Humans are social beings. Right from the beginning of time, we have been drifting towards each other forming social groups and families. Moreover, we crave to interact and communicate with others for support, entertainment, and our overall wellbeing.
It applies to the professional aspect of our lives as well. How many times have you seen business meetings with prospective clients organized at a restaurant or café? Many people would agree that they have formed the best business connections by interacting with others at parties or over coffee or drinks. These social connections that we make reflect our need to be a part of meaningful bonds that extend beyond formal work relationships within the four walls of an office.
Adapting to the Remote Working Norms
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Now, we have established that social interactions contribute significantly to our mental health and professional relationships. But, as most of us are working remotely, we miss out on the real-time interactions at our workplace and the convenience of working in a shared environment.
To ensure that we perform our leadership roles well, we must encourage setting up an environment between our team members where human relationships flourish. We need to foster workplaces that are supportive and empathetic towards each other. For example, to manage your remote team better, start by talking to them one on one over calls which you would have otherwise done in person. Ask them how they feel about their current work? What are their future ambitions? or what motivates them the most?
The idea is to take a walk in their shoes and identify any obstacles they might be facing. You may also focus on organizing collaborative events like virtual happy hours or evening coffee catch-ups to help build trust.
As you build a trustworthy and empathetic work environment with virtual team-building activities and other such initiatives, employees will be motivated to push themselves even further and achieve improved productivity levels.
Ditch the Corporate Stuff For Remote Team Building
So what is the perfect workaround for successful and memorable remote team-building activities?
The secret lies in ensuring that the activities offer a break from the office work and not make the employees feel like it’s a regular day at work. Team building activities that aim to incorporate leadership lessons or practical takeaways, will be less powerful. What you should be focusing on instead, is spending time together and shared experiences for them to connect on.
At the end of the day, everyone needs to work towards the common organizational goals and objectives. And encouraging team participation in such activities will only work to strengthen the inter-personal bonds, allowing for improved collaboration and effective completion of tasks.
Trying out new remote team-building activities with your employees can generate good vibes among the team members and eventually benefits the business.
Final Thoughts
Team building activities are one of the most important investments you can make for your team. When done effectively, they can lead to motivated and engaged employees who are great for developing an exceptional company culture and bottom line. If you happen to notice a sense of happiness and accomplishment or maybe a few Instagram-worthy moments, you can be sure that you’re on the right path.
