The pandemic and lockdown period of 2020-2021 generated a quantum leap in the way in which we work. I mean - I was working remotely for nine years before the pandemic, but for the vast majority of my colleagues, there was a significant change in working patterns. My team went completely remote - all working from home - and in September 2021 I became the team's manager. Since then, we've had some team members leave; I've recruited some new team members, and had the challenging task of building a team.
My team comprises eight project managers plus me, spread across four countries and multiple timezones, so you can imagine that meeting in person isn't going to happen any time soon. However, that did not stop us from building a strong positive team ethos, and getting to know each other better.
How? By playing games. I mean 'completing exercises' ;-). Here's a list, and a few additional points at the end.
1. Whose Desk Is This?
Each team member takes a photograph of their desk, and uploads the picture to a shared PowerPoint Deck. On a team call, we all review the photographs one by one, and try to determine whose desk this is. It's fun, it's different, and it works as the team tries to deduce who is most likely to have a tidy desk, and untidy desk, toys on their desk... pictures on their wall... the widescreen monitor and so on. The hilarity follows when the team realise they were completely wrong!
2. Whose Fridge Is This?
Same principle, but more personal than the fridge. We discovered that one team member keeps a thermos flask in the fridge (it's her husband's, and she goes mad about it), and that fridges are a lot more expensive in Brazil than in Europe. We also quizzed each other about our eating habits, and what that stuff is in the glass bowl on the top shelf. Again, entertaining and a better ice-breaker than 'tell us about yourself'.
3. Whose Car Is This? and its near neighbour, Whose Front Door Is This?
You get the idea. For Whose Car Is This, we went further by actually finding stock photos of our cars instead of just taking photos (although this was included as usual). We were getting so good at looking around the photos (for example, clues for items on top of the fridge, the general scene of the kitchen) that we stepped it up by having the web-source photos as well. Front doors are front doors, there's no disguising them.
For an added bonus, when you get close to the holiday season, you can have Whose Christmas Tree Is This? We did, and everybody took part - Christmas tree, seasonal decorations, whichever.
4. Online Pictionary (draw the object).
For this, I prepared a list of seasonal objects - snowflake, Santa Claus, elf, snowman, wise man, shepherd, and so on. The team split themselves into two groups, and each person shared their screen and used Paint to draw the word. I am sure there are better online versions of this game, but there was something charming and hilarious about watching everyone try and draw using MS Paint that worked well. It worked for us in the pre-Christmas period, but could work at any time of year with a given theme.
5. Two Truths and a Lie
This has become our team favourite, and it requires no extra work from the manager. You just tell everyone to prepare two truths and a lie, and to either update a shared deck or mail their statements to you. They don't even have to tell you which is the lie, and then you can play along too. And, if you take notes and listen to what everyone says, you'll have some great source material for the next activity...
6. Online Quizzes
We use Kahoot, which is simple, straightforward and requires no costs if you have 10 or fewer team members. As the manager, you become the question master and ask a series of multiple choice or true/false questions. You'll need to write the questions in advance, and these can cover any (or multiple) topics. Some questions are work-related - "What is your analysis of this data?" "What does this data show?" "What is the most important thing to remember about XYZ situation?" and some aren't - "Which member of the team said they most wanted to spend an afternoon with Agatha Christie?" "Which member of the team said that they wanted to do a parachute jump?"
The great thing is that most of these games can be used with teams of any size and discipline (engineers, sales, purchasing and HR can all play these games). What else works well in generating and building team spirit?
A. Regular team meetings.
I can't emphasise this enough. Even if you don't have a team-building exercise planned for the week, and everybody's rushed off their feet, and there isn't much to add to all the emails, keep the call anyway. Your team will appreciate face-time with you, and a chance to catch up with you. You might not have much to say, but they may have questions for you, so don't cancel!
B. Regular one-to-ones alongside the team meetings
I meet with each member of my team once a fortnight (or once every two weeks, or bi-weekly). This gives each member chance to ask you questions that are specific and relevant to them, on any topic that they want to discuss, and which may not be suitable in a team forum. Cancel these at your own risk!
