I always wondered if we need to spend so much money on the so called team building exercises. A highly paid speaker comes and speaks about the qualities of winning teams. Some games, which supposedly illustrate team spirit, are played. I always found them either boring or amusing, but not useful. We grow up in a society that values individual achievements more than collective achievements. So, it is difficult for us imbibe true team spirit. And we don't become good team players just by listening to speeches or playing mock games.
In my view, the ultimate team building exercise is to make a team fight a war against another team. It is only in a war that true camaraderie is built. But we can't make teams in organizations fight wars. If there is any exercise that comes close to a war in building teams, it is to make a team play a sport against another team. Of course, the teams should seriously play to win. All individuals will work towards a common goal, that is to win. And a common enemy, the other team, strengthens the bond between the members of a team. There might be some aberrations, but it has been largely successful in building cohesive teams.
Unfortunately not many managers in IT companies understand this. May be they never played sports.
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