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Inward Bound Experiential Team Building

Organizational Success in the modern business environment depends largely upon effective, collective, organized activities. "The team" has become the most important organizational unit, with organizations grouping people together in different ways, for various purposes. It may be the case that an individual may be a member of several different teams, performing a different function in each.

Many training companies offer "team-building" solutions, based on outdoor activities. These activities force groups to work together under pressure to achieve specified goals, giving group members a taste of the "highs" achievable from successful, collective goal achievement.

Outdoor team activities force interpersonal issues to the surface and these need to be dealt with rather than being taken back to the work place. Without:

the benefits of outdoor team activities can be short-lived, and once back in the work place, the experience fails to translate into changed behaviour.

We tailor the design of our programmes to meet the individual needs of the team in question. We offer teams the opportunity to work on building cohesion whilst working on the actual business issues they are currently facing within the workplace. In this way, we ensure the transition of the new learning back into the working environment.

The programme is comprised of three distinct modules, which can be combined, individually, concurrently or spread over a period to give total flexibility to the means of delivery.

Module One: Individual Profile Analysis

The objective of this programme is to enable individuals to clearly compare their view of themselves with those held by their colleagues, managers and subordinates. This is achieved using a 360-degree method of behavioural and attitudinal analyses linked tightly with personal reviews and development plans.

Organizational Benefits of Individual Profile Analysis

Through Individual Profile Analysis, organizations can:

  • Better understand their employees’ adherence to company corporate Values and Leadership Competencies;
  • Be aware of their employees’ strengths and development areas;
  • Have an in-depth understanding of key employee’s leadership potential;
  • Obtain the commitment from individuals regarding their development areas;
  • Supply employees with much needed information regarding their strengths and development areas;
  • Show commitment to the future development of their employees.
 Individual Benefits

As a result of Individual Profile Analysis, team members can:

  • Have the opportunity to both give and receive feedback;
  • Have a clear understanding of the company’s expectations of each individual;
  • Gain very specific feedback on their strengths and development areas;
  • Clearly compare their view of themselves with those held by their colleagues, managers and peers;
  • Use the behavioural and attitudinal analyses, linked tightly to the personal reviews, to enable the employee to develop a personal development plan.

Module Two: Outdoor Activity Week

An outdoor phase designed to put the team under a degree of pressure by taking them into an outdoor environment. Each of the day’s events will combine a number of important learning points, which will combine to enhance the team’s skills, cohesion and alignment.

Evening sessions will deal with personal issues raised during the day’s activities and the team members’ culture based on developing well-crafted interpersonal skills.

The finale is comprised of an exercise, involving all team members, where the team will combine all of the skills gained over the week with strategy and planning to achieve a given objective.

Organisational Benefits of Outdoor Activity Week

Through the Outdoor Activity Phase, organizations can:

  • Develop cohesion, thus maximising the performance of teams already in existence;
  • Enable newly formed teams to develop an understanding of their peers and managers;
  • Provide a safe environment for participants to stretch and develop their skills;
  • Obtain the commitment from individuals to the teams objectives;
  • Develop high performance teams.
 Individual Benefits

As a result of the Outdoor Activity Phase, team members can:

  • Increase cohesion, support and respect between team members;
  • Improve interactions with other teams;
  • Gain loyalty to each other and to the team as a whole;
  • Raise the awareness of existing team strengths and weaknesses;
  • Create and maintain a healthy team environment where personal issues can be resolved;
  • Understand and accept agreed goals and objectives.

Module Three: Consolidation

Phase three takes learning from the previous week’s module back into the business environment. This five-day programme consists of training in virtual teaming, together with sessions on business assessment and direction, coupled with personal development plans. These plans will include issues of strategic direction, team image, individual and team accountability, team roles and responsibilities, ways of working and will focus on aligning each individual’s expectations into a well-formed and supportive team with clear direction.

Organisational Benefits of Consolidation

Through the Consolidation Phase, organizations can:

  • Develop an awareness and understanding of the environment in which effective, high performance teams can flourish;
  • Empower their employees with the necessary interpersonal skills to build and create high performing teams;
  • Create alignment between teams from different organizational cultures;
  • Enhance collaboration;
  • Increase productivity;
  • Obtain the commitment and results needed from effective teams;
  • Obtain commitment to strategic organizational goals.
 Individual Benefits

As a result of the Consolidation Phase, team members can:

  • Examine where and how to apply the learning in the workplace using a process of Domain Analysis;
  • Develop specific team actions and personal development plans;
  • Understand the power of implementing a ‘Social Contract’ to construct ideal working relationships;
  • Understand the individual needs of team members and how personal styles of interaction can impact on others;
  • Develop skills in personal interaction using a number of specific techniques.

Target Audience

Everyone working within an organization can benefit from the Inward Bound Experiential Team Building Programme. Common team types, who have benefited from the Inward Bound Experiential Team Building Programme, include:

  • Virtual Teams;
  • Boards & Management Teams;
  • Departments;
  • Cross-Functional Teams;
  • Union and Management Teams;
  • Task Forces;
  • Steering Groups;
  • Cross-Functional Teams;
  • Committees
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    Learning Approach and Content

    Our approach is to run a phased series of programmes in a modular format during which we offer our skills, experience and resources to assist teams at an interpersonal level, focusing explicitly on actual business issues faced by the team in their working environment. We focus on the attitudes, behaviours, habits and patterns that impact upon the effectiveness of the team and deal with any issues raised during the outdoor phase. The programmes improve on both the team’s awareness, and their personal interactions which ensures the transition of new learning back into the team’s working environment.

    The activities and learning objectives of the outdoor, experiential aspect of the team build are generic in nature, rather than specific. This enables the programme to overlay on any available facility, thus ensuring that team-building programmes can be carried out in all environments, regardless of location and facilities.

    The consolidation programme generally take place off-site, away from the usual work environment. This allows the creative space necessary for new learning to take effect. Reference materials and visual aids help participants apply the learning both on the job and in the workshop.