I tried a new team building approach this year at my retreat.
I’ve been taken with the British comedy variety show Taskmaster this summer. In each season, five contestants are given a variety of challenges – silly to complex, physical to cerebral – and scored over ten episodes. It’s hilarious and often a little bizarre, with a deliciously British sensibility. Here’s the first episode of the most recent season:
So for my team building work at our retreat, I set a series of eight tasks to the Aces. They were teamed up in their sections (T1, T2, B1, B2). In the course of the weekend, they completed four team tasks and four individual tasks (one per Ace). Some were timed or judged immediately, while others received judgement by the “Taskmaster” – aka their choir teacher.
Here are the eight tasks I set to the Aces this year, laid out for printing in Canva – some were adapted from Taskmaster tasks, and others were invented by me.
It’s fun, novel, encourages team building and lateral thinking, and was a change from the same challenges many of them have completed in past years. Adapt and use it if you can!