Teams are a part of everyone's life whether it is sports, clubs, relationships or work. In many different ways we work together over varying lengths of time to achieve goals and targets. Our success is often dependent on being able to build good relationships where skills, funding, effort and inspiration are combined in such a way as to maximise output and effectiveness. Business is no exception to the rule. People need to work with each other, utilising their individual talents and experience, to achieve the goals set by management.

The battlefield is the ultimate test of teamwork, and the effective combination of the resources available will determine whether victory is obtained or not. Communication and support are fundamental. Having a clear plan that is understood by all is also critical as is being able to process information and to adapt that plan when new circumstances come into being. A small, well-organised army that understands how it works and what it wants to do can triumph over much larger forces. Many lessons for excellent teamwork in business can therefore be taken from the battlefield environment. Whilst we definitely don't advocate going out and starting a war, Team Commanders can provide you with a similar controlled experience where these lessons can be learned... and we would point out that no-one gets hurt in the process and no-one has to be a well-honed athlete to take part!

Team Commanders will help the individuals bond in an informal environment where the emphasis is both on fun and learning. For a start, whether the team is an existing group of individuals, a newly created group, or a mixture of the two, coming to Team Commanders will bring everyone out of the normal workplace and into a situation where they can learn more about each other as individuals. Next, when the game starts, the team will be given a briefing on what the game is about, the basic rules, the Order of Battle (O.O.B) and the objectives. They will then have a short period of time to work as a unit, dividing resources, building a strategy to achieve the aims, and deciding on priorities. Sound familiar to your job? We think so, as it is a basic model for any plan. The game will then get underway and the team will find that unforeseen circumstances may force them to adapt their strategy and priorities, or to adopt new ones. Here communication is imperative to achieving success, as is the need for support. It may be that breaking off one mission to aid someone to complete theirs will eventually mean that both objectives can be achieved, whereas if support is not given, neither objective is achieved.

At the end of the game, the team's success will be calculated to give an overall score. Some basic feedback and analysis on performance will be given in a debrief and the score, if high enough, will be posted on our Corporate Ladder leader board. If the services of our facilitator are employed, feedback may be given throughout the day, and a more detailed debrief, together with tips and suggestions, will take place at the end of the game.