Build the best teams on these three pillars

Team-building workshops are a wonderful way to build the best teams by improving collaboration, communication and productivity. But the quality of those workshops is not always the same. The best trainers and managers combine three important pillars to guarantee maximum impact and effectiveness: education, entertainment and execution.

1 Education, learning new things

Effective team-building workshops offer participants new knowledge, skills and insights because they are logically constructed. That involves, for instance, educational presentations and interactive exercises that let participants experience for themselves how best to apply the theory in practice.

Pitfall: overloading participants with too much boring information

In practice I see that many trainers and managers focus mainly on this element. They use an enormous number of slides with even more information that you could not possibly remember. What is more, that information is often downright dull. If this is where your preference lies as a trainer or manager, you would be better off giving lectures.

2 Entertainment, enjoying yourselves together

Engaging team-building workshops combine serious learning material with enjoyment. They stand out through serious fun. Humour helps participants feel more at ease. At the same time it makes them more strongly involved in the material and in the shared activities. They are then also quicker to build positive relationships with fellow participants. If you additionally add one or more educational game formats to the workshop, you create an extra enjoyable environment.

Pitfall: as a joker you are not taken seriously

If you focus too much on this element and education is missing, you would be better off as a trainer or manager making a career switch. You might then draw halls as full as those of a stand-up comedian.

3 Execution, applying knowledge and skills in real-life situations

The best team-building workshops offer more than knowledge and entertainment. They also help participants to apply the knowledge gained and the skills learned in real-life situations in the workplace. What works well here is taking small steps. Ask participants to note down their biggest insight from the workshop, and have them put it into practice with one concrete mini-step to begin with. The underlying thought: if you get 1% better every day, after seventy days you are twice as good.

Pitfall: prompting participants to act without their knowing why

Participants are only truly intrinsically motivated when they fully understand the how and the why of the desired actions. They need time for that.

In summary

Plan your team-building workshop on the basis of the three pillars education, entertainment and execution. That is the best way to give participants new knowledge, an enjoyable experience and the motivation to apply what they have learned in real-life situations in the workplace. The end result then consists of stronger and more productive teams that are better and faster at reaching their goals.

What if a pillar is missing?

In that case the overall effectiveness of the team-building workshop can suffer.

• If education is missing, participants may not gain the knowledge or skills they need to improve their performance and contribute to the team goals. There is then a chance they leave the workshop with a sense of unfulfilment or uncertainty because they do not know how to apply the material in the workplace.
• If entertainment is missing, participants may not be sufficiently involved in the workshop because they lose focus. An uninterested attitude towards the workshop's activities and objectives can be another consequence.
• If execution is missing, participants may not be able to apply the material in real-life situations. Desired changes in behaviour and collaboration can also be at risk. Which in turn can lead to the feeling that the workshop was a waste of time and resources.

All three pillars present and well balanced

It is essential that all three pillars are not only present but also well balanced during a team-building workshop. That is when participants feel involved, are motivated and apply the material in the workplace. So that the team as a whole can take a large and successful step forward.