Team Building Resources

The UMD Office of Human Resources has several ways to support team building across campus. Some of these ways involve facilitated discussions or activities, and others are available to schedule directly with other areas of campus or across the Duluth community.  Below is a list of several team building resources to conside

Team Building Kits

UMD HR has several team building kits from Training Wheels Gear which can be used with teams of various sizes. UMD HR Staff can assist in facilitating use of the kits and/or they can be checked out to be used with a facilitator from the team. Most work best with smaller groups (4-16), but two of each kit can be checked out for use by larger groups. All require some amount of space in which to do the activity. Some activities require standing, squatting, moving, walking, bending, etc. If any adjustments are needed depending on accommodation needs, please let your HR Generalist or Strategic Consultant know prior to checking out the kit(s). There is no cost to check out any of these kits, but please reserve in advance to ensure availability: 

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The Basic Cube

This streamlined, easy-to-assemble activity is designed to bring collaborative fun and challenge to youth and adult groups alike. Measuring 36 inches per side, this cube is the perfect size for a variety of team activities and experiential learning exercises. Recommendations: 8-12 participants (2 kits available for a total of 24 participants), 20-40 minutes total (with 2 possible activities). 

Teamplay Tube

This activity includes a dynamic collection of PVC tubing and connectors designed for a variety of different activities that inspire teamwork, creativity, communication, problem solving, decision making, and skill building. This highly adaptable training tool is perfect for challenging and engaging any team. Recommendations: 8-12 participants (2 kits available for a total of 24 participants), 20-40 minutes per activity (with 18 possible activities). 

Team Fusion

This unique team assessment tool and group challenge activity is designed to strengthen communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. Crafted with skillfully hand-made materials, this engaging activity is perfect for groups of four to sixteen participants who are ready to transform from individuals into a unified team. Recommendations: 4-16 participants (2 kits available for a total of 32 participants), 20-40 minutes total. 

Toxic Waste / Object Removal

This kit is designed to get your group thinking creatively and working together. The goal is to remove an object from the center of a circle that no one can enter, using only the provided materials. This kit gives you everything needed to run the original version or invent your own variations of hands-on, outside-the-box problem solving. Recommendations: 8-12 participants (2 kits available for a total of 24 participants), 20-40 minutes per activity (with 2 possible activities).

Facilitated Activities

UMD HR is able to facilitate a few different team building activities. There is no cost for this facilitation, but please schedule in advance to ensure availability of a facilitator. If there is a facilitated activity not listed here that you are interested in exploring for your team, please reach out to your HR Strategic Consultant. 

Reflective Listening Activity

Adapted from the Compassionate Listening Project and the Tula Art of Hosting Workshop, this activity works with the various ways we listen to others, build upon our vocabulary around feelings and values, and how we communicate back our understanding. In this activity, reflecting listening/mirroring is used to restate what you have heard a speaker say for purposes of clarification, understanding, and affirmation. It also helps us learn how to check our interpretations by asking if the reflection is a correct interpretation (and when it is, is very validating to the speaker/storyteller). In listening deeply to one another, our hearts assist us to hear the values underneath the words, rhetoric, or strongly held positions. WHen we listen deeply and can reflect the values that we hear, we connect to the wholeness in one another. Recommendations: Groups of 4 (up to 10 groups, up to 40 total), 40 minutes total (10 minutes for introduction and framing, 20 minutes for each speaker/storyteller with four 5 minute rotations, 10 minutes for reflection and sharing). Materials needed: Pen and paper for note-taking, tables and chairs for small group discussions. 

 

World Cafe

Adopted from Cafe to Go and the Tula Art of Hosting Workshop, this activity creates a living network of collaborative dialogue around questions that matter. As we create our lives, our organizations, our communities, and our teams, we move from conversation to conversation, without always being fully present. This activity encourages full engagement and participation in small group discussions around topics of importance for the broader team and/or organization. Recommendations: Groups of 4-6 (up to 6-10 groups, up to 40 total), 40 minutes total (10 minutes for introduction and framing, 20 minutes for each speaker/storyteller with four 5 minute rotations, 10 minutes for reflection and sharing). Materials needed: Pen and paper for note-taking, tables and chairs for small group discussions, large flip chart paper and markers for sharing back. 

New Leader Integration (NLI)

New Leader Integration (NLI) is a proactive facilitated process through which a new leader is assimilated into the organization and the "environment of uncertainty" is diminished or removed altogether. NLI is a multi-step process which typically begins prior to a new leader stepping into their new position. It typically consists of several 1-2 hour sessions, and spans several weeks in total. 

Other Team Building Activities