Trust Building Activities
Positive professional relationships are the foundations of productive workplaces. After all, no single person can do everything on their own. We’ve talked about how collaboration and communication foster a happy and healthy office climate. But what really underlies an engaged and dynamic company culture is trust — between employees themselves, and between employees and managers. Trust is vital to engaging and efficient workplaces. Ignoring this factor creates disgruntled and disengaged employees, who annually cost organizations between $450 and $500 billion.
If you’re a manager who wants to develop and maintain trust in the office, here are 3 great activities for your team.
Perfect Square
For this activity, you’ll need:
- At least 6 participants
- A clear ground space
- A rope or string
- Blindfolds for each participant
Arrange your team in a loose circle before asking them to sit down. Once seated, everyone puts on their blindfolds. Randomly select one or two team members and silently tap them on the shoulder. Those individuals cannot talk during the round.
Ensure that your rope or string has its ends tied together to form a closed loop. Set the rope in the hands of each team member, then ask the group to form a perfect square with the rope without removing their blindfolds. The team can talk through the activity, but since one or two team members cannot speak, the group must ensure that their communication is clear and that they have trust in the muted individuals to do their part.
After the team believes that their perfect square is complete, remove the blindfolds and assess how well they’ve communicated.
Repeat with other team members muted. This allows for more and less vocal individuals to take on roles they might not usually adopt, and learn to trust each team member’s contribution.
Daredevil
For this activity, you’ll need:
- At least 6 participants
- A clear ground space
- A variety of small to medium objects
- A large basket
- 2 blindfolds
First, divide participants into two teams. Ask each team to set objects in the playing space. These can be notebooks, water bottles, briefcases, or any object that is unique enough to discern by touch alone. Use items that aren’t too heavy or cumbersome to lift. Also, make sure that each team places at least twice the number of objects as there are team members.
Place the large basket at the center of the space.
Next, teams stand on opposing sides of the playing field. Each team picks one member to be blindfolded.
When blindfolds are in place, the non-blindfolded members of each team choose an object without telling their sightless teammate. On go, teammates must describe their object to the blindfolded member without explicitly naming the object, and then direct the member to the object. The blindfolded members may not ask questions, instead relying entirely on their teammates’ instruction.
The first blindfolded member to find their object and drop it into the basket at the playing field’s center wins a round for their team.
For each following round, a new teammate takes on the blindfolded role. After each team member has played a round in this role, tally up the team wins. Whichever team has won more rounds wins the activity.
Slice ‘N Dice
What you’ll need for this activity:
- At least 30 participants
- A large outdoor space
Form the entire group into two lines. The lines face each other, arms extended, coming close enough that each team member’s hands overlap those of the team member standing opposite.
One by one, participants at the head of the line break off and walk down the corridor of arms. The members of the “gauntlet” must raise their arms as the individual approaches, allowing them to pass. When the participant reaches the end of the line, they reattach to the corridor to form a new link.
When the group grows more confident, up the pace to a brisk walk, then a run, then a sprint. As the speed increases, the runners must trust that the members of the gauntlet will raise their arms in time.
For the finale, ask the group to chop their arms up and down, only to pause in the air as the runner nears.
Trust is paramount to creating an office environment that is productive and enjoyable for all. These 3 trust-building activities are sure to enhance this vital connection between team members, no matter the size of the group. And as a manager, don’t hesitate to join the activities yourself! After all, you’re a part of the team as well.
At EON, we’d love to be a trusted part of your team. We offer the services and equipment that you can rely on, so that you can spend your time developing crucial bonds with the people in your office. Contact us today.
