Diversity Team Building Ideas for the Office

Your organization, being made up of so many distinct individuals, is one key to its success, but there may be times when different personalities and cultures clash. Bringing these issues to light, finding common ground and celebrating diversity can improve communication, build tolerance and foster an authentic sense of unity.

Recipe for Success

Create a recipe together. Write the name of a popular food and go around the room asking each team member to name something needed to make the item. Some answers will be common, but others will show that people from different cultures and with unique personalities sometimes have different approaches. For apple pie, one person may name cinnamon as an ingredient while someone else lists cheddar cheese, raisins or vanilla ice cream. Explain that these answers aren’t wrong. In fact, others might like the different versions if they tried them.

Flip Chart Flowers

Divide your group into teams of five or fewer. Give each team a flip chart pad and each team member a different marker color. Draw a simple daisy outline in black on each pad. Instruct the small groups to find something they all have in common and to write this shared attribute in the center. Each member should then write something unique about themselves into a petal on the flower. This activity shows that everyone can find common ground and that differences can make something beautiful when put together.

Walking Together

Construct an obstacle course by lining up tables, stringing rope around a room and placing toppled chairs in pathways. Divide your office into groups of three or four and instruct the teams to stand with their backs facing one another and their arms linked together, forming a square or triangle. Each team must navigate the course without unlinking arms. Your office will learn that working as a team and relying on the different strengths and talents your team members possess leads to group achievements.

Motivational Banner

Bring in a blank banner and an assortment of colored markers. Allow each team member to select a color she feels represents her. Instruct the employees to write their names with the markers on small slips of paper and place them in a bowl. Ask the person to the farthest right to draw a name from the bowl. Team members must write one positive characteristic about that person in their respective marker color on the banner. Hang the completed banner in a common area as a reminder of all the good qualities your team brings to the table.

Sources:

Building a Collaborative Team Environment – U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Diversity Team-Building Activities – University of California, Riverside

Name Games, Icebreakers, Energizers, Team-Building, and Closing Activities – National Youth Leadership Council