how to survive a teambuilding day?

[SluggishSnail]

Our senior management team is at war and being sent on a teambuilding day to resolve differences and 'work better'. I am the most junior person going (everyone else at least 2 grades higher). How can I survive this, or at least navigate through without upsetting the apple cart?
I've been to teambuilding days before, but they were mostly Belbin and Myers-Briggs stuff with more junior staff. I have no idea what to expect on this one.

I always book annual leave. I was told I could book leave once so I called in sick.

• couldn't

Team building days were like catnip to me.

Opportunity to get away from the office.

Have you been given a course outline?

I'm a workplace mediator and I also run team building/working together courses. I'm usually brought in because the "team" is currently anything but a team.

I start with looking at what issues are getting in the way of team working. Then I introduce a conflict resolution process, communication skills, some problem solving techniques and show how using empathy - seeing things from another's point of view (whilst not necessarily agreeing with them) can help as they work through issues. I would also spend some time on getting people to look at the issues they identified earlier and come up with some changes they can make (or recommend to the 'higher ups') to improve future working relations.

I have ground rules (including respect for differing opinions) so everyone is equal in the session and I get people to try these techniques out for themselves (but I don't call it role play because not many people like that!). Your trainer/facilitator should be ensuring that everyone feels they can speak up and participate without fear of upsetting any apple carts.

Does it work @GBroGal ?

Our management team is totally dysfunctional because one persons a cunt, ones out of her depth, one shouldn't be there, one talks too much and can't actually lead the team. One has fallen out with two others. One barely speaks to another.

I can't imaging anything sorting that out!!

Why companies do this I have no idea! Why not just address the core problems!

GBroGal
Not a course outline as such, just a cheery introduction asking everyone to come with a smile and an open mind (cringe).
Our C suite is totally dysfunctional - one is rarely in the office but doesn't support any decisions they didn't make; one is part time but a bulldozer; one is nice but not that effective; one doesn't know anything about the core technology of our company.

I'm not sure how anyone will sort that out.

Take a hip flask. It's the only way.

@hopeishere
Yes - the mediation process is tried and tested. It will work if people are prepared to give it a go and to make real changes.

Once people understand how they've ended up where they are, they can then focus on the future. I use visualisation - I ask everyone to think about how they'd like things to be in 6 months time and then think about what needs to change for that to happen.

If I were working with your colleagues, I'd be exploring respect within the team (to address the cuntish behaviour), where communication is breaking down (the one who "talks too much" can learn to listen and the others who barely speak can agree how to communicate in future). I might also ask about possible training needs/support ("out of her depth"/"shouldn't be there").

The last teambuilding day I attended was all about being "kind" to each other and working together to a common goal. The week after, it was almost as if we'd never been on it. Waste of money and time. If there are individual issues, those are not going to be resolved by getting all happy crappy about it.

OP if you have no problems normally in your daily interactions with the team, then just go along and be guided by what ever is on the agenda. It's impossible for us to know what they have planned, but whatever it is just keep things low key, get involved but not too much.

And whatever you do, if the icebreaker is one of those "confess all" horrendous things where they expect people to admit to something bad they've done and what they've learned from it, don't admit to anything - or if you must, just say your worst offence was skipping through the wheat fields in your PJs and your lesson learned was always wear trainers not slippers.

Or even happy clappy not an inappropriate typo on reflection!

My advice is take the next day as annual leave to recover. I’m an introvert and I totally hate any enforced jollity like that.

daisy
Good advice! I'll definitely bear that in mind! I'm not confessing anything.

Just grin and bear it.

It will be a complete waste of time, and no gains will arise from it for anyone, except the organisation giving the course!

Fake your own death.

The one common denominator that tends to come from these days is that nobody wants to be there, so you get that sort of 'bonding over shite circumstances' vibe.

In amongst the cringy stuff, you may just takeaway something that will help you, if not in this job then the next.

(sorry GBroGal, I don't mean to offend!)

As the most junior perspn there, be as unobtrusive as possible. Get as many splinters in your arse as possible from that fence you're sitting on. It may be your circus but you're not a monkey, etc.

Be greatful it's not a team circus skills learning day, working up to a videoed team performance - I can confirm this was a bad as you are imagining. Or the It's a Knockout team day, that almost was a knockout in between teams - and that was with HR in attendance.