Building a Better Team

IN SAN DIEGO'S competitive business climate, we learn to keep our distance, control our responses and share information selectively. It’s not about getting along, we often remind ourselves, it’s about getting ahead. Corporate team-building strives to transform that mindset with outings that range from scavenger hunts and sporting events to sailing regattas.

Employees can be cynical about this. Many might have a work history marred by a difficult coworker or supervisor. The opportunity to set sail with colleagues who can get on your nerves, even on a good day, invites the imagination to go a little, well, overboard.

Wouldn’t Ms. Puffy Cheeks in accounting look funny stuffed into a floatation ring and bobbing upon the waves in the wake of a departing ship? Then there’s the fleeting fantasy of bouncing a tennis ball off the back of the boss’s head ——and getting away with it.

While the downtrodden worker may dare to dream such dark scenarios, just the opposite result often occurs during a team-building event. Research shows that employees come away from these outings with a desire to be more productive and cooperative. A scavenger hunt, for instance, can make that clueless guy in sales suddenly appear quite savvy. A formerly unapproachable coworker can become the person you can hardly wait to share watercooler gossip with.

The benefits of teamwork can be traced to the late 1920s, when a project known as The Hawthorne Studies was conducted at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. The researchers documented some of the factors inherent to team productivity. Among them: The workplace is a social system, and the relationship between workers and supervisors influences the way workers respond to directives.

Such early research helped spawn the field of industrial psychology, an area of study that led to the popularity of team-building events. When people are plucked from their comfort zones and joined together with a common goal, they can get a lot done.

Team-building has grown into a creative industry offering activities that range from predictable to bizarre. A Google search turns up everything from ice sculpture and golf-cart polo to cooking classes. And San Diego has its share.

Harbor Sailboats

800-854-6625; harborsailboats.com

This local company has hosted corporate teambuilding regattas for two decades. “It’s big business for San Diego,” says marketing director Lois Hirsh. “What’s unique about this kind of event is that it brings everyone down to the same level. Companies want staff to work together, and they are really participating, taking the helm, trimming the sails. The more they work together, the faster they go. There are no bosses, no low man on the totem pole.”

Sailing experience is not required; age and physical condition are not issues. After a meet-and-greet, the organization is divided into teams and assigned a U.S. Coast Guard– licensed captain, who leads his group aboard a 32-foot sailboat. The captain discusses safety and racing strategy, and the team gets to practice for 45 minutes before the race begins. Races last about two hours and include trips to Harbor Island, Shelter Island, North Island and Point Loma.

“I was a systems engineer for Qualcomm, and the regatta was a yearly event that helped me make connections with people I didn’t know,” says Fawn Clowar, who admits to hating social events. “I can’t remember which team won, but we had fun. It brought me out of my shell, and I really enjoyed it. The regatta was nicely done. We had T-shirts. Lunch was served first, and when the bell went off, we raced under the Coronado Bridge and back. We could see each other and point and laugh. One of my closest colleagues was smart and highly technical. She was terrified of water, and I started to think of her as more human, with issues of her own.”

Where You Want To Be Tours

619-917-6037; wheretours.com

Marc Menkin and Darlynn Reyes launched their popular scavenger hunt three years ago—a team-building event that evolved from a successful walking-tour business geared for tourists. The couple knew lots of interesting sights off the beaten path, from rooftop bars and public art to footbridges and eclectic stores.

“You have to have fun, and that’s what teambuilding does,” says Reyes. “It offers a common bond. You get out and learn about San Diego, and all of a sudden you’re laughing at the same things. When Monday rolls around, you have something to talk about. In that process you see coworkers in a different light.”

Even locals are surprised to learn about some of the little-known stops along the way. Teams earn points by taking on a series of creative challenges that combine combing the streets of San Diego with playing a kind of “trivia pursuit.” In one activity, players armed with cameras are charged with going into a hat store, trying on a silly hat and getting their pictures taken. Another directive is more difficult and wins bonus points: Find a dog, get the dog’s name, and get a snapshot of the dog holding a tennis ball in its mouth.

“The people in our office come from all over the world,” says Deborah Johnson, operations manager for Local Concept, a company that translates everything from software to Web sites for high-tech clients who sell products in non–English-speaking countries. “This was an opportunity to get out of the office and get people to know each other on a different level.

“One scavenger hunt task was to find a certain hotel with a mural, then find a picture of Alonzo Horton [a.k.a. the Father of San Diego]. The question was: Which rock group does Alonzo Horton most resemble? The answer was ZZ Top, because he had the same kind of beard. It fell to the Americans to know who the rock groups were. On the other hand, we had an adventuresome bunch that represented seven countries. Nothing daunted them, and they embraced our culture while keeping their own.”

US Team Building

888-405-8100; usteambuilding.com

“Often, the large-budget events are for national sales meetings,” says US Team Building founder Matt Kieffer. “Smaller budgets may be for a middle manager rewarding his or her team. On average, our clients spend about $90 per person for an event.”

US Team Building produces events all over the United States. The company can design a program that fits specific needs, and its leaders travel just about anywhere to host high-energy activities such as the pirate-theme Corporate Raiders and the action-packed Grand Prix.

Tribal Quest, another popular team builder, is based on the TV series Survivor. Each “tribe” enters the Tribal Chambers, and while drums pound, the members create a symbol, chant and shield. The team’s members win tribal tokens by taking on challenges that require building an operational siege weapon.

Stingaree operations manager Sarah Mingo says teams from the company’s restaurant, kitchen, nightclub and sales management took on the Tribal Quest, staged in Mission Beach.

“Our goal was to become united and to communicate better,” Mingo says. “When we opened Stingaree, we were all in it together. But then we had different focuses. For the Tribal Quest, we built a coconut launcher. Whoever could knock over this giant tube was the winner. It was just so funny, because you are on opposite ends of this field with this bizarre contraption, trying to launch coconuts. US Team Building provided the supplies. There were plumbing tubes, spring mechanisms, buckets, ropes and rubber bands. It ended up working, and the teams tied in the end.”

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