Playgrounded

The hybrid and remote shift changed how humans collaborate. We’re busier than ever, but productivity has gone down. It's a problem. How do we help you address this problem? We focus on how groups work together, and support effective team dynamics - because if people collaborate well together, they can solve any problem. Why is our way better? Team building exercises separate work from fun. Our goal is to make the work itself more fun so people engage with it, get creative and learn on the job. Training budgets are often individual focused which don’t help the team function better. Organisations are just groups of people trying to get stuff done. Improving how humans work together reduces the need for as many policies or the need to enforce different rules. Then teams just... work. Imagine not just enjoying your work more, but everyone around you enjoys their work more too. Awesome.

Remote team building doesn't have to be cringe You know it's important to build trust and relationships in your teams, but getting together in person isn't always possible to do regularly enough, especially when to do lists are long. We know how to integrate team building into your everyday. We've tried a whole bunch of different tricks to engage people online, and we use the wisdom of academia that smart people have researched and translate it into practical ways of working that really make work better. Playgrounded workshops help your teams build trust through building relationships, rituals and reflective practice. Find out more at our website - https://lnkd.in/gimQYia8

How is it October already?! If you've been tasked with organising a holiday party this year, it's probably time to get started. We can help you make something engaging, even if your teams can only get together online. Reach out 👉 playgrounded.co/contact

Absolute psychological safety doesn't exist. Psychological safety in groups is awesome for supporting people to be able to take the risks required to learn, admit their mistakes and create awesome things. But, expecting leaders to be able to create an environment of absolute psychological safety for everyone all the time is unattainable, and can result in more anxiety in the group. A leader’s job is to make work ‘safe enough’ for people to work well together. In the 1950s, Dr Donald Winnicott coined the term ‘good enough’ parents - parents. “Good enough” parents did not compromise their babies’ wellbeing, but by providing some distance, they helped their children tolerate the uncertainty of learning and growing. This concept has been applied in other places, like medical disciplines and management theories. Good enough Leadership highlights the power of facilitation and empowerment to build effective teams, and high performing individuals, over micro-management and perfectionism. We’ve taken this concept and applied it to psychological safety. It’s a leader’s job to create an environment where it is ‘safe enough’ to work well with people. Or, safe enough to 'play with work' 🎉 If you're interested in this stuff, we wrote a blog post about it 👉 https://lnkd.in/gH39SE5D

You know when you’re in a zoom meeting and it’s awkward, and no one’s sharing their thoughts, and no one is having fun? This usually means the team doesn’t know or trust each other. Lencioni’s 5 dysfunctions of a team says you can’t build an effective team if there’s mistrust in the team. Hybrid and remote teams have less time together to build trust. Any audio or video conversation need to be scheduled. Incidental hallway chats don’t exist. So, we need to be more creative and intentional is building trust in hybrid & remote organisations. Trust is earned in drips and lost in buckets. One way to build trust is to build relationships through story. If you’re a leader looking to improve your team’s effectiveness, try sharing a story about a time when you loved your job, a work task or team activity. We offer workshops that support your teams to build trust by building relationships through story. Reach out if you want to know more 👉 https://lnkd.in/gimQYia8

There are only so many branded water bottles a person needs. This year, have a virtual party with us instead of spending on yet another swag for your employees. Play grounded and spread joy. 👉 playgrounded.co/contact

Remote team building doesn't have to be terrible. We know that because we've tried a whole bunch of different tricks to engage people online and found many that work for different groups! The end of year is approaching, and a wonderful time to connect your team. Reach out if you're looking for ideas for what to do remotely or in-person 👉 playgrounded.co/contact

Work in a remote team and can't get together for the end of year? We specialise in supporting remote teams to get more done and have more fun! Reach out to find out more about remote workshop options 👉 https://lnkd.in/gkyUsRT8

Are you ready to book team-time to mark the end of 2024? Playgrounded is taking workshop bookings for November and December to support your teams reflect on 2024, and get ready for 2025! Get more done, and have more fun in 2025! Reach out 👉 https://lnkd.in/gkyUsRT8

The relationship between engaging employees and business performance is stronger during economic recessions (Gallup, 2024) That scary word starting with R👆 has been thrown around a bit lately and we've seen markets and leaders double down on cost saving, and fear is spreading. When inflation increases, cost of living pressures increase, job security reduces and stress increases. Makes sense that people are stressed at work, and that stress breeds stress in others. In times of uncertainty and fear, focus on engaging your teams and your business will do better. We wrote about how, why and what to do next on our blog https://lnkd.in/geQDmai8