360 Teambuilding has been facilitating teambuilding events since 2004. We arranged our first events through our adventure tour company, 360 Adventures, as a way to extend our tours to a corporate audience. We did a lot of things right at those events, and our corporate clientele started asking for repeats of particular programs for their employee teams. 360 Teambuilding ws born of those early experiential events.

Since those first events, we’ve learned a lot about what goes into an effective, practical team-building program. We’re constantly refining our programs, adding new elements like our 360 Viewpoint program that adds true value to the teambuilding experience.

Program Philosophy

Our teambuilding approach is derived from our backgrounds in the military, corporate and academic worlds. We’ve reviewed a wide range of teambuilding programs and studied the latest thinking in the field, but our go-to source is the practicality of what actually works in the field. Here’s our thinking on the matter.

Happy Hour vs. Boot Camp

Our programs offer a continuum of social experience. On one end is our "Happy Hour" type of program: The point of this sort of event is to give people something social to do together in a very safe, non-work way. Some folks have a standing Friday afternoon date at their local watering hole that serves this purpose. Our events serve the same purpose, with the additional structure of a central event and facilitators gently guiding the participants to engage.

At the other end we have the "Boot Camp" experience: The point of this sort of event is to challenge the participants in every possible way – mentally, physically and emotionally. By passing through these challenges together, participants learn their own strengths, see the strengths and limitations of teammates first-hand, and forge powerful bonds.

Our programs fit into the Happy Hour to Boot Camp continuum as follows: Teams With Taste -> Community Builders -> Dash for the Cache -> Spirit Quest -> Team Adrenaline.

The Me in Team

We believe a key to successful team-building is to focus on the role of the individual team member. Individuals matter! Individuals need a skill set, ego placement, and a willingness to rise above problems to be goal-oriented.

Teams are made up of individuals who decide to work together because they want to. There’s a widespread perception of teambuilding that is about getting team members to like each other. But the individuals need to know themselves first.

360 Teambuilding focuses on individual team members by helping them understand their role in their team and what impact they have.

Trust-Building is not Team-Building

Many teambuilding programs focus on building trust among team members. You’ve probably seen this or been through it: the exercise where one team member falls and is caught by the rest of the team, for example. That’s a nice way to put trust on display, but it’s an artificial exercise. Does the exercise really change your organization’s culture?

We understand the value of trust among team members, but focusing on trust-building is leaving other vital elements of team-building to chance: For example, the value of the individual in the team we mentioned above.

360 Teambuilding programs all build trust among team members, but in a natural, organic way related to the activities we’ve chosen.

Customization

360 Teambuilding customizes every program to your specific culture, issues and needs. Our five main programs are jumping-off points, but we always work with our clients to build a specific program that fits your situation.

For clients interested in specifically tracking pre- and post-event benchmarks, particularly over a series of teambuilding events, read more about our 360 Viewpoint program.