A co-worker recently confided that he was struggling to build rapport among his team of six managers. He said he was not good about planning team lunches and other social gatherings, and it was difficult for him to have conversations with his team members outside of work issues.

Any team you become a part of—and certainly any team you are asked to lead—will be starving for the opportunity to get to know and appreciate other team members. And if, as a leader, you don’t help the team gel, you risk team members becoming unmotivated and disengaged. By bringing your team together, you give people the time and opportunity to share their background, talents and motivations with each other.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we’re passing along some key rapport-building questions to ask your team members from team-building facilitator, speaker and author Sean Glaze.

Ask these questions by incorporating them in a questionnaire sent to team members (plan to discuss them later) or ask them as a group activity.
1. What personality trait are you proudest to have inherited from your parent(s)?

2. On a typical day, do you think our team functions more like a:

  • Shiny red Ferrari
  • Double-decker tour bus
  • Rusty old truck
  • Limousine
  • Army tank

And ask them to also explain why.

3. What is the most outrageous thing you’ve done for a friend?

4. The cartoon character I am most like is ____ because …

5. If a powerful wizard cast a spell on our team:
…who is the wizard?
… what is the spell?
…what must be done to remove it?

6. What has been the most difficult lesson you ever learned?

7. What is the most likely reason someone would want to join our organization? What is the most likely reason someone would leave it?

8. What was your favorite toy or possession as a child?

9. What do you want to be doing five years from now?

10. If you were to receive $5 million to help our company grow and prosper how would you spend it?

These 10 questions are only a starting point, but hopefully provide you with a few ideas of questions that your team can discuss and use as a platform to build relationships and rapport amongst themselves.

Source: Sean Glaze is an entertaining speaker and team building facilitator who inspires people to be better teammates, become more aware of strengths and roles, or just have fun and laugh together. Glaze has worked as a lifeguard, bartender and car salesman but it is his experiences as a successful high school basketball coach that offer many of the lessons organizations benefit from.