White Paper
Recreationional to Developmental Team Building
The following article explains how on the surface, an event can
be recreational and entertaining while influencing team structure,
process, interpersonal, and intrapersonal dynamics.
What is the difference between
recreational and developmental team
building?
Recreational team building, commonly referred to as morale events,
can take on many forms. For instance, having drinks together, going
bowling, and attending a holiday party are events that take teams
away from their task for a short time in order to offer them a reprieve
from their work. Morale events connect people, which in turn creates
feelings of “togetherness” or “community” that are often short lived,
because the event lacks a direct connection to a team’s existence.
Team development offers teams a way to work together better,
enjoy themselves, achieve goals, and build capacity by rooting
teachable moments in the team’s work dynamic. Developmental team
building strengthens relationships, as well as develops a compelling
purpose, embraces differences among the team, stimulates
engagement, and results in profound learning. 1
The Board Room Essentials
A department of five project
managers approached Adventura
with the goal of working better
together. After consulting with
me, they decided on an Essentials
program, a program focused on
what it means to be a healthy
team. Each Essentials program
is based on a proven design
template. The implementation
and results vary because each
team is different depending on
their individual makeup, goals,
structure, and task. Prior to the
program there is a discovery
period, which includes gathering
information and designing the
day. This Essentials program
started out with a short
introduction of myself, the
facilitator, “the Adventura Way,”
and the goals and agenda for the
next 4.5 hours.
An icebreaker was the first item
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This article covers ...
• Difference between morale
events and developmental
team building
• Leveraging trust
• Using a shared experience
to facilitate learning
• Taking advantage of a
break-through to shift
paradigms
• Difference between
facilitation and training
The Adventura Way
Adventura Consulting is a
professional experience-based
training and development
company actively working
in the Seattle area for over
13 years with a broad range
of clients from Fortune 500
companies to small businesses.
We engage teams in fun,
bonding, recreational, and
challenging experiences that
can be translated to the work
environment. One result is
increased morale, but the
Adventura Way is more then
just morale.
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1.­866.­981.8665
Recreation to Developmental Team Building [Page 2]
on the agenda. The icebreaker
oriented participants to the
Adventura experience, created
connections, had people moving
around, and established trust.
Although the team worked
together for two years, they
learned new information about
each other: two of them had
gone to the same college, one
worked on a factory ship in
Alaska, and many had received
speeding tickets.
Once
completed,
we debriefed
the project.
Debriefing is a
time to reflect
on the group’s
experience and
then develop new
concepts and
ideas to improve Figure 2 : Four Rooms Of Change
“comfortable.” In my experience,
their process.
this robs the group of critical
Their facilitated debriefing was
thinking and profound learning.
a lively discussion about roles in
Experiential
the group and how individuals
Four Rooms Of Change
Learning Cycle
worked in different ways to
After what seemed like an eternity,
The next stage in the process
achieve a group goal. After
Dave said, “It doesn’t, because we
was a group initiative, a small
discussing changes to be made,
don’t debrief like that between
project, designed to create a
the group did the initiative again.
projects. We offer status updates
group experience. The dynamics
This time they were much more
about what happened, not how
that surface during these activities effective.
it happened.” This comment was
are often similar to what people
Next, we debriefed the entire
met by teammates with resistance
experience in the workplace.
process focusing on qualities
(denial), discussion (confusion),
An initiative allows the group to
that made them more effective.
and finally agreement (renewal).
“play” with their dynamics in a
Then I asked, “How does this
This was a breakthrough for the
safe environment. This process
experience relate to your work?”
group, because they realized
is portrayed in the Kolb Learning
This question was followed by
debriefings were an important
Cycle or as the shorthand.
25 seconds of silence. Asked at
tool to use back at work.
the right time, a
simple question
Teachable Moments
can become
When the group came back
powerful. As
from break, they were more
a result, there
engaged. We transitioned to
will often be
a conversation using Strength
a period of
silence, because Finders, an assessment tool
that maps preferred styles of
to answer
thinking, feeling, and behaving.
this strategic
It was a juicy conversation about
question
how they were developing
requires a
as individuals. I shifted the
paradigm shift.
conversation to discuss how
2
Some people
break the silence individual development could
occur as a larger team to promote
to make the
a learning organization. 3
Figure 1 : Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle
situation more
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Recreation to Developmental Team Building [Page 3]
Project Management Team
Chris
Jon
Heather
Michele
Brain -­‐ Leads by Inventing Ideas & Solutions
Dave
Analytical
Context
Futuristic
Ideation
Input
Intellection
Learner
Strategic
Mouth -­‐ Leads by Sharing & Convincing
Activator
Command
Communications
Competition
Maximizer
Self-­‐Assurance
Significance
Woo
Heart -­‐ Leads by Creating Chemistry with People
Adaptability
Connectedness
Developer
Empathy
Harmony
Includer
Individualization
Positivity
Relator
Hands -­‐ Leads by Producing Solutions
Achiever
Arranger
Belief
Consistency
Deliberative
Discipline
Focus
Responsibility
Restorative
Figure 3 : Strenghtfinders Report
After our second break,
everyone shared an extraordinary
group experience. The team
came up with five similarities in
their values; strong goals and
leadership, trust, appreciation of
different personalities, individual
over team, and fun. Then we
ranked and discussed how their
current team posses these traits
and areas for improvement. The
results of this exercise were a
list of action items everyone was
committed to.
This group’s experience was
extraordinary because they
learned how to assist others
in their development. They
shattered their mental model
that critical feedback was akin to
micromanagement. By sharing
best practices, without prescribing
solutions, they found new ways to
be productive.
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Reflecting Upon the
Board Room Essentials
Prior to the facilitation we
built a foundation to enable
engagement.
• The retreat goal was clear
and open ended: work better
together.
• The Strength Finders
assessment grounded the
learning in their experience.
• Conversations with leadership
allowed me to prepare
activities and questions that
tapped into individual learning
styles.
A room of confusion is a
powerful place.
• Upon reflection this process
may seem very clean and
clear, but it was not.
• Participants were challenged
throughout the process and
often needed to search for
answers. When they were
stuck, they asked for my
advice. I redirected them,
but never prescribed the right
answer. They stepped up
to find the right answer for
themselves.
• The leader did not take over
or try to control the process.
This empowered the group
to come up with their own
solutions. Which they did.
There was leadership buy in.
• The leader of this group was
an engaged participant.
• After the facilitation we
collaborated (and still do to
this day) on ways to coach
and mentor people about the
group essentials and how they
lead to success.
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