Team Day is table talk at my coffee catch ups with friends, I find myself sharing little snippets and details of the day in social ‘what have you been up to’ kind of conversations and, this time it included one of my favorite activities – finding the perfect gift for the people around me! Sure, team days are fun, but they really serve an essential purpose; they provide time to reinforce core values, focus on your goals for the year or season ahead, and most importantly it’s a time for the team to learn about each other so they know how each other likes to work, what they need, and what each person is really good at.
So, our first Team Day for 2021 went like this; an early start to talk business – a rundown on the year that was and plans for the year that will be, we took time out to reconnect to our core values, and then moved on to the planned team challenge.
Then for the team activity! This began with each one of us giving an overview of our DISC Profile and preferred behaviors, focusing on ‘how to work best with me’. We split into small groups and drew names to dictate who we were to buy for (‘Secret Santa’ style). Then, we went ‘thrifting’ in our groups to purchase gifts that reflected what the person we had chosen had shared about themselves. Our office is situated right next to a suburb that is highly regarded for thrift and charity shopping. Little shops packed with treasures just waiting to be re-loved, donated by someone who never loved them, stopped loving them, or loved them and has now moved on – whatever reasons brought the little delights to seek a new home didn’t matter to us, because we were focused on finding the perfect fit for our chosen person.
With each of our heads filled with thoughts of our person and the DISC Profiles we just reviewed, our teams spent a fun filled hour in the thrift shopping district purchasing gifts. Over lunch, each person took a turn, revealing their purchases and explaining why they were appropriate without revealing the name of the person they had shopped for. It was then up to the group to guess who it was – we guessed correctly every time!
If you are interested in finding out what each team member received, read on for our summary of how the shopping went down.
Fletcher bought for Gabby
He says,
“Gabby’s our talented graphic designer who’s both creative and very organized. Gabby has high levels of Influence and Conscientious in her DISC Profile. With this in mind, I tried to think of items that Gabby could use at work to both gather inspiration for her creative role and assist in organizing her workspace.”
Fletcher settled on a small sketch pad for Gabby to record her ideas and designs, a quote book of prominent female figures to inspire her, a travel set, and a ‘create’ sign for her to decorate her desk. If the ‘design den’ wasn’t immediately obvious when you entered our office, Gabby’s little sign now points the way.
Gabby bought for Tylah
Tylah is our Senior Client Manager, Gabby says,
“I purchased ‘The Kitchen Therapist – For the Love of Chicken’ for Tylah because it was a good match for the high level of Conscientious in her DISC Profile and her love of cooking and chicken! People with a high C are usually very task-focused, like structure and follow rules very closely, they want the job to be done right the first time, they want it to go as smooth as possible and have a positive outcome in the end. Cooking has distinct instructions and rules in order to achieve a positive outcome”.
Tylah often brings her leftovers for lunch, so we can’t wait to smell the results of The Kitchen Therapist.
Liz bought for Fletcher
Fletcher is our Assistant Client Manager and Office Administrator, Liz explains her gifts,
“My first two purchases were a hat that says ‘chillin’ like a villain’ and a book of to-do lists. The hat represents Fletcher’s Steadiness style that he is calm and has a relaxed nature, and the to-do list book reflects that he likes to follow process and get things done how they need to be done. I also bought a coffee mug that says ‘drinks well with others’ which was to reflect the relationship priority he has with both the Steadiness and Influence in his DISC Profile. Lastly I bought a set of 6 drink coasters that you can put your own photos in. I bought this because it was a complete set, looked brand new and it gave him a choice of photos to put in – he could include photos of friends or rowing boats or a well choreographed series of something, which incorporates all of his DISC Profile behaviors.”
Bo bought for Dani
We all rely on Danielle because she keeps our Athlete Assessments world spinning. She works closely and effortlessly with us all, and she has a naturally high level Conscientious, so she gets all the details right but Bo’s gifts tell us a little bit more about her. He says,
“My purchase reflects Danielle’s want for organization, she likes a well structured environment. Also, the jigsaw puzzle is part detail and precision, but also solving problems and enjoying being around other people as Danielle has Influence in her natural style.”
Rebekah bought for Bo
Rebekah works closely with Bo and you can tell! She says about her gift,
“I bought Bo a wine-bottle de-corker that gets the job done in 3 seconds. I chose it as it is super-efficient, is professional quality and gets the desired outcome faster. This reflects Bo’s high Dominance DISC Profile as he is all about getting the best outcome in the fastest, highest quality way. Even the front of the box describes the key features of the device in four dot points – just how high Dominance style people like to communicate, to the point with no fluff. It is also a wine opener which reflects him sharing a bottle of wine with close friends, colleagues and family to represent the Steadiness in his DISC Profile (the second highest after Dominance).”
Danielle bought for Liz
Describing her perfect gifts, Danielle says,
“I bought Liz a canvas print saying “Good Morning Sun Shine”, a pillow stating “ Be Happy Every day” and a lastly a coffee mug saying “Hustle and heart sets the business apart”.
Explaining her buys Danielle says,
“Liz has a high level of Influence in her DISC profile. Liz loves building relationships and is very focused on the people side of business. She has an infectious positive manner, shares her enthusiasm and ideas, and will always greet every staff member in the morning in a bright and bubbly way.”
I will share that we do have a thing for coffee mugs in our office, customized coffee mugs often show up on people’s desk’s so this one was perfect for Liz because she also has a high level of Dominance in her natural style, typically D’s are results driven, fast paced and challenge -orientated hence the ‘hustle’, and the ‘heart’ speaks to her I – fun, optimistic, chatty, energetic and outgoing.
Tylah bought for Rebekah
So, the Queen of cooking chicken bought for our Marketing and Graphic Design Manager and resident style guru. Tylah explains,
“My first purchase for Bek reflects the high level of Influence in her natural style. I bought her a coffee mug which says, ‘Oh What Fun!’, because people with a high I are often super fun people. They love to interact with others, be around other people, and are often very talkative.”
Secondly, she explains,
“Bek adapts her Conscientious up at work so I bought her a little tote bag which has a pattern on it that matches pants that she frequently wears to work. This is because people with a high level of C are very detail focused, and coordinating her outfits is something Bek pays attention to (she is very stylish).”
Liz bought for Mim
I owned up to a little personal process during Team Day which sees me regularly writing emails detailing what I need, but then I make myself go back to the start with something deliberately friendly. Yes, you may guess from this what my DISC Profile is. Liz explains her presents:
“When working with Mim, she likes to know exactly what her role is and what we are aiming for, so one of the first things I purchased was the Sealing Clips because they have a very specific role to play and make an important contribution! I also bought the knitting needles because Mim loves getting straight to the point. The book titled ‘Perfect Pigs – An Introduction to Manners’ reflects Mim’s Dominance and Conscientious behavior in her DISC Profile of aiming to be ‘perfect’ and the topic being about manners is because Mim likes to get the necessary pleasantries done then get on with it! I bought the fun game of ‘Super Revealing Personality Tests’ because Mim does have a fun side and likes a good laugh, and also because she uses DISC Profiling extremely well with those she works with.”
Now, if you’ve got this far into the article, you must be dedicated to ideas on team building and we trust you’ve found our team day run-down helpful.
You might also be interested in previous team day activities:
Remember, we also have an extensive collection of free resources, articles and videos on our website which you are very welcome to access our Resources, Articles and Videos.
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