It’s all about engagement. There is a definite correlation between your team members’ level of engagement and their interpersonal relationships. A recent Gallup study found that close work friendships boost employee satisfaction by 50%, while people with a self-described best friend at work are seven times more likely to be fully engaged at work
According to a different Gallup study, engaged businesses consistently outperform their rivals in terms of metrics like profits, productivity, and turnover. (Pretty important stuff if you ask us. It makes sense that the closer you are to your coworkers, the more content you’ll be at work and the more willing you’ll be to give up your free time to support their success.
In addition to some of the most devoted, closely knit businesses out there, we asked The Assist, a free weekly email for professionals, to demonstrate how to do team building properly. To assist you in selecting the concepts that might be most suitable for your business, we have divided them into categories.
- Egg drop. Create small teams that compete against each other to create a protective container for an egg. …
- Tower building. …
- Escape rooms. …
- Trading puzzle pieces. …
- Describe a drawing. …
- Follow the leader. …
- Telephone. …
- Two truths and a lie.
Benefits of team building for engineers
The benefits of team building for engineers working on projects together are numerous. Consider these advantages when deciding whether to use it for your team:
It teaches about role responsibility within teams
Your team can see what they can accomplish when they work together thanks to team building. Team building reveals how each team member’s role can affect the team and project goals because achieving goals requires effort from every team member. These exercises can teach team members that even though they are unique individuals, the team can only succeed when everyone pitches in.
It builds trust
Teams frequently function best when each team member has faith in the others. Many team-building activities focus on building this trust. This makes it easier for each team member to feel comfortable sharing their best ideas and working hard to make them a reality because they know the rest of the team works just as hard to achieve their shared goals.
It improves communication
Many team-building activities design scenarios where coworkers must communicate in order to finish a task. You can coordinate projects, connect with support, share knowledge, suggest and discuss feedback, and more by knowing how to communicate with your team members.
It helps your team get to know each other
The members of your team may benefit from team building by developing closer personal bonds. They will then be better able to relate to one another and demonstrate empathy as a result of this. Your team may be more willing to support one another in completing tasks, inspiring one another, and even resolving potential conflicts as a result of this deeper understanding.
It encourages problem solving
Many of these activities have time and resource constraints. Your team can learn how to work together to solve problems when the solutions don’t seem obvious by having them concentrate on coming up with a solution while working within these constraints.
It displays your team members strengths
When your team members are aware of one another’s strengths, they can create a more effective network of support for particular tasks or potential problems. To ensure a productive workplace, this can also assist team leaders in understanding which tasks they should assign to which team members.
It can encourage risk-taking
Many aspects of engineering involve experimentation and risk-taking. Some team-building activities can teach groups how to evaluate when taking a risk is worthwhile, what risks they can responsibly handle, and which team members make the best risk-related decisions.
It can ease tensions
Many engineering teams work to meet deadlines. Conflicts sometimes arise when teams get closer to these deadlines. As deadlines approach, team building can help the group see how much they can accomplish in tense circumstances and maintain their trust in one another. By doing so, potential disputes can be avoided, and concerns about future cooperation can be reduced.
Try pausing during a real project deadline so that your team can engage in a quick team-building activity. This can reduce tensions, serve as a reminder of how well your team works as a unit, and encourage them to unwind before completing the tasks in time for the deadline.
What are team-building activities for engineers?
Engineers can learn how to work together more effectively through team-building exercises that are informal, frequently enjoyable, and geared toward the engineering profession. These activities typically entail collaborating as a team to accomplish a common objective. Employees can better understand their individual strengths and how their role contributes to the team by engaging in team-building activities.
Many team-building exercises for engineers frequently involve tasks that require expertise relevant to their line of work. Some of these skills include:
10 team-building activities for engineers
Consider the following team-building activities for your engineering team:
1. Egg drop
Make small teams that compete with one another to make a container to protect an egg. Usually, your teams are given the same fundamental tools and supplies to build their containers within a set amount of time. Each team puts an egg in their container and drops it from the same height when the timer goes off. Each team must develop a container that will keep the egg from breaking when dropped. This task promotes problem-solving and may motivate innovative risk-taking in solutions.
2. Tower building
Each team receives popsicle sticks, straws or other materials. Additionally, they get tape, rubber bands, or another type of binding for their materials. Then your teams face off against one another to see who can construct the tallest tower without it collapsing. This activity promotes teamwork, trust in one another’s judgment, and communication.
3. Escape rooms
Escape rooms combine several team-building objectives into a single activity. Your team must escape a locked room that they simulate. The team must then finish the mission before time runs out by resolving puzzles, tracking down hints, and working well together. Escape rooms can encourage dialogue and problem-solving while showcasing individual talents.
4. Trading puzzle pieces
Teams all receive different jigsaw puzzles. To complete their puzzle first is the objective for each team. However, each puzzle is missing a few pieces. The puzzles from the other teams contain the missing pieces as well. Only by communicating with the other teams, locating the other teams’ missing pieces in their own puzzle, and exchanging them for their own missing pieces can each team complete their own puzzle. This task calls for effective communication and aids in team building.
5. Describe a drawing
Your team designates one player to be an artist in this game. The artist conceals their vision by donning a blindfold. The group then selects an item, such as a phone, for the artist to draw. However, the team must describe lines and shapes for the artists to draw rather than instructing them to draw a telephone. The objective is to provide instructions that are clear enough for the final drawing to resemble the selected object. This exercise promotes cooperation among teams, fosters trust, and fosters communication.
6. Follow the leader
Assign one team member to be the leader. The leader can speak clearly, make noise, or take simple actions. The team’s other members must follow the leader’s lead. Anyone who doesn’t accurately mimic the leader is “out” and cannot play again until the next round. This game can motivate your team to pay attention to other people’s movements and instructions.
7. Telephone
Your team sits in a circle for this activity, and you select one person to hear a message. They spread the word by whispering it to the person next to them, who then whispers it to the person next to them, and so on. The final participant reads aloud the message they heard, enabling the group to assess and evaluate whether or not the message differed from the prompt. This activity encourages teamwork, reduces stress, and measures communication.
8. Two truths and a lie
Each team member must list three things about themselves for this activity. However, one of those facts is a lie. The other team members attempt to distinguish between two facts that are real and one that is a lie. When forming a new team or integrating new members, this game can help your team learn new things about one another.
9. Build a spaghetti bridge
The use of design, planning, and construction on the unusual and challenging medium of breakable pasta in this activity encourages creativity. You can up the difficulty by mandating that each bridge support a certain amount of weight before collapsing. Teams must collaborate, solve problems, and communicate effectively in order to develop innovative designs within a given time frame.
10. Create a product
Assign one person to be the judge. The remaining members break off into small teams. Each team is given the same materials and a set amount of time to design and build an object using the given materials. After the allotted time has passed, each team takes a turn explaining their object and why it should be chosen. The judge then picks a winner. This activity shows how well your team can cooperate, make use of the individual talents of the players, and resolve issues.
10 Best Team Building Activities | What is Team Building | Personality Development Activities by TTS
FAQ
What is a good team building activity?
- Communication activities.
- Problem solving and decision-making activities.
- Adaptability and planning activities.
- Trust-building activities.
How do engineers use teamwork?
- Share Your Personality. …
- Play Team or Board Games. …
- Create a Scavenger Hunt. …
- Untangle a “Human Knot” …
- Give Out Blind Directions. …
- Do a Silent Line-Up. …
- Host a Lunch and Learn. …
- Have a Hack Day.
What are the 14 indoor team building activities?
Engineering and teamwork are a perfect match. To be a successful engineer, one must cultivate strong teamwork abilities to guarantee a seamless workflow process. The foundation of technical and engineering operations is effective teamwork, whether it be in a project team, a product development team, or a manufacturing team.
