Stretching Yourself
Today my work family and I had the chance to do some team building fun. I know that a lot of people cringe when they here "team building". What does that even mean?
We had one of our staff members who specializes in that come in and spend some time with us. We did some fun activities where we did....gasp......ice breaker questions. It was GREAT. These weren't typical questions and even though most of us have been together for around a year or getting close to it, it gave some real insight into who each of us was.
We did a rope activity and it caused us to all really stop and think outside the box. And after some hints....I figured out how "escape" my partner. :)
One of the best team building activities was when we all took these picture postcards and we were supposed to pick one that "spoke" to us and then explain to the team why. Some picked pictures because they thought they were "pretty" or reminded them of family or something. Some people picked pictures that brought out really deep thoughtful insight. Then we did a 2nd activity with them the same cards. Put them all back on the table but then picked a card that reminded us one of our team members. It was really neat to listen to why we each picked a card.
It was really touching when one of my team picked a postcard that had a black and white photo of four women walking from an airfield where they had just gotten off planes. The comment made was about my strong leadership and being a strong woman. It was really touching to me. I mean it's always nice to be recognized for something positive, but I can tell you I was blown away about the leadership part. I'm not sure I see myself as "strong" most of the time, but I certainly don't feel like much of a leader. I feel more like a follower.
So this caused me to really reflect. It's funny how we see ourselves...right?! We tend to label ourselves, or at least that's true for me. I'm the laid back one or the funny one. I can take those "titles" and own them, but what about what others see?
One of my teammates sees me as a leader. Someone sees me as strong. Maybe I need to OWN those titles. Maybe I need to try to see me through others eyes. My finance as always telling me that..."I wish you could see you like I do!"
Maybe each of us needs to take a minute and lift up someone else and let them know how you see them. It could make their day or week. Also, I think we all need to be a little kinder to ourselves and try to understand what others might see.
We had one of our staff members who specializes in that come in and spend some time with us. We did some fun activities where we did....gasp......ice breaker questions. It was GREAT. These weren't typical questions and even though most of us have been together for around a year or getting close to it, it gave some real insight into who each of us was.
We did a rope activity and it caused us to all really stop and think outside the box. And after some hints....I figured out how "escape" my partner. :)
One of the best team building activities was when we all took these picture postcards and we were supposed to pick one that "spoke" to us and then explain to the team why. Some picked pictures because they thought they were "pretty" or reminded them of family or something. Some people picked pictures that brought out really deep thoughtful insight. Then we did a 2nd activity with them the same cards. Put them all back on the table but then picked a card that reminded us one of our team members. It was really neat to listen to why we each picked a card.
It was really touching when one of my team picked a postcard that had a black and white photo of four women walking from an airfield where they had just gotten off planes. The comment made was about my strong leadership and being a strong woman. It was really touching to me. I mean it's always nice to be recognized for something positive, but I can tell you I was blown away about the leadership part. I'm not sure I see myself as "strong" most of the time, but I certainly don't feel like much of a leader. I feel more like a follower.So this caused me to really reflect. It's funny how we see ourselves...right?! We tend to label ourselves, or at least that's true for me. I'm the laid back one or the funny one. I can take those "titles" and own them, but what about what others see?
One of my teammates sees me as a leader. Someone sees me as strong. Maybe I need to OWN those titles. Maybe I need to try to see me through others eyes. My finance as always telling me that..."I wish you could see you like I do!"
Maybe each of us needs to take a minute and lift up someone else and let them know how you see them. It could make their day or week. Also, I think we all need to be a little kinder to ourselves and try to understand what others might see.
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