Team building

Team building, in its most literal sense, means building a team. This requires not just building rapport and camaraderie, but also improving relationships and trust amongst each other, especially in a corporate setup. It may be a one, two or three-day event, but participants should remember that the lessons learned should not end with the event. It should be applied to the daily work environment or every penny spent on organizing the whole activity is just put to waste.

Our department had an overnight team building event last 18-19 June 2010 at the Forest Club in Laguna. To say that the group activities were tiring is an understatement. Nonetheless, we had fun and the tasks brought out the best in us. We also learned to overcome our fears and discovered some pretty interesting stuff about people we don't usually hang out with in the office. I think this is nice, especially when you already had some impression (or should I say judgement) of a certain colleague from a work-related interaction. It helps you understand why a person acts in a certain way and makes you feel comfortable about it.

The most exciting part was the evening party where lots of booze were served. There were no walls. Everyone showed one's true colors. As the saying goes, in vino veritas - in wine there is truth. People began sharing their problems, their strong opinions on some matters, and even their nastiest secrets. Until everyone went to bed or was brought to bed after passing out!

Even though there were no verbal discussions of the lessons learned, I believe (and hope) we are mature enough to have realized those things. I just hope that the cracks on the wall can still be re-painted so that we can be on the right track to our goal of being one.