Sean Glaze argues that laser tag and bowling don't work because they don't connect to your actual job. Real team building needs a shared goal that matters, builds trust, and changes how people work together, whether remote or in-person.
So why do my best clients actually hate team building? Well, as a conference speaker, I'm often brought into organizations to help them with training, specifically to help connect people and improve collaboration and strengthen trust, and obviously do some of the things that fall under the umbrella of team building. The problem is the clients that I love, the leaders that are most effective, hate team building because it has under that umbrella all kinds of activities that have no impact upon performance or results. If you're leading a remote or hybrid or an in-person team, one of the most powerful things you can do is to help your people connect to a compelling common goal and to each other. And it's those connections that are the foundation for the collaborative conversations you want them to have more effectively, the feedback conversations you want them to share more honestly, But without those conversations, your team productivity drops. And so you absolutely need activities that are relevant and that share insights that shift behaviors to improve your culture. What you don't need is a day of laser tag or bowling.
