Alastair Wallace explains why raft-building and similar team-building activities fail: they treat symptoms, not causes. Leaders need to diagnose real dysfunction by asking honest questions, then involve the team in fixing it. Without follow-through, it's just expensive entertainment.
Sometimes when I talk to clients, I hear them saying things like, "Things just don't feel right. We're not getting what we want from the team. No one gets on with each other. Let's arrange a team build." No, I hate to tell you this, but team building doesn't usually work. It's like taking an aspirin for a brain hemorrhage. All you discover is that Susie from accounts can build a raft and Billy from purchasing hates getting his trainers dirty. An expensive waste of time and money, and it doesn't solve the presenting problem most of the time. The hack here is stop trying to roll a poop in glitter. Spend your time and energy sorting out the poop first. Oh, that's gross. Find out what's wrong and get your team's ideas on how to put it right. Involving the people affected by the problem in creating the solution is so much more effective than giving them a night out to distract them. You don't need to be a mind reader or a magician. Just provide the opportunity, ask the right questions, be open, and listen. A word of caution, though. If you ask the question, you better be prepared to take some action on what comes out. And please, no more let's build a raft team building events. Billy from purchasing doesn't like getting his trainers dirty. Don't forget. Drop me a DM if you have any questions about this hack.
