Michelle Lynn Cangelosi is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience, including serving in various leadership positions in nonprofit, government, and education. In the following article, Michelle Lynn Cangelosi discusses building morale among teams through experiential outings and virtual experiences.
Teams can often become stuck in a rut of sub-par communication, motivation, and collaboration. And with the rise of hybrid and remote workers, people are feeling increasingly isolated from their colleagues. Thus, leaders often need to engage employees in team-building activities so the connections required to work together proactively and effectively have the best chance of forming.
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi says that this isn't breaking news for anybody working today. However, some all-new experiential experiences have come out, and they're forging team relationships like never before, giving organizations the tight-knit groups they desire. And if you have fully remote teams, then there are also new virtual experiences that can help your employees stay connected.
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi Says to Stick it Out in an Escape Room
Escape rooms may not be the most experiential on this list, but they are a classic team-building activity for a reason. Escape Effect in Orlando takes it a step further, and is nothing like an ordinary escape room — the company uses advanced tech and oh-so-engaging games to craft wholly immersive experiences for groups of all kinds.
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi knows that with so many different games to choose from, team cohesion and creative thinking isn't far away. These skills will grow effortlessly while employees have fun and try to crack the plethora of codes.
Escape Effect provides the ultimate opportunity for groups to make their own experiential event. All aspects are customizable, ensuring teams advance in ways that suit them. Michelle Cangelosi also admits that different team members show strengths and sides to their personalities that are not often evident in the workplace which helps build trusting relationships.
Find Zen with Mozart
Another option,
Mozart Immersive Yoga helps participants find their zen while surrounded by the cultural, musical, and visual aspects of the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the great composer.
By stepping inside the soul and mind of the melodic genius, teams will find new levels of inspiration and creativity while discovering their inner chi. This all-encompassing experience refreshes the brain and provides an experience that all members of the team can share in and discuss afterward.
Michelle Cangelosi offers that this once-in-a-lifetime experience is currently held in the Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, Illinois, with tickets still available for organizations looking to shake up their team-building exploits.
Team Building Through Pixar Putting
Crazy golf might be a tried-and-tested team-building event, but the experiential nature of Pixar Putt takes it up a level (or five).
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi explains that the pop-up mini-golf experience, also in Chicago, boasts 18 interactive holes inspired by films like The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Inside Out, Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and A Bug's Life.
Open seven days a week, the whimsical mini-golf course is incredible for all ages. However, corporate teams may appreciate the After Dark sessions the most, as they're exclusively for individuals over the age of 18.
Mashing the brand's most-loved elements with a bit of activity helps groups share in successes and failures, subconsciously improving their inter-team communication skills as they have fun.
Sharing Favorite Shows with Stranger Things: The Experience
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi notes that those who love the show Stranger Things will undoubtably find this to be their favorite team-building experience. The likelihood that at least a few people on any team have the Stranger Things bug is quite high — its popularity has exploded, after all.
The event flings participants into Hawkins, Indiana to discover what life was truly like for Mike, Eleven, and the rest of the gang in the show.
While many experiential events are short-lived, this one has been going on for years, appearing in different cities across the nation. Teams who are yet to dive into Stranger Things: The Experience can request for the event to come to their city.
Standing in Art with Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
According to CNN,
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is one of the world's best 12 immersive experiences — and for good reason. The event puts participants at the center of the painter's most influential pieces for an unforgettable time.
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi notes that showings are located across the United States of America, Europe, and Asia. This experience should not be missed by any team hoping to foster stronger connections with each other. It's difficult not to be inspired when inside one of Van Gogh's exceptional artworks. Michelle Cangelosi took her team to one in Chicago last summer, and they were talking about it throughout the whole week!
Charading Through Murder Mysteries
Despite the controversy that could be sparked by such a statement, nothing forges strong team relationships like solving a murder together. And that's exactly what colleagues will do in charade murder mysteries.
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi reports that this game can turn any average workday into a fun-filled extravaganza of communication-skill-developing, team working, and creative-solution-finding.
One such option is hosted by The Leaders Institute. The murder mystery games erase the old-fashioned water cooler chat, replacing it with genuine connections for an effective team-building event.
Virtual Experiences
Recognizing that many teams don’t get together in-person anymore or are located in various geographies that thwart meetups, Michelle Cangelosi recommends various curated opportunities to build comradery amongst any team. Her own team members are located throughout the United States, so she looked to the internet for ideas. Numerous companies have emerged, likely due to need to do something during the pandemic, and Michelle Lynn Cangelosi has called on several of them – joining her team in planting succulents together and partaking in tea-making. Having shared experiences fosters a deeper understanding and builds empathy among teams, and Michelle Cangelosi believes that this helps to build the ideal workplace culture.
