Teamwork: How To Do It During Lockdown

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Out in ‘the real world’, at school, in a job, or generally when you hang out with your friends, you’ll integrate team building skills into everything you do. But how do we transfer ‘real life’ team building skills in our new virtual based world?

There are loads of skills you pick up and use when you work in a team, but we’re going to focus on five of our favourites and come up with ways to build on these skills with your friends, while you’re all on your own, together! Ahh, technology.

Communication

Well this one sounds easy, because you probably all talk to each other all the time anyway. But good communication is about more than just chatting away. It’s about taking the time to listen, to understand and to get to know who you’re communicating with. 

Daily check-in: Why not start a daily check with your mates? Lockdown can make people feel differently to how they usually do, and it can be quite overwhelming at times. A simple group chat could help. Every morning, take the lead and send out a text asking how everyone is feeling, what (if anything) they need, and what you can do for each other. Simple, effective communication goes a long way!

Silent Games Night: Communication doesn’t always have to be spoken. Why not put your silent skills to the test and have a virtual games night, where no one can speak. Games like Charades or Pictionary are great for this - can you get your team to guess correctly only using pictures or mimes? 

Problem solving

Everyone is different and everyone has their own strengths - that’s why working in teams is so brilliant, because you can all help solve tasks or problems in your own way. And you can still put your heads together when you’re not together.

Trivia Nights: Organise a team trivia or quiz night night over Zoom or Houseparty. Each person in your team can come up with a set amount of questions, riddles or brain teasers to pose to the opposing team. Work together to get the correct answer, and make things interesting by including team challenges or forfeits or any wrong answers. Want your first quiz? Why not check out our Human Body question round! Insert shameless quiz blog plug!

Virtual Escape Room: If you’re looking for something fun to do with the family, try a virtual escape room. There are loads to choose from, from Getting Out of DisneyLand to Rescuing an Academy Award, to escaping Shrek’s Hut. Decode clues together, figure out a story, and get out the room in the fastest time possible!

Leadership

Taking the lead can sometimes feel intimidating, especially if you’re a bit shy, or not used to making decisions for other people. But here are some fun ways to grow some confidence, and learn a thing or two about being the leader.

Powerpoint party: Public speaking and being the centre of attention is often related to leadership. you have to be able to control a room and make sure everyone is doing as they should. Take this online with a Zoom Presentation Party. Each person gets a go at being the leader by creating and presenting a presentation (via shared screen) on something they love or are interested in. It could be as serious or as silly as you like. Be the one who sets the tone, ask your audience some questions at the end, and then set the task for someone else!

Blindfold Drawing Challenge: A similar idea to Pictionary, but the draw-er has no idea what they’re drawing! Over video call, take it in turns to be the leader and instruct your friend on something to draw. The only catch? They’ve got to close their eyes or wear an eye mask the whole time. You can’t tell them what they’re drawing, just instructions (“Draw a line going down. Another line going right. Now a circle” etc). They can only guess what it is once they’ve finished and taken a look. Will you lead them successfully?

Collaboration

We all know teamwork makes the dream work! That’s why collaboration is so important. The best thing about working together? You don’t actually have to be together to make things happen.

Club it up: Set up a club, any kind of club, that you can all be part of. It could be a book club, a craft club, or a dance club. Set a goal for everyone to do in a week - read a number of chapters, make a cool new t-shirt -  and then reconvene online to share your progress. You could even hold virtual club nights, where you do crafts (or whatever you choose!) at the same time.

Get challenging: Is there a TikTok challenge or dance that you’ve been dying to try? Why not all learn it together, so that when you’re finally able to reunite, you’ve got the ultimate TikTok video to show for it. If TikTok’s not your thing, how about taking on the Zooniverse together. Pick a project, do some research, change the world. Simple!

Motivation

Being apart from our friends for such a long amount of time can be quite draining, and can sometimes make us feel a little less motivated. But that’s what being part of a team is great for. You can rely on them to pick you up, and you can do the same.

Meditation time: Nothing says feeling motivated quite like a clear mind and a positive spirit. so why not organise an online meditation or yoga session for you and your friends. There are some great apps like Headspace, or YouTube channels like Yoga With Adriene...or you could even follow the guided meditation our NCS Grad Ciara suggests…

A little pick me up: Every little helps as they say. And while we can’t hang out in real life, doing the little things we usually do together can definitely help us stay motivated. Queue up a Netflix Party, throw a virtual disco, FaceTime with a cup of tea, or have a Zoom workout.

 What have you learnt from being in lockdown, and what do you hope will change when we go ‘back to normal’? Share your voice about Life After Lockdown