Team building is one of the most neglected areas of management development in corporate America. Why? The challenges of finding the right venue. It is easy enough to rent a room in a hotel and have an ideation session. It is also simple to book a retreat center for a weekend of planning meetings. What’s hard is designing a team-building getaway that every member of your team can participate in. Not everyone plays golf. Not everyone has a strong tennis game. That, of course, is the beauty of bowling. Everybody from the junior executive to the C-suite has probably spent some time in a bowling center. Best of all, you don’t have to be good to have a great time. Even a gutter ball or two doesn’t get in the way of a good time. Here are 4 tips to remember when planning a bowling team-building outing:
- Bowling is a team sport. Bowling is a game that can be played as an individual or as a team. Emphasizing the power of team dynamics can be easily illustrated. People work together, they start giving tips and encouragement to the weaker players. This is corporate America in a microcosm.
- Build the teams purposefully. For the best results, choose your teams carefully. Don’t simply divide the alphabet or make it a battle of the sexes. Assign people with the goal of getting people and departments working together. Make sure that you don’t put all the stronger bowlers on the same team.
- Choose your bowling center carefully. Make sure the bowling center is conveniently located to your office or hotel. Be sure that it has the facilities you need such as food service, break out room, etc. Many centers offer staff people who specialize in event coordination. These event planners will be sure you have everything you need.
- Reinforce team building with an awards presentation. Decide what awards to hand out at the conclusion of the event. Identical prizes should be given to all team members of the team with the highest score and of the second and third place teams. You may want to award a few individual prizes for highest score in each game. Humorous awards “worst bowler on the planet” can always be good for the non-bowlers on the teams.
Team building is essential in creating highly functioning business units. And there is no easier way to organize a team-building event than introducing bowling.
For more information please contact Bowl-A-Roll Lanes at 585-427-7250 or email us at bowlarol@rochester.rr.com.
