Team Building Thursdays: Zig Ziglar
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing–that’s why we recommend it daily.
~Zig Ziglar
Seattle Team Building Events
Corporate Team Building that Understands Seattle
We get it – your Seattle company needs a lot more than a generic, one-size-fits-all team building event. You need a workshop that’s custom designed according to your specifications, not ours. Your company also needs teamwork sessions that are integrated effectively with the Seattle environment – its business climate, its culture, and the diversity of its people, just to name a few. Fortunately, that’s what we offer with Magnovo Training Group’s corporate team building.
We take the best that Seattle culture has to offer. We then match it up with your company’s strengths, weaknesses, and current direction. To top it off, our team building workshops have a charity component built in – so that you can give back to the community at the same time you strengthen your team.
lt’s by combining our knowledge of Seattle culture with the understanding we’ll gain of your company’s needs that we create the ideal workshop. We offer everything from charity workshops like our Bike-a-Thon™, Rescue Buddies™ and Wagon Builders™ to advanced team development and leadership seminars, with all of them striking the perfect balance between your business and the Seattle community.
We Love Seattle
There’s a reason why Seattle is home to so many major companies like Microsoft, Amazon , Starbucks as well as many other booming businesses.
With a rich sports history, and major teams like the Mariners , Seahawks , and the Thunderbirds.
Seattle isn’t just a great place to work, it’s a great place to play too!
Add in the convenience of Seattle-Tacoma airport (SEA), a major international hub for the West Coast with flight connections to just about everywhere and a wonderful public transit system, it’s the perfect setup for your Seattle team building event!
Exceeding Your Potential With Magnovo’s Seattle Team Building
The possibilities are practically endless when Magnovo Training Group works with your company through our Charity Team Building Events. We build a precise set of teamwork skills needed to thrive in Seattle’s unforgiving business climate . We are not interested in just helping your company ‘reach its potential’. Our workshops are designed to help you crash through what you thought was your ceiling. Hence, we want to launch your business into a higher realm of communication, efficiency, and success.
We give our all no matter what city we happen to be working in at any given time. However, doing team building in Seattle definitely brings out our best. We have all the experience, dedication, and innovation your Seattle company needs. All we need now is a chance to show it.
Some fun ideas for Seattle team building in downtown or the surrounding area
Charity Team Building Events can customize any of these Seattle team building workshops to engage your entire team at your next meeting, and therefore, create and implement team building activities with a purpose!
Learn more about how your group can receive the best of customized training while making a difference in your community. If you’re ready to learn how we can customize any of our team building workshops to best fit your group, give us a call at (800) 861-8326 (TEAM) or request your personalized quote by using the button below.
Some of our favorite venues for Seattle team building
These hotels have the necessary meeting space square footage, amenities, and warm, welcoming staff.
Fairmont Olympic Hotel 411 University Street I Seattle, WA 98101 I (206) 621-1700 Bing Map
CedarBrook Lodge 18525 36th Ave S, I Seattle, WA 98188 I (206) 901-9268 Bing Map
Crown Plaza Seattle 1113 Sixth Avenue I Seattle, WA 98101 I (206) 464-1980 Bing Map
Hilton Seattle 1301 6th Avenue I Seattle, WA 98101 I (206) 624-0500 Bing Map
W Hotel Seattle 1112 Fourth Ave I Seattle, WA 98101 I (206) 264-6000 Bing Map
Philadelphia Insurance Companies Helps the American Diabetes Association Through Wagon Builders™ Workshop
When Philadelphia Insurance Companies wanted to provide their staff with a chance to boost camaraderie for far-flung employees, they called on Magnovo for a charity team building workshop.
Wagon Builders™ in Philadelphia, PA
There were about 50 employees of Philadelphia Insurance Companies from across the country who met at the Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue for a company event. This was one of the few opportunities that this group got to get together. And so the company wanted to provide them with the chance to work on the kinds of skills that would make their jobs more efficient and productive. The Wagon Builders™ workshop was a great fit for this highly competitive group. It had elements of fun and games built around a skill-building core.
The company already had a connection to the American Diabetes Association and so the event organizers requested that the wagons be donated to the group’s summer camp program for children with diabetes. In addition, they wanted to customize the contents of the wagons themselves. We happily made arrangements for both of those requests.
Philadelphia Insurance Companies Gets Down to Work
We opened with a couple of icebreaker games so that folks could get more comfortable with their fellow employees.
Then we arranged participants into groups of five. Through games like Cup Flip, Blind Ball Drop, Wordles, Dice Bank, and Group Writing, teams acquired the parts they’d need to move on to the next part of the workshop .
Once all the teams had their wagon parts, we challenged them to assemble with wagons with a few small conditions. It challenged them, and also encouraged them to think creatively and work together. After putting the wagons together, teams decorated and filled them. We even had enough time for folks to take “wagon selfies”! There were a lot of laughs. While it was indeed a competitive group, everyone did make sure that no team was left behind. This was truly a group that – even though they might not work together every day – showed how much of a team they really are.
Welcoming the American Diabetes Association
One of the most special parts of a charity team building event is meeting with a representative of that charity. Philadelphia Insurance Companies participants warmly welcomed Kevin J. Kelly, Ed.D., who seemed genuinely happy to be invited. Mr. Kelly shared some information about the American Diabetes Association and the work they do. He also told a few stories about the kids who attend the association’s summer camp. Their lives are positively impacted by the experience in long-lasting ways. Our wrap-up was completed by a few facilitator remarks that reinforced several of team building skills targeted by the games and activities.
Salesforce’s All-Star Bike-Thon™ with State Farm Surprises Employees and Kids
Salesforce’s employees turned out a dynamic and engaging Bike-A-Thon in record time!
Salesforce Invites Top Customer to Join In
Even though a scheduling issue gave us less time to work with than anticipated, we pulled off a great Bike-A-Thon™ with Salesforce In under an hour. We carried out the even on-site at Salesforce offices. We also welcomed the company’s top customer, State Farm, in joining us. This was the second charity team building workshop of this type we’d done for Salesforce. Again, the bicycles the group assembled were going to the nearby Union League Boys & Girls Club.
All -Star Teams in Chicago, IL
The Bike-A-Thon™ has two parts – a series of earning activities where teams compete for bicycle parts, and then series of teamwork activities where teams assemble the bicycles. The 20 participants worked hard and worked fast. These were leaders from both companies, and their skills set showed. The four teams worked cohesively and with a great understanding of each other; the group dynamics functioned at an extremely high level.
One team dominated in the group writing activity with an alphabet (AZ) written by 5 people, that, easily, was more legible than most people’s daily penmanship! Another team took cup stacking to a meticulously pristine level, and quickly. A third team was full of ‘spunk’ and kept everyone laughing. And our fourth team was definitely the most focused, with an eagerness to win. While they didn’t dominate every activity, they made collaboration and inclusion the biggest part of their team.
Overall, this group was amazing to work with! They laughed, cried, and gave each other just enough “guff” to keep the competition intense (yet still friendly!)
New Bikes for the Kids of the Union League Boys & Girls Club
Teams knew that their bikes were going to the kids of the Union League Boys & Girls Club. What they didn’t know is that the kids were coming to the Bike-A-Thon™ to receive them!
The announcement was a great surprise, and everyone’s reaction was immediate and extremely positive.
We welcomed Anabel Hernandez and several of the children with applause. Ms. Hernandez made a few remarks; most memorable, she shared with us what a huge impact these bikes have on the kids who receive them. There was barely a dry eye in the place! Teams then helped the kids with their new bikes, adjusting seats and handlebars so that kids were ready to ride as soon as they got home. One child was so excited he exclaimed, “I am never getting off this bike, I am sitting here forever!”
The feedback we received on this event was overwhelmingly positive. Participants raved, the children were obviously thrilled, and Salesforce provided their staff with the opportunity to flex the kind of soft skills so important in today’s workplace.
Team Building Thursdays: Anatole France
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.
~Anatole France
Johnson & Johnson’s IT Department Helps Morristown, NJ Kids Through Wagon Builders
Forecast: Paying it Forward Through Teamwork
The Wagon Builders ™ workshop was supposed to have 70 participants but only ended up with 45.
Unfortunately, lots of people left early to avoid flight cancellations and delays as a snowstorm moved in. So we moved the workshop to an earlier time and shortened it by 45 minutes. The Madison Hotel was very accommodating for us. None of these hurdles took away from the energy and purpose of the event, though: to have fun, team build and give back to local Morristown-area kids in need. Everyone was eager to get started as soon as the facilitator arrived.
Wagon Builders™ Comes to Morristown, NJ
We adjusted our plans slightly, modifying the size of the teams we arranged based on the number of people in attendance. Laughter was abundant as teams played Flip Cup, Group Writing, Prediction Card Game, and Paw Dice Game. Winning teams earned the parts necessary for building wagons. After assembling the wagons, they were filled with gifts for children and then we decorated them. It was great to see such a supportive group. Participants truly worked as teams, and then also together as a whole department.
Ordinarily, a representative from the charity is invited to accept the donations in person. Because of the weather, it wasn’t possible for anyone from Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House to come. However, we did talk about the kinds of work done and the services the agency provides to kids and their families. This group’s commitment to helping those less fortunate was impressive. Once we completed the wagons, everyone also volunteered to help pack them safely for later delivery after the snowstorm.
Johnson & Johnson Succeeds for Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House
We lost a few more people as the workshop wound down; the weather was deteriorating quickly. The folks who remained generously helped pack up the room and remaining supplies and materials. The feedback we received about the Wagon Builders™ program was overwhelmingly positive. Folks were grateful that we were still able to carry out the workshop despite the elements. Everyone was disappointed that they couldn’t give the wagons to Cornerstone directly, but this group was clearly hopeful that they could try again with another program just like this one next year.
Team Building Thursdays: Swami Vivekananda
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life–think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.
~Swami Vivekananda
Employee Appreciation: Workers Want is to Be Valued
When it comes to employee appreciation, Human Resources departments around the world try out countless strategies and employ innumerable tactics in order to figure out just what workers want the most. Countless time is spent investigating which benefits and programs are those that are best at keeping employees happy and productive, but there’s a secret that most HR managers don’t even think about: there’s a very simple answer to what employees want more than anything else – they want to be valued.
Employee Appreciation is Easier Said than Done
It’s one thing knowing what it is that your workers want on a philosophical level. It’s another thing altogether to be able to bridge the gap between the idea of “being valued” and the act of making an employee feel that way. This translation from theory to practice is, of course, the task that HR personnel face nearly every day.
The truth is, though, providing high levels of isn’t necessarily about things. Performance-based bonus or incentive programs are nice, but they’re often interpreted as the “carrot” of the carrot-and-stick approach, often seen as a blatant push for more productivity. Meanwhile, events like company picnics are more of a pleasant diversion than anything else. So what’s a manager to do when it comes to showing just how much your company values its workers?
Forge Connections, Receive Feedback, Provide Value
There’s no secret sauce when it comes to driving feelings of being valued within your workforce. In fact, it requires hard work and diligence not just from HR but from supervisors of all stripes to build a corporate culture that stresses the importance of employee appreciation. The best path is to forge connections with workers, receive their feedback, and then provide value based on that feedback.
Too much of the time, employees develop an “us versus them” mentality, where it’s workers on one side and management on the other. The key to short-circuiting that process is to build relationships with employees through meaningful interactions. Creating rapport in such a way showcases the importance a company places on its workers, and it engenders positive bilateral relationships between employees and their supervisors where employees are comfortable enough to provide honest feedback. This feedback can then be used to craft corporate policies or practices that address employee needs in a valid – and valued – way.
Supercharging the Employee-Employer Relationship
There are a number of ways to build relationships between employees and employers. The tactics and strategies management chooses are less important than the impetus behind them; if supervisors approach workers with a genuine desire to build a meaningful and positive employee-employer relationship, workers will respond to this sincerity. That being said, there are methods that work better than others.
One of the most effective of these methods is to engage periodically in activities or events that reinforce the types of positive traits needed to build employee appreciation. Team building events are positioned particularly well in this regard, thanks to their focus on communication and collaboration .
Additionally, the core tenets of team building – which are to value diverse levels of thought and methods of accomplishing tasks – translate well to building relationships between workers and management.
Appreciating Value Leads to Appreciated Employees
There is nothing more fiercely loyal than a workforce that feels at home. Workers that know their employer listens to them, values their opinions, and responds positively to feedback are just happier – and happy workers are more effective and productive ones. Doing your best to provide higher levels of employee appreciation will pay big dividends for your company in the long run.
What Leaders Can Learn About Work Team Building From National Geographic
Part of being a good leader is learning lessons where you find them. And then figuring out how to apply them to your own company. Case in point? None other than National Geographic. Leadership at the magazine felt it was time for a reckoning of the publication’s past reporting on people of color and invited a full review of their previous content by a professor of African history and photography.
The feedback was honest – and brutal – but deserved, and the magazine’s leadership acknowledged shortcomings in a recent issue and outlined how they’d do better going forward. While it might not seem like what goes on at National Geographic has much to do with a typical corporation or organization, there’s a lot that corporate leadership teams can learn from National Geographic’s recent self-reflection, especially when it comes to work team building.
Admit Your Mistakes
Ah, this one can be hard. Who wants to admit mistakes? Leaders are supposed to know more, know better, and do the right thing. But sometimes doing the right thing means admitting when you’ve messed up. Owning mistakes allows leadership to share what they’ve learned so that others don’t make the same errors. It also reassures employees that it’s okay to admit their mistakes, too. It’s important to understand that this might not make everything better immediately; after all, even National Geographic heard from those who said it their recent issue on race was a step in the right direction but certainly didn’t erase decades of poor treatment. But without acknowledging errors, real progress cannot be made.
True Collaboration Matters in Work Team Building
When National Geographic put together their issue on race, they “put their money where their mouth is”, as the saying goes. They didn’t talk about doing better when it came to covering race. They also followed through by diversifying their hiring of writers and photographers for the story. At least half of these positions for this story were filled by people of color. Taking firm action through work team building that makes genuine collaboration possible demonstrates how much the leadership team values their staff’s opinions. Consider the ways in which leadership teams at your organization can break down barriers to collaboration so that all members of the team can make meaningful contributions to a project.
Don’t Just Listen, Hear What People Are Saying
It’s very easy to give lip service to feedback from staff and customers. However, really and truly hearing what people are saying, and reflecting on that, allows company leaders to understand what’s working well and what isn’t. Only then can leaders make corrective change where needed. Go back to our example of National Geographic. The magazine hadn’t been focused on capturing an accurate representation of the people they featured on its pages. In fact, they never even asked. If only the leaders of National Geographic had listened. Perhaps they might have avoided unnecessary years of hurtful coverage of people of color, both overseas in places like Africa and Australia as well as in the U.S.
Never Too Late to Learn
It’s never too late to learn something new. Especially when that something can improve the workplace or the organization, if only leaders will listen. Take lessons where you find them, and consider how they can be applied to your company. Taking steps like admitting mistakes, improving collaboration, and really hearing the feedback that’s received, can have positive long-term effects. It can help morale, efficiency, and productivity. When leadership teams show – through their actions – what they value, and what they value is the employee, then the employee will want to do a good job. In this case, National Geographic is more than a magazine; it demonstrates a framework for positive change .
If companies pay attention, they can replicate that same success in their own organization.
Rescue Buddies Helps Oklahoma State University’s SHIELD Scholars Practice Teamwork While Helping Local Kids
The Rescue Buddies™ workshops we do with college students are some of the most fast-paced and dynamic programs we’re lucky enough to do. We met with about 25 grad students who were participants in the Oklahoma State University SHIELD Scholars program. The school earned a grant from Phillips 66. The funds were to be used for team and leadership development. And so program organizers contacted Magnovo. We were lucky to have worked with the school before, and Phillips 66, too. It was great to be back at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater!
Oklahoma State University SHIELD
Scholars Get to Work
While the participants represented several academic departments, they were united in their enthusiasm for working together and helping local kids. The Rescue Buddies program we hosted that Saturday encouraged students to practice their leadership and teamwork skills. We started with a couple of icebreakers and then moved onto workshop activities like Hand Holding, Say What I Say, and Air Counting so that students could earn the parts necessary for assembling Rescue Buddies. Then, we started a new series of games: Flip Cup, Wordles, Group Writing, Paw Dice Game, and the Prediction Card Game. These games made the assembly process more challenging. Students were motivated to work together in new and creative ways.
Students worked hard to support each other and ensure that the group overall was successful.
Helping Stillwater, OK Kids in Emergency Situations
By the end of the workshop, students completed 25 stuffed animals. We arranged for the Rescue Buddies™ to go to the Payne County Sheriff’s Department. Officers in the Domestic Violence Department often used them. Rescue Buddies were given to children in the midst of trauma, such as being removed from their homes. While it certainly couldn’t alleviate their suffering, holding a stuffed animal provided a small measure of comfort during times of stress. This kind of workshop is a Magnovo favorite because of how directly each child is served. It’s also a popular workshop for our clients; helping local children in emergency situations by making Rescue Buddies™ available to them is a powerful motivator.
Payne County Sheriff’s Department Accepts Donation
Rockford Brown of the Sheriff’s Department was invited to attend the workshop. Students listened attentively when he spoke to the group at the end of the program. He thanked everyone for their hard work. He also shared a highly emotional story of just one child who received a Rescue Buddy from one of the Sheriff’s Department officers. A hush fell over the room, broken only by Rockford Brown encouraging the Oklahoma State University – SHIELD Scholars students to give themselves a round of applause for their hard work and community-minded efforts.
