Ted walked in the event a wallflower and came out a corporate rose. What caused those changes? What specifically happened that took the introvert from IT and gave him a chance to open up?
First off, Ted wasn’t taken and thrown in to a physical challenge like this.
Team building activities should be created where the more introverted employees have preparation time. With the analytical mindset of introverts, it’s always helpful to give them time to plan. This fosters creativity and involvement. Team building activities don’t always have to be spur of the moment challenges that are presented in a ‘reveal’ fashion. There’s a time and a place for corporate reveals and the power of a surprise activity doesn’t always have the desired effect. A company can inform their employees of what’s going to be involved in the activities. Give your more introverted employees an opportunity to be teamed up in smaller groups. They can still be just as involved as the rest of the team, they just don’t need to be the sole representative and voice for the team.
According to Susan Cain, author of ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking,’ more than 1/3 of the world’s population are introverts. So why would a leader ever want to stifle creativity or put introverts in a situation where they wouldn’t thrive?
Just because a boss may have been referred to an activity or just thinks it would be cool for the office, doesn’t mean it’s going to hit the mark. Don’t try and force fun on the team, create activities where the introverts and extroverts can balance each other’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s a reason organic growth is the most sustainable. This holds true when different personalities have genuine chances to interact.
So aim for activities that are interactive but not aggressive. A trust fall can become a trust ‘fail’ very quickly. Once you create the right corporate event dynamic, you’ll be looking at Ted in a whole new light.
