Ways To Use Icebreakers For Team Building

Recently a colleague asked me, “Laura, how are you able to get a group of complete strangers to bond so quickly?” It made me pause and reflect on my approach. Creating a strong bond among individuals is rooted in fostering psychological safety, shared experiences, and vulnerability. Here are some strategies I employ: 1. Establish a Shared Purpose Early On: - Define the group's purpose clearly. - Focus on the intention behind the gathering, promoting authenticity over perfection. 2. Initiate Vulnerability-Based Icebreakers: - Dive beyond surface-level introductions by asking meaningful questions: - "What's a personal achievement you're proud of but haven't shared with the group?" - "What challenge are you currently facing, big or small?" - "What truly motivated you to join us today?" These questions encourage genuine connections by fostering openness and humanity. 3. Engage in Unconventional Activities Together: - Bond through unique experiences such as: - Light physical activities (get outside and take a walk) or team challenges. - Creative endeavors like collaborative projects or improvisation. - Reflective exercises such as guided meditations followed by group reflections. 4. Facilitate "Small Circle" Conversations: - Encourage deeper discussions in smaller groups before sharing insights with the larger group. - Smaller settings often lead to increased comfort, paving the way for more profound interactions in larger settings. 5. Normalize Authentic Communication: - Lead by example as a facilitator or leader by sharing genuine and unexpected thoughts. - Setting the tone for open dialogue encourages others to follow suit. 6. Highlight Common Ground: - Acknowledge shared themes and experiences after individual shares. - Recognize patterns like shared pressures, transitions, or identity struggles to unify the group. 7. Incorporate Group Rituals: - Commence or conclude sessions with grounding rituals like breathwork, gratitude circles, one on one share. In what ways have you been able to create cohesion quickly amongst a group of individuals in a training session? #fasttracktotrust #humanconnection #facilitatedconnection

Fostering respect, love and appreciation for each other is a key part of our focus for our executive team. Work is hard in the best of circumstances, and we refuse to pay an extra tax of negative energy. Time is never our team’s most important commodity; emotional energy is far more important. Executive teams that have to walk on eggshells, don’t respect each other and don’t believe that they are running at the same shared goals and vision will never win across a long-time horizon. Of course, it starts with a super-rigorous screening process to make sure there is cultural and energetic alignment before bringing in someone new to the team. But once you have those ingredients, it still takes a lot of effort to maintain and increase the goodwill that greases the wheels of high-performance. We do a lot of things to foster respect and love at work. One of my favorites is very simple. Our COO, Sam Zimmerman starts off every EOS L10 meeting with an icebreaker. These are often very simple, but the surprising things you learn are never what you expect, and it builds the habit of remembering that everyone is on a journey with surprising twists to it. Here are some of our recent prompts, try them out! What is the best advice you have received and how did you receive it? What is a time you did something that was against your own self-interest? What is your favorite movie and why? What is your favorite book and why? What mentor do you feel most appreciative of and why? What view have you changed most over the past year? What was your first job? What thing do you believe that you think no one else on the executive team does? What is the best event you’ve been to and what made it so great? What two things do you like about yourself? What is one thing you would like to change? What is the kindest thing someone has done for you? Do you have any mentees? Who on our team were you most recently impressed with and why? What is one thing you would like to never have to do again? What is one flex thing you’ve never shared with the team? Do you have any great prompts that have worked for you?

Here’s a simple but powerful icebreaker I use all the time. I learned it from Brad Jacobs, the serial entrepreneur and founder of XPO Logistics. Normally, you’d ask everyone in a meeting to turn to the person next to them and share something they appreciate about that person. Since we’re a remote team, we adapted it for Zoom. Everyone shares something positive about the person to the right of them on screen (or the next row if they were last). What happens next is always incredible. The screen fills with smiles and blushing faces as everyone hears something positive about themselves. The energy shifts, and what could have been just another meeting turns into a memorable and uplifting experience. Sharing gratitude in this simple way sets a positive tone for the rest of our meetings. It also reminds me that showing appreciation can make a significant impact on someone’s day, their week, and even their work. Next time you’re looking for an icebreaker or a way to kick off a meeting, try this out. It’s a powerful reminder of the impact of gratitude. How do you start your meetings? Share your favorite icebreakers in the comments!