Just have to share this with you. We hear about this dreaded event all the time from our VIP clients.
BBC business news has a great, bold and controversial article out today: Why corporate team-building events can be terrible. (love the title already)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45260246
There is nothing worse than opening up your email to an invitation to attend one of these company weekends. It leaves many of our clients with that ‘pit-in-the-stomach’ feeling.
You know you can’t get out of it. You know it will be a waste of time. And this is the important bit…you believe it will be a hornet’s nest of problems.
Have a read why. We are sure many of you will relate 100%.
These events require a solid and deep understanding of group dynamics, communication skills, trust-building, and a high level of crowd control. These skills are reserved for the professionals who know the psychology behind all of these seemingly innocent and fun weekends.
The article makes a great point at the end…good managers year-round should be able to avoid the necessity of having one of these retreats in the first place.
Our best advise to clients: Beware the facilitator, and if you have to attend one of these, put your game face on, keep your guard up, follow the instructions and get out of there at your earliest convenience. You are not weak, you aren’t the problem, and you should never be the scapegoat for the wrong facilitator.
And our next executive coaching session will be devoted to ‘the debrief’ with someone you already trust.