100 of the best VIRTUAL

TEAM-BUILDING EVENTS

This book brings together the first collection of online activities for building virtual teams:

• SOCIALIZATION GAMES introduce people, allow them to get to know one another, and lay the foundation for further development as a team.
• TRUST AND COMMUNICATION EXERCISES build on these foundations of teamwork through appropriately supported risk taking, giving and receiving feedback, and learning from mistakes.
• TEAMWORK ACTIVITIES concentrate on the individual elements of teamwork such as cooperation, planning, problem solving, or conflict; and then verify the synergy of those combined teamwork elements.
• CLOSURE AND ACTION PLANNING come at the end of a program and are part of the celebration. Their purpose is to highlight learning and cement commitment to bring future change.

If you work to develop virtual teams in any capacity (corporate, college or community), this book can help you improve their online group dynamics, while enhancing their skill at using online communication technologies.

Sample Diagram

 

summarizes the necessary software, props, time,

channel, duration, and group size for the activity

 

 

shows the problem or solution and props list

Sample Text

 

explains the purpose, action, highlights,

and preparation for the activity

 

 

offers a facilitator briefing and debriefing

Chief Executive Officer, SIMON PRIEST leads virtualTEAMWORKS.com and finds time to advise and guide corporations as they develop their own virtual teambuilding initiatives. In the past, Simon was acting Director for a corporate university specializing in leadership development for managers and executives. He was also Professor and Executive Director of The CATI Research Center of Excellence in Canada. As a former teacher and researcher, he has received several awards from academic institutions and professional associations.

He has authored over a dozen books and a hundred articles related to teambuilding and leadership. His presentations on virtual teamwork and global leaders have been featured at conferences around the world. He currently holds adjunct professorships at management institutes and universities in several countries. His consulting work is in executive leadership for numerous "Fortune 500" companies. His volunteer work involves training new facilitators in developing nations where issues of diversity and inclusivity are paramount. In his spare time, Simon enjoys photography, running, and a variety of outdoor pursuits.

Introduction

What is a Virtual Team?

How do teams evolve?

What events should I use?

Which technology is best?

How do I facilitate these events?

Events Legend

 

SOCIALIZATION GAMES
1	Iconic Design	6	Categories
2	Alphabetical Names	7	Interviews
3	Group Juggle	8	Three Things
4	Where in the World	9	Mystery Writer
5	Organizational Chart	10	Miracle Questions
COMMUNICATION EXERCISES
11	Count off	16	New Languages
12	Oneway Communication	17	Corporate Charades
13	Dichotomous Questions	18	Office Role Pictionary
14	Twoway Communication	19	Amazing
15	Asking Questions	20	Puzzle Pieces
TRUST DEVELOPMENT
21	Eliminating Skills	26	Sharing Mutual Fears
22	Ranking Trust	27	The Peace Sign!
23	Rating Trustworthiness	28	Tic Tac Toe
24	Perception Descriptions	29	Six Icons
25	Offering Opinions	30	Left or Right?
TEAMWORK: ASYNCHRONOUS RIDDLES
31	Alphabet Soup	36	Combinations
32	Wordles	37	Reversals
33	English Enigma	38	Point of View
34	Arithmetricks	39	RAM or ROM?
35	Mathematics	40	Number Sequences
TEAMWORK: SYNCHRONOUS PUZZLES
41	Magic Squares	46	Dividing Across
42	Counting Shapes	47	Cutting Across
43	Equal Parts	48	Cutting Squared
44	Dividing L-Shapes	49	Cutting Houses
45	Dividing the Sphynx	50	Equal Shares
TEAMWORK: DIMENSIONAL DILEMMAS
51	Tracing Shapes	56	Connect the Dots
52	A Dozen Pentominoes	57	Square the Dots
53	Toothpicks & Matchsticks	58	Piece of Cake
54	Thinking Outside the Box	59	The Donut
55	Thinking Inside the Box	60	Pentomino Puzzles
TEAMWORK: PROBLEMS WITH ICONS
61	Positioning	66	Jump Out
62	Line Ups	67	Traffic Jam
63	Distributions	68	2x4 or 4x2
64	The Chessboard	69	Key Punch
65	River Crossings	70	Barriers
TEAMWORK: PARADOXES WITH PROPS
71	Water Bottles	76	Continuous Cuffs
72	Rope Tangle	77	Bright Idea
73	Cones	78	Token Weighing
74	Support	79	Nonverbal Prototype
75	Suspension	80	Verbal Production
TEAMWORK: COMPLEX CHALLENGES
81	Gridlock	86	Board Game
82	T.O.W.E.R.	87	Architectural Design
83	B.R.I.D.G.E.S.	88	The Backpacking Trip
84	An Auction	89	The Final Problem
85	Game Show	90	Internet Scavenger Hunt
CLOSURE & ACTION PLANNING
91	Team Cheer	96	Art Gallery
92	Metaphoric Review	97	Souvenir Symbols
93	Final Feedback	98	Quotes
94	Group Photo Captions	99	Funeral for a Friend
95	Later Letters	100	Action Plans

Software

The Next 100 Events

The Author

References

Reviewers