Guest post by Patrick Hughes
My team building colleague, Patrick Hughes wrote the following post about a team building simulation we designed and facilitated. Simulations strengthen team member skills and behaviors to effectively solve problems and make decisions.
Team building and facilitation is my life. It was an amazing experience to design and create a new business simulation with my good friend and team building colleague, Deseri with Vida Aventura. We ran the simulation with 42 participants who were divided into five teams. After developing an organization chart and dividing up roles and responsibilities, the teams had to navigate the tension between competing functions within an organization as they bought supplies, managed resources, and built a freshwater pipeline. The participants were blown away by the correlation between experiences within the simulation and what they experience in their own companies on a daily basis.
People working together can achieve better results than they can individually
When I took a step back and reflected on the experience as a facilitator, I saw so many applications to support the growth and development of individuals and organizations:
- New and existing teams can look at group dynamics.
- Up and coming leaders can hone their leadership skills.
- Businesses can look at communication across departments and operating under pressure.
The list could truly be endless. That is the beauty of facilitation. Experiences for participants are customized based on what the facilitator focuses on in the debrief through reflective questions.
If you’re interested in using dynamic experiential simulations for your teams, leadership groups, or entire organizations, contact me. I’d love to help!
Deseri Garcia
Most leaders struggle with disengagement, dysfunction, and non-productive behaviors with their teams. We deliver training that develops leaders and engages teams to increase your company results.