statements, collaborating on group decision-making, and creating a visual representation of collective values.
These exercises collectively contribute to leadership development by promoting empathy, nuanced understanding of diverse perspectives, active listening, open dialogue, consensus-building, negotiation, and aligning individual goals with collective objectives. Leaders emerge with enhanced skills to navigate varying viewpoints, fostering team cohesion and creating a positive, values-driven work environment. The workshop offers a condensed yet impactful journey towards leadership excellence within the context of workplace culture exploration.
How to get started 👉 All individual team members have different leadership styles. Make effective leadership a group effort in Culture Club: Work Community!
Create successful leadership with Confetti 🎉
The ability to communicate effectively, navigate challenges with empathy and adaptability, and foster collaboration defines successful leaders, which are necessary to your organization's success. The good news is these skills can always be enhanced through engaging team building activities!
Book your next event with Confetti! If you need help finding the right activity for your team's dynamics, contact [email protected] to get started.
