Team celebration exercise to promote “Camaraderie” and “Alignment”

[Aaron]

Objective: foster camaraderie and alignment by
1. promoting strong sense of belonging to the team and celebrating accomplishments (camaraderie)
2. reinforcing common mission and purpose by valuing cooperation and interdependence (alignment)

Context:
1. What: project team meeting / celebration
2. Team type: interdependent project teams that are working closely over defined period, such as 6 months.
3. When: can be done at various points within a project life cycle.
4. Location/method: can be performed virtually or (ideally) in-person.
5. Benefits: It benefits the organization by strengthening team bonds and trust amongst members as they move forward on the current project or as they transition to new projects together.

Preparation:
1. Assemble screenshots of
 latest team products or accomplishments
 team photos
2. Research team results (customer survey quantitative scores, customer survey qualitative statements/kudos, word clouds)
3. Send pre-work survey asking team members about team/project moments, including:
 Greatest win
 Favorite thing we developed
 Proudest moment
 Best lesson learned
 Team bonding
 Predictions and hopes
4. Curate meeting materials
 Slide deck (include items from 1-3)
 Video of customer quotations (use Canva)
 Include a toast page where people can thank others real-time
• Would have been lost without ____ because …
• I’ll never forget…
• My favorite part of working with _____ is …
• During the session/debriefing:
1. During the session, set the stage for why this exercise is important. Underscore that the team is responsible for the results and that without the collective effort, the organization would have not seen the benefit it did/does.
2. Start first by summarizing what the team is in the process of accomplishing – if you have a current deliverable, include this as a screenshot. Be sure to note individual contributions and collectively what the team did together.
3. Using customer feedback, create a Canva video of quotations/kudos. This is an eye-catching way to show impact.
4. Next, list the outcomes achieved including customer satisfaction scores, application rates, or skill/competency improvement metrics.
5. Now, you’re ready to cover the team pre-work survey comments related to #3 above (team moments such as proudest moment, predictions and hopes). Be sure to tell the team before & during the session that their exact comments with be shared and that this transparency provides a space for celebration and enhanced dialogue.
6. Facilitate this session as if you are both celebrating accomplishments and encouraging dialogue on what worked well (think Appreciative Inquiry). This supports a strategy of identifying what the team wants to do more of with added clarity.
7. Finally have the team members conclude the activity by giving a toast to others. This promotes inclusion, clarity, and a nice bookend to the activity.
8. Thank the team once again. Have supervisors follow-up with some type of reward (if budget allows).

Time: 90 minutes

[Author]

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