Team leadership building games

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Give each group a different jigsaw puzzle. It is their tasks to solve the puzzle, however, there is a catch. Each puzzle has had pieces of the other puzzles mixed in at random.

Explain to all the groups that other teams may have the pieces they need. Members have to strategize, assign roles and barter with other teams to get pieces they need to complete their puzzle first. This activity offers a dual challenge: firstly they need to solve the puzzle in a short period of time, secondly they need to convince the other team to trade them the necessary pieces. This is a particularly good activity if you want to strengthen your sales team or get team members to practice negotiating and strategizing skills.

Did you assign people on your team specific roles? Was there a leader? A negotiator? Did you plan at the beginning? Did the plan change as time passed? Items Needed: Rope, shoe string, or pole. Goal: The entire team must cross over the top of the "electric fence. In this activity, you will create an "electric fence" that teams must cross over without touching. To create the fence, tie a rope or shoe string to two chairs or other objects. The rope should be elevated to about waist-height.

Position the team on one side of the rope. To get from one side to the other, members must go over, not under, one at a time. They also must be touching another member of the group with at least one hand at all times. Participants should not make any contact with the electric fence at anytime. If they violate a rule, they must start the exercise all over again. Because of the physical nature of this game often team members will need to lift each other over the rope it is not well suited for people with back, knee, or ankle injuries.

This activity motivates people to brainstorm ideas, problem solve and put their proposed plans into action. It also requires a high degree of trust and communication due to its physical demands.

What was one positive thing you learned about your teammates in the course of this exercise? Time: 25 minutes. Items Needed: Paper, writing utensils, A selection of everyday items bottle cap, coin, key etc. Goal: The artist must draw an item based only on the team's description of it.

Similar to Charades, but with a twist. Blind Drawing is a team-building activity that can be done in groups of Each team must appoint one artist. Give the artist drawing materials and sit them with their back facing the rest of the team so they're not able to see the group. The group then picks an item or picture from those supplied. They must successfully get the artist to draw this item or picture in 3 minutes.

However they aren't allowed to tell the artist what the item is; they can only give indirect descriptions. Say the team chose a photo of a bee. They can't say 'draw a bee' however they can give hints like 'buzz', 'yellow and black,' 'honey maker,' etc. The artist can not ask any questions and must draw only based on the descriptions. When times up, groups should compare their drawings.

It can be comical to see how badly they can turn out. The game can get people laughing and highlights how difficult giving instructions can be and how important it is to communicate clearly. Time: 30 Minutes. Number of Participants: Items Needed: Smart phone, Reverse charades application or board game Goal: Teams use 60 second rounds to act out as many words as possible while only one person guesses. In a normal game of charades, one person from a group stands up and acts out a word or phrase while the rest of the team tries to guess.

However, in reverse charades, the scenario is flipped. The rest of the team must work together to act out a word or phrase while one person has to guess. You can play the box game version or download the mobile app.

In Reverse Charades, it is necessary for team members to communicate with each other. Because there is one person is guessing and everyone else is acting, everyone is involved throughout the entire game, making it a good pick for shyer or attention avoidant team members. No one can sit back while a few take on the challenge. Items Needed: Building materials clay, toothpick, plasticine, legos Goal: Recreate an object out of building materials only going off a verbal description.

In this game, divide the group into multiple teams. One person from each team is selected to view a hidden object or sculpture. They only have 10 seconds at a time to peek at the sculpture and must relay the information that they see to the rest of their group. The group must try to recreate the sculpture based on the peek person's description.

Players must trust the team member to describe it accurately and listen to their instructions. It can help break down management barriers if you select a lower-level person as the person to view the sculpture. In a different position than they are accustomed to, it pushes them to adjust, direct a team and communicate clearly. Time: Minutes. Items Needed: None. Goal: Create an interesting story one sentence at a time.

To do a Conducted Story, groups stand in a circle. One person may act as the conductor, who is responsible for moving the story along. The first person starts the story with a sentence like, "Mike went to the supermarket because The conducted story is a listening exercise that requires every team member to pay attention to what the others have said. It also stresses the importance of telling a seamless story and that unity and strong communication are needed to do that.

Goal: To tell an entertaining story while incorporating team suggestions. This is another activity that combines storytelling and teamwork but with a twist. People work in pairs or small teams of no more than four. One person is the storyteller while the others are the word givers. The word givers start off by giving a title that the storyteller must start talking about.

Then, as they are speaking, givers yell random words that storytellers must incorporate. The key is that the words should be unrelated to the topic to make it more challenging and interesting. For instance, in a story about, "Visiting the City," word givers should avoid relevant words like, "taxi", "skyscrapers", and "subway".

Instead, they shout out unrelated words like, "coconuts", "T-Rex", "Big Foot", or "lumberjacks". You can see a combination of Swedish Story and Conducted Story here:. Storytellers will be put on the spot and have to think fast. It drives them to actively listen to the words the other members say and insert them into the storyline. Did coming up with a story come naturally or did you find it to be a struggle?

Goal: Complete a goal while team's hands are tied together. In this activity, divide groups up into teams of 2 to 4. Form members into circles facing each other and use rope or shoe strings to tie their wrists to their neighbours wrist.

Then, give them a task that they must complete together with their hands tied. Because everyone's hands are tied, it will require the effort of each person to complete the task. The constraints can increase their creativity and push them to think outside-of-the-box.

This will also require good and constant communication. Number of Participants: 2. Items Needed: 1 smart phone for 2 people. Goal: Complete a dance with another person. Bounden is a mobile dance game designed to be played with partners with choreography by the Dutch National Ballet.

A pairs holds a smartphone or tablet while instructions appear on the screen. Holding opposite ends of the device, you tilt the phone around a virtual sphere following a path of rings, resulting in players swinging their arms and twisting their bodies.

Sensors in the phone detect if the right moves are made. This can be used as a great icebreaker for small groups.

It also requires people to pay close attention and follow the instructions. As they continue, the moves can get more fast-paced or difficult, so they'll have to stay in sync and keep communicating to win.

Was there anything you picked up on from your partner's non-verbal communication? Items Needed: Various random objects, one per each participant. Goal: Come up with alternative uses for everyday objects and have team members guess said uses. Each participant is given an object and must demonstrate an alternative use for it.

You can use anything from a basketball or plastic bag to a hula hoop or stapler. Give the participant one-minute to silently act out their alternative use for the object; for example, a stapler could be used as a fork or a trumpet. While they're acting, others in the group try to guess what they're mimeing.

Every person who correctly guesses the alternative use gets a point. Once the minute is over, the next person will do the same and so on. The Game of Possibilities is a great way to bring out your team's creativity and quick thinking as well as a fun way to boost team creativity and innovation. Time: 30 minutes. Goal: Closely mimic movements of dancers to get points. Although one of the most effective and quickest ways to bring someone out of their comfort zone is to get them to dance, dancing can be uncomfortable for people who shy away from attention.

Dance Party solves this issue by having up to 4 participants dance at once. You can download the Dance Party app from the App Store and set it up in your office. Players mimic the dance moves that the avatar performs on the screen.

Encourage members to form teams and compete. Dancing as a group takes the pressure and embarrassment out of dancing. Dance Party fosters healthy competition and energizes teams. Plus, the physical activity can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

Items Needed: Smartphone. Goal: Guess the word displayed on participants phone. You may have seen "Heads Up! It is a mobile app available for download on Android and iOS devices, in which one player puts the phone on their forehead, the rest of the players can see the word, celebrity, or other category on the card, but it is hidden from the person holding it. He or she has to guess the item on the card based on clues from their team.

Although it is a fun app usually associated with parties, it can be perfect for office team-building. The best part about the game is that you can use the preloaded decks or you can create your own decks. Make a deck that relates to your company or industry and test their knowledge while having some fun. Items Needed: Blindfold, masking tape, random assortment of items for the mine field.

Goal: Team members must guide a blindfolded person through a minefield with only their words. Minefield can be set up inside or outside, but make sure to clear the area to avoid any accidents. Place "mines" or objects in an obstacle area and mark a finish line with masking tape. Mines can be anything from styrofoam cups to cones, as long as they are soft with no rough edges. The member that is going through the field, or obstacle area must be blindfolded.

The other members of the team direct them through the minefield by giving them verbal instructions. If they hit an object, they must start over. The first team with all members across the minefield wins. It can be difficult for some to trust their team members or to rely on someone else to help them reach a goal.

Some may think they have to do it on their own. We will choose and run and I am sure they will be very effective. Thank you so much. I am really having a hard time thinking about what activities to include for my leadership training talk. This is of great help. These exercises sound great. Does anyone have any feedback as to how these exercises have worked with their teams?

Thank you for the question, Jennifer. Which one would you be interested to hear more about? Thank you for these activities, I have used some of them already in my classes when teaching about leadership and leadership styles. Thank you for these activities. I was struggling to find activities to work on with groups as small as , but this should work well. Wishing best with your next sessions! Hi I am trying to find an online simulation for a course I am designing for a college in Ontario, Canada.

I am hoping to find something like your Leadership Envelope but in a virtual format or game. Leadership Envelope is a great method! We did have some thoughts on how you might perform the Leadership Envelope in a remote format, which I hope will help! Hope that helps, Rick!

Your email address will not be published. Try it for Free. Are you facilitating workshops, meetings, or training sessions regularly? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or the MS Office toolkit combined with email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing your workshop preparations and delivery? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when…. Working in a great team can make all the difference when it comes to job satisfaction and organizational success.

Team building activities can prove to be the missing link that…. Remote working is often touted as the future of work. Studies show that remote workers are happier and more productive than their office working counterparts and the benefits for companies moving to distributed workforces are great too! As teams and organizations begin to transition to working online, the need for well-designed and effectively facilitated remote….

Delivery Matters. Leadership development made easy. Reflection: Team hyperisland team remote-friendly The purpose of reflecting as a team is for members to express thoughts, feelings and opinions about a shared experience, to build openness and trust in the team, and to draw out key learnings and insights to take forward into subsequent experiences. Team of Two communication active listening issue analysis conflict resolution issue resolution remote-friendly team Much of the business of an organisation takes place between pairs of people.

What I Need From You WINFY issue analysis liberating structures team communication remote-friendly People working in different functions and disciplines can quickly improve how they ask each other for what they need to be successful. Many situations do not have immediate answers or clear resolutions.

HSR helps individuals learn to respond in ways that do not overpromise or overcontrol. It helps members of a group notice unwanted patterns and work together on shifting to more productive interactions.

Participants experience the practice of more compassion and the benefits it engenders. Get started for free! Thank you, Jeanne! Great to see that you have found some useful ideas here! Thank you this is very helpful in building new activities and revitalising teaching. You are welcome, Roofi — enjoy using these activities at your sessions! I will use in my leadership training programme.

Awesome resources for leadership coaching. Thank you so much! Cheers Marion From Australia. Please let me know if you provide something like this or can help in any way. Hey Rick!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Leave this field empty. Let us show you some examples of leadership games you can try and how they will benefit your employees and your company.

Click here to be taken to the summary at the bottom of this page. Escape Rooms are growing in popularity and available in many locations. Participating in an Escape Room involves a group being put in a room and solving a series of riddles and puzzles together to escape from the room. While working on clues together to escape, observe different behaviors and take notes as they participate in the challenge. With one team, we had them all take the MBTI assessment.

Then we went to an escape room. The teams worked together to find clues and ways to escape. I observed the behaviors of the participants in the escape rooms, made notes, and then described these behaviors in the next training session. We related these behaviors to characteristics in their MBTI personality type, and then discussed the strengths this brings to the work team, communication styles different personality types prefer, and how best to adapt your style to different people.

Knowing this information about fellow team members improved their ability to communicate and work together. The object of this leadership game is guiding the blindfolded person through the "minefield" without incident. This is an excellent activity to practice coaching coaching others and being coached. This activity provides an opportunity to practice clear and precise communication.

The obstacles are metaphoric problems the group faces either personally or as a team in the pursuit of their goals. First, blindfold one person in the group. Then set up a safe obstacle course or minefield. Come up with a list of a limited set of words they can use to help direct the blindfolded person through the minefield.

For example, just the words right, left, forward, or back. The goal of the game is to develop communication skills and trust. After the exercise, discuss the results together as a team. One leadership responsibility is to get a team to bond. Improvisation is an excellent way to get a team to pay attention and listen to each other. Improv Night helps improve communication, self-awareness, self-confidence, and creativity. Split your team up into two groups. One group will be the audience, and the other group will be the performers.

You can apply that same concept to leadership by having your team make their own coat of arms. Let them know that their coat of arms should represent their values, beliefs, and ideas of a great leader. Helium Stick is a leadership game you can play to demonstrate the need for constructive communication and the importance of working together as a team to create a strategy. Give them a dowel rod and instruct them to use their index fingers to hold it horizontally at chest height.

Have them lower the dowel rods to the ground as a team. It must remain resting on their fingers the whole way down, and every team member must be touching the rod at all times. Once the teams touch the stick, the challenge will present itself almost immediately. Each person is focused on their individual goal of not losing contact with the rod on their index fingers, and they lose sight of the team goal to lower the rod.

The stick is very light, and the up-force from all fingers in contact with the stick is greater than the gravitational force of the stick. As a result, immediately, the stick will begin to rise. The teams will have to figure out the secret to get the activity to work. If you touch a mine, you must return to the start. You win if you or your partner gets to the other side before one of the other pairs.

The size of your minefield will vary depending on the space available and number of players, but it should be no smaller than a foot square for 12 participants. The number of obstacles can also vary depending on the size of the area and how challenging the course will be, but 30 obstacles in the space above provides a medium challenge. Leadership crests is an activity that requires participants to create leadership crests, modeled on classic family crests.

They must also use their communication skills to discuss their crest with the rest of the group. Follow these steps to participate in the leadership crests activity:. Draw a crest shape and divide it into four sections. Draw motifs or illustrations in each quadrant that represent the following categories: leadership skills, influential values, recent achievements and workplace satisfaction. Once your crest is complete, stand up and present it to the rest of the group.

Discuss what you have drawn in each quadrant and why it is meaningful to you. You should then mention how your quadrants align with one another or, if they are dissimilar, how you could make them align more. Spot the difference is a real-life simulation of the popular paper puzzle game and one of several great leadership training games for adults. This game helps participants test and improve their attention-to-detail and memory retention.

It also encourages teamwork and bonding. Follow these steps to play spot the difference:.