May 25, 2018

The name is Bond…Team Bond-ing.

When it comes to building a successful team, camaraderie and teamwork is the name of the game, which all comes down to one thing – building meaningful relationships. “Successful organizations have learned that high performance and sustainable results require attention to the relationships among employee, organization, customer and community,” says David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, head of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program.

Team Bonding vs. Team Building

It’s is important to note that there is a big difference between Team Bonding and Team Building activities, despite the fact that many people use the terms interchangeably. Both are incredibly important, but for different reasons. Team bonding activities are a great way to boost morale and camaraderie. Team building activities, meanwhile, are designed to bring employees (and employers) together to not only have fun, but also learn to work together in a constructive way, creating long-term change within an organization.

“[Team building] offers teams the opportunity for growth, reflection, and potential ongoing learning,” write Stephanie Sibille and Paul Cummings, Adventure Park Insider. “While the [team bonding] refers to fun, recreational programs that may involve networking and rapport building.”

Team Building	Team Bonding
Designed for a particular goal or outcome: teamwork, communication, etc. Has a well thought out curriculum. Designed and facilitated by a trained professional. Followed by a reflection or debriefing period to discuss outcomes. Follow-up is encouraged.	Designed for a simple purpose -fun. May follow a schedule, but typically no curriculum is involved. No reflection time is often included. A stand-alone activity.

“Is there value to both types of services?” write Sibille and Cummings. “Absolutely.” But only team building will affect long-lasting change within your team or organization, especially when follow-up sessions are incorporated.

“When team building is coupled with follow-up sessions in which team building commitments are reinforced and renewed, the positive effects of the team building are prolonged,” says researcher R. Wayne Boss.

Terrapin Adventures Takes Team Bonding to the Next Level

“When employees think of business retreats, high-energy sports games and inventive obstacle courses might not be the first things that come to mind,” write Paul Adler, Kayla Dale, and Laurie Yarnell, Westchester Magazine. “That said, it may be time to rethink the concept of corporate teambuilding, as several organizations have begun offering exciting ways to bond with colleagues over a host of challenging fitness events.”

Take Terrapin Adventures, for example. Conveniently located between Baltimore and Washington DC, Terrapin Adventures is able to create a customized team building or team bonding programs (onsite or offsite, indoor or outdoor) to meet the specific needs of your organization. Presented in a fun and creative way, our team building exercises help break down communication barriers to help promote teamwork and collaboration.

“We bring people out here from city schools, office workers, people who don’t really know each other that well but just know they work down the hall,” says Matt Baker, Terrapin Adventures Chief Adventure Officer. “Then when they start working as a team and have to support each other with these challenges, it’s something really cool we’ve developed.”

After each team building exercise, your group will sit down with their facilitator to discuss the lessons behind each activity and how they translate to the business world. This discussion is designed to reinforce these lessons and help ensure that the progress made during your team building outing sticks.

Request a Quote for Your Corporate Team Building Adventure!

Get in touch with a Guest Relations Specialist today and ask about how we can help you plan your team building event.

If you have any questions, please call Terrapin Adventure at 301.725.1313, or email us at info@terrapinadventures.com to learn more.

Works Cited

1. Boss, R. W. “Team Building and the Problem of Regression: The Personal Management Interview as an Intervention.” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 19.1 (1983): 67-83. Web.
2. Cummings, Stephanie Sibille and Paul. “Building Team Spirit.” Adventure Park Insider. N.p., 09 Oct. 2015. Web. 15 June 2017.
3. Cutlip, Teresa. “Team building, engagement factor into workplace success.” GSA Business News . N.p., 30 May 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.
4. Kulkarni , Rhucha . “Team Building: A Must for Virtual Teams.” HR Technologists. N.p., 5 June 2017. Web. 7 June 2017.
5. Florio, Mike. “Tomlin scraps OTA on Monday, take players to Dave & Buster’s instead.” ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports, 6 June 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.
6. Varley, Teresa. “Fun and games instead of football .” Pittsburgh Steelers. N.p., 5 June 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2018 at 8:37 am. Both comments and pings are currently closed.