We all love to watch teams run around the cities of the globe, solving puzzles, traversing tasks and eating questionable delicacies, but what happens when it’s your time2race?
time2talk runs a localised team building activity that mimics the ‘The Amazing Race’, and is followed by a debrief that takes a deep dive into effective teamwork, workplace behaviour and different behavioural preferences. Recently we had the chance to give it a go ourselves! Split into teams and given ambiguous instructions, we hit the tramlines of Camberwell.
The aim of this program is to help your team to look at their habits, roles, and how they engage with each other. Prior to The Race attendees take part in a DiSC Behavioural Model to help better understand their own communication preferences and how best to communicate and work with those around them. This is then incorporated into The Race tasks and pondered throughout the day. Some aspects allow you to play to your strengths as a direct leader or a conscientious planner, others challenge how you respond to a change in pace.
“Helping your team to look at their habits, roles and how they engage wiht eachother”
Our race day was set in the suburbs surrounding our Surrey Hills office, an area many of the team were familiar with. The customised clues and hints to our final location were designed around this localised knowledge. Travelling by train, tram and the occasional e-scooter, we made our way to our checkpoints, having fun trying for bonus points along the way.
The t2t team doesn’t always work in the same place. We work from different locations and our facilitators see us on a screen more often than not. Spending time with your co-workers outside of a working environment undoubtedly strengthens your communications skills, and can help dismantle barriers, allowing free flow of ideas and helping to build productive relationships. During The Race there are no managers or interns, you simply work as one. Our team (the Pitchers) found rhythm and communication preferences during our travel from the checkpoint. Using our time on a tram to break down tasks and laugh about who will do what. Sometimes supporting your team means giving feedback on their presentation, other times it means showing them how to buy a myki card or singing Locomotion with them in the middle of the street on a Friday afternoon.
While there were no raw eggs or live witchetty grubs for us, we landed at the Auburn Hotel for a catch up and hearty lunch together as a single unit. This aspect allowed us to debrief the day, take a deeper dive into how an effective team works, and look at how different behavioural preferences may effect workplace behaviours. It allowed time for the team to share stories, compare clue interpretations and challenge point distribution. Despite the competitive nature of The Race, in the end we decided not to tally our points and that we were all winners that day.
The Great Race is a customisable program available for your organisation now!
Ask us about our tailored programs and how a partnership with t2t can help your team grow!
