Indoor Team Building Exercises

Team building exercises and activities take two basic forms: indoor team building exercises and outdoor team building exercises. They differ mainly in what can be done indoors and outdoors. The indoor exercises tend to be more role playing activities that challenge the mind while outdoor exercises tend to have a more physical approach.

The kind of activity or exercise used in a company away day team training event depends to a large extent on the results of the initial assessment of the team. This is an essential part of any team building project. Without the initial assessment there is little way to know which approach will be likely to work best.

The exercises employed by the team building provider should be carefully chosen. Camaraderie and a sense of "we're all in this together" can be built up easily, but without proper team building techniques it will not last for long. There has to be more, something that will forge a team spirit that can last for the required duration, and that might be for years.

Besides the obvious differences between exercises and activities of indoors and outdoors, there is another crucial difference that should be taken into account. This is the difference of exercises that are divisive by nature and those that can help to bind and bond a group of people in such a way that they engender trust, loyalty and an essential insight that allows team members to understand how each other think and work.

This can apply to both indoor team building exercises and outdoor team building exercises alike. It is not the actual exercise that is crucial to the outcome in most cases, but rather the way that the exercises allow team members to interact with each other.

There seems to be a feeling with some away day providers that good rollicking competitive games or activities are what a team building day needs.

This flies in the face of common sense when it is considered that there have to be losers in every competition.
When a team or a section of a team loses during a team building exercise, they learn nothing of value. In fact, they learn the opposite of what it takes to build a good team. They can feel demoralised and dejected, not at all what a team building day should be trying to achieve.

Successful teams are composed of members who cooperate with each other. It is for this reason that cooperative games and activities, whether indoor team building exercises or outdoor team building exercises, usually work best to create a long-lasting effect. Through cooperation comes trust and understanding. It stimulates loyalty and respect. Individual team members gain a sense of belonging, which can bring about greater commitment to the company goals. The final result is a more efficient team that is more content and more productive too.