How To Gamify Team-building In Virtual Teams

The global health situation brings a lot of fears and limitations into our lives. We can’t do things we love doing. We miss social interactions and having pleasant chats with friends and relatives. Therefore, it would be very helpful if team members and leaders can support each other in a positive way.

As an intercultural trainer, I have been supporting virtual multicultural teams for more than 15 years all over the world. I have been facilitating many kick-off meetings when team members and team leaders joined a new team and were looking for ways how to get to know each other and learn more about themselves. While it’s quite easy to join a virtual meeting, understanding the values and feelings of team members should not be neglected.

Each of us would like to be respected and happy at work and it’s much more true for those of us who work remotely and have a limited access to social interactions and face-to-face talks.

Let me share 3 games which encourage team members to show their “inside world” but without feeling challenged what to say and how to say it because the question asked is outside their comfort zone.

1 – Bucket List

One of the games which inspires team members to talk about positive feelings and dreams is Bucket List.

The team members are asked to make a list of their dreams and things they would like to do after the Covid period. To make it a bit different from everyday virtual routines, ask team members to write their bucket list in hand and accompany it with pictures. Talking about positive dreams will create an exciting break for their minds and boost relationship-building.

2 – My Question For You

Based on cultural background, some team members are careful to ask private questions directly. Therefore, a team leader should invite team members to put down 5 questions which they would like to ask their team colleagues. All questions will be written on paper strips and collected in a hat. Having an online meeting, the team leader will pick one of the strips randomly and ask the question.

3 – What Animal Would You Like To Be?

To enjoy a pleasant time together while having a cup of coffee with a team, the game “What animal would you like to be in a fairy tale?” provides a lot of valuable moments. Team members choose the picture of an animal they would like to be, design a slide and provide some comments why they associate themselves with this particular animal.

The game gives an insight into their cultures, personalities and personal features. It helps team members but above all team leaders to understand who they are or who they would like to be and what qualities they would like to have.

The discussion inspires team members to share their feelings, dreams and aspirations. At the same time, this is a great way how team leaders can learn a lot about their team members without applying questionnaires or other more official tools.

Eva Gaborikova

After How to Gamify Team-building in Virtual Teams, read also:

Part 1: How To Keep Remote Team Members Engaged

Part 2: 20 Culturally Correct Questions For Leaders And Members Of Virtual Teams