People think team building happens the moment people start playing games.
That’s the misconception.
Yes, games are good. Games bring out emotions. Games can show the best and worst in people. You see who steps up, who shuts down, who helps, who blames, who stays quiet, who suddenly becomes loud.
But none of that automatically builds a team.
It only reveals the team you already have.
When play becomes a distraction
What I usually see in many team building programs is simple.
Facilitators think of themselves as game masters. They manage the rules, the time, the energy, the flow. They make sure everyone moves, smiles, and finishes the activity.
And that’s where the problem starts.
Because when a facilitator thinks like a game master, he stops facilitating.
He becomes a host.
Facilitation is not just running games. Facilitation is helping people learn from what happened, and connecting that learning back to the work.
The real job of a facilitator
A facilitator’s role is to help participants play to win.
Not “win” like beating another group.
Win like becoming better at the game that matters—the game you play at work every day.
That’s why before any team building session, you need to know the winning aspirations. You need to know what “winning” actually means for your organization, for your team, and even for each individual.
Because if you don’t know what you are trying to win, then the play has no direction.
It becomes noise.
Start with the game you’re really playing at work
So here’s the question I always come back to.
What game are you trying to win at work?
Are you trying to serve customers better? Are you trying to respond faster? Are you trying to reduce mistakes? Are you trying to improve handoffs between teams? Are you trying to rebuild trust because people have become too careful with each other?
Your answer matters because it tells you what kind of “play” you need.
If your real game is customer service, then your play should train responsiveness, care, and teamwork under pressure.
If your real game is execution, then your play should expose weak coordination, unclear roles, and slow decisions.
Play becomes powerful when it rehearses the real work.
Why strategy must lead the design
This is why I say every team building program must support your organizational strategy.
Strategy is not a big word here. It’s simply your plan for how you will win.
How will you serve customers?
How will you stay capable?
How will you make sure your systems actually work?
If your team building program is not connected to that, then it becomes a waste of time, money, and opportunity.
And that’s not a small waste.
Because time is the one thing you never get back.
Choose your play, then play to win
So yes, play works. But play works only when it supports your strategy.
Outside of strategy, play is just activity. It’s energy that goes nowhere. It’s a fun moment that doesn’t change the Monday that comes after.
Choose your play right. Then play to win.
Because the point of team building is not to finish games. The point is to build a team that wins at work.
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