Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER January 25, 2016 FEATURES 19 EmploymentSource™ Works as hard for you as you do for your clients Our premier employment content on WestlawNext® Canada is integrated with relevant case law, legislation, expert commentary and legal memos, allowing you to manage your practice in the most efficient way possible. It's the complete mix of resources you need to confidently advise on compliance, defend occupational and health and safety charges, or prepare successful dismissal or termination strategies. Search across multiple content types simultaneously Instantly evaluate what a claim is worth with the Wrongful Dismissal Quantum Service, an interactive service with report-building functionality Review exclusive commentary by Canada's foremost employment and occupational health and safety law experts Start ahead − and stay ahead − with our exclusive collection of legal memoranda Keep current with two leading employment and dismissal law newsletters and digests For a free demonstration, call 1-866-609-5811 or visit westlawnextcanada.com/employmentsource 00233WZ-52632 TEAM-BUILDING Fighting zombies brings cohesion Why challenge-based team-building can produce highly adaptive, cohesive teams By Peter Lane P icture this: You're sitting down to a leisurely break- fast with colleagues when, out of nowhere, you're attacked by a horde of zombies. ere's no time for office politics or bickering over the latest quar- terly report — you either work together as a team or you don't survive. Period. While it may be a slightly atypi- cal teambuilding method, it's one a zombie survival camp has found highly effective in producing stronger, more adaptive and ag- ile teams — as employers such as Girls Guides of Canada and TFO have discovered. ere are endless off-site op- tions out there for employers when it comes to teambuilding exercises but the key to getting the most out of your invest- ment is choosing an exercise that incorporates an element of challenge. Combat-ready rowing people into an intense problem-solving situation has lasting, positive impacts em- ployees will take back to work or to their organization. With the higher level of intensity and chal- lenge, employees are forced to ap- ply their skills in a way they never thought they could. It shouldn't be a cakewalk — it's important that it be difficult. If it's easy, then it's worthless. Perhaps the perfect example of a team coming together like this is the Armed Forces. People are put through an intense experience, and it has to be difficult. That intensity and difficulty are what bond people together. Research backs it up. To build a high-performance team that is strong, cohesive and adaptable, employers need to delve deeper than social gatherings or a "train- to-task" mentality, according to the Leader's Guide to Team Build- ing: Building Adaptive High-Per- formance Teams by the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) in the United States: "High-performance teams require an approach that goes beyond traditional train-to-task models. Rather, these exercises develop the art of adaptive think- ing and learning. is advanced methodology develops clear and shared understanding; critical- thinking and reasoning skills; and adaptive behaviours, not condi- tioned responses." at adaptability and capacity to solve problems as they arise — instead of being reactive and fall- ing back on mindless conditioning — is one of the critical elements of challenge-based teambuilding. Holacracy versus hierarchy Another key benefit is the way in which challenge-based team- building alters the power struc- tures of a group. When different organizations attend the camp as a teambuilding exercise, it's interesting to watch how the pre-existing group of col- leagues restructures itself in terms of roles and power dynamics. One person might work in production, one might be in post- production and one might be their boss. ey all have different jobs but as soon as they're thrown together, everyone is equal. ere is no boss, there is no sales de- partment, there is no marketing department — they're all just one cohesive team. ey have one job and they're all working together to survive. at can have a significant, last- ing impact in breaking down silos that emerge in an office hierarchy that can stunt and inhibit commu- nication, innovation and growth. Instead of remaining separate or somehow in competition with each other, different departments develop this new language. ey communicate more effectively with each other because they understand it's no longer "Sales- people are better" or "Post-pro- duction thinks that they're this or that" — they're all there to do one job, to deliver on one overarching strategy. at sense of cohesiveness, of community, is what leads to suc- cess — and isn't building commu- nity the entire point? Leadership, lasting transformation Learning new skills together and emerging triumphant from a challenge lead to a lasting bond between team members — and lasting transformation. Employers will see enduring af- ter-effects from a challenge-based team-building exercise long after the day or the weekend is over. By changing course by just one degree, that change just gets big- ger and bigger after enough time goes by. One of the most interesting changes is people you wouldn't initially expect — quieter, more introverted types — often take on leadership roles. Something stirs in them and they rise to the occasion. And that's a critical piece for organizations because both lead- ership and followership skills — and adaptability between both roles as circumstances demand — is of upmost importance for all employees, not just those in the C-suite. In most teams today, no one person is solely responsible for the team's leadership, according to CALL: "(Leadership) is often provided by anyone who helps create and maintain performance-enhancing conditions, regardless of whether that person holds a formal lead- ership role. Teams can draw from available expertise or can be co- opted, utilizing existing resources to accomplish the mission. Many team members have no direct authority and little professional influence on other members. As missions change, different team members may take the lead in ac- complishing a specific mission or objective." It's true that some people have a hard time defining those roles in the beginning. With leadership, there's often a political game that people buy into, where they think being a leader is more valuable — though that's not necessarily true. Through challenge-based teambuilding, it becomes clear to the entire team very quickly that all jobs are just as equal if you're working toward a shared goal. Peter Lane is the Toronto-based co- founder of Zombie Survival Camp. For more information, visit www.zombie- survivalcamp.ca. Credit: Nick Mrkobrada Through challenge-based team- building, it becomes clear to the entire team that all jobs are equal if you're working towards a shared goal.

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