Corporate retreats and weekend team building excursions have been a growing avenue for organizations to establish (or reestablish) trust among coworkers. Through challenging courses rooted in teamwork exercises groups of individuals learn the valuable lessons of trust, inter-dependabilty, and hard work. Seagate Technology, a multi-billion dollar computer storage company, has taken this concept and created EcoSeagate, an intense week-long team-building exercise, to foster core values within their ranks.
EcoSeagate, costing upwards of 9K per person, involves hiking, kayaking, swimming, and rappelling down cliffs... as a team. They break up participants into "tribes" and compete against other "tribes" throughout the week. There are chants, obstacles, and costumes designed to push social limits and boundaries. It is a sort of social experiment wrapped around some very challenging events, and require 100% team work to accomplish the mission. In the end, the "tribes" are fully involved with each other, develop a stronger sense of knowledge and trust, and strengthen the bonds that transfer over into the work place. Win or lose, the corporate culture benefits.
Personally, I love a good challenge. Traveling to exotic lands and participating in tough team-work based exercise is right up my alley. However, not everyone shares my sense of adventure. I see value in projects like EcoSeagate. It builds trust and pushes the limits of each person to find a new gear within themselves. It makes people better. Whenever people work in a team environment, which is occurring more often in today's organizations, there needs to be trust. Trust has to be earned, which means trust requires effort to attain. What better way to build trust than having to depend on your team to accomplish physical, mental, and spiritual challenge.
In my experiences I have found that some people create a false facade about them to hide their inequities, insecurities, or inabilities. In order to break down those facades and replace them with genuine character elements is to put "feet to the fire". When a person reaches their limits and exhaustion sets in the true colors come out. Dissolving facades can be painful and embarrassing for some, and uncovers a vulnerability within that most try real hard to protect. The tuff guy will show people he is really a wimp, the bossy lady shows she is really in need of moral support, and the fearless leader will reveal they are filled with fear and reservations once their facades are torn down. Once this happens, you are ready to build a team with a solid understanding of the people who are members.
A funny development happens when people let others into their "protected" zones. Trust forms. It takes a great deal of trust and risk to become vulnerable, and this is usually met with encouragement, understanding, and appreciation. This is the foundation for formulating trust, and trust is the backbone for a high-powered team.
I would love to take my team of employees to the mountains of New Zealand like EcoSeagate, but unfortunately I do not have 9K dollars a head to spend on team building. Instead, I look for ways to build trust in daily interactions in our office. The best approach to accomplish this... communication. Open and honest communication. I don't hide my goals for myself or the company from anyone. I share them as often as I can and encourage the team to share theirs as well. I encourage feedback, good and bad, so we all know what each other is truly thinking. If I make a mistake I own it to the group, and we find a solution together. Everyone has value in our shop, and while I would jump at the chance to brave the rugged outdoors to prove our resolve I feel we can make just as much headway through real, open, and honest communication.
JP
EcoSeagate, costing upwards of 9K per person, involves hiking, kayaking, swimming, and rappelling down cliffs... as a team. They break up participants into "tribes" and compete against other "tribes" throughout the week. There are chants, obstacles, and costumes designed to push social limits and boundaries. It is a sort of social experiment wrapped around some very challenging events, and require 100% team work to accomplish the mission. In the end, the "tribes" are fully involved with each other, develop a stronger sense of knowledge and trust, and strengthen the bonds that transfer over into the work place. Win or lose, the corporate culture benefits.
Personally, I love a good challenge. Traveling to exotic lands and participating in tough team-work based exercise is right up my alley. However, not everyone shares my sense of adventure. I see value in projects like EcoSeagate. It builds trust and pushes the limits of each person to find a new gear within themselves. It makes people better. Whenever people work in a team environment, which is occurring more often in today's organizations, there needs to be trust. Trust has to be earned, which means trust requires effort to attain. What better way to build trust than having to depend on your team to accomplish physical, mental, and spiritual challenge.
In my experiences I have found that some people create a false facade about them to hide their inequities, insecurities, or inabilities. In order to break down those facades and replace them with genuine character elements is to put "feet to the fire". When a person reaches their limits and exhaustion sets in the true colors come out. Dissolving facades can be painful and embarrassing for some, and uncovers a vulnerability within that most try real hard to protect. The tuff guy will show people he is really a wimp, the bossy lady shows she is really in need of moral support, and the fearless leader will reveal they are filled with fear and reservations once their facades are torn down. Once this happens, you are ready to build a team with a solid understanding of the people who are members.
A funny development happens when people let others into their "protected" zones. Trust forms. It takes a great deal of trust and risk to become vulnerable, and this is usually met with encouragement, understanding, and appreciation. This is the foundation for formulating trust, and trust is the backbone for a high-powered team.
I would love to take my team of employees to the mountains of New Zealand like EcoSeagate, but unfortunately I do not have 9K dollars a head to spend on team building. Instead, I look for ways to build trust in daily interactions in our office. The best approach to accomplish this... communication. Open and honest communication. I don't hide my goals for myself or the company from anyone. I share them as often as I can and encourage the team to share theirs as well. I encourage feedback, good and bad, so we all know what each other is truly thinking. If I make a mistake I own it to the group, and we find a solution together. Everyone has value in our shop, and while I would jump at the chance to brave the rugged outdoors to prove our resolve I feel we can make just as much headway through real, open, and honest communication.
JP
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