THE NEWS OF AL HABTOOR LEIGHTON GROUP Dubai - UAE ...

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IN AND AROUND HEE
Team Building Activity
In today’s business world, due to the huge projects and vast
operation area in every field and industry, many projects are
divided into smaller tasks, each being performed by different
people and sum total of all leading to the final result. Though
this process might seem very simple it has its own challenges
in terms of task synchronization and follow-ups, coordination
and communication of required actions and results. To carry
out all of these the main ingredient is a properly defined
and interlinked system among the individuals called “Team”.
David addressing the participants
The word “Team” is one of those words that has countless
definitions and denotations - all of them more or less the same;
on the contrary it is “How teams are built” that needs time,
effort, planning and understanding of roles and responsibilities
among the people involved in the project.
Different short term and long term educational methods have
been introduced and tested to create teams, but the most
effective ones are the ones that can be practiced and rehearsed
among the individuals to create the link and understanding
to one another’s mind set in a simulated environment with
controlled outcomes.
One such event was planned and executed by Corporate
Affairs Department for the new Al Habtoor Leighton Group
to strengthen the bond and connection among key managers
and directors. Over 160 different managers and director
from different locations and sites were invited to the “Chariots
Challenge” which was held in Zabeel Park on 28th November
2007. The event commenced with a casual conversation for
people to introduce themselves followed by a warm up exercise
to know each person capability of bonding and team spirit.
The main exercise was building chariot using the equipments
and the guide manual provided. To this, all invitees were
randomly divided in 12 different teams each differentiated by a
color. Each team had to coordinate with one another through
the whole process; right from planning, assigning tasks, forming
smaller teams for cutting parts, building each piece and finally
assembling all pieces to complete the chariots.
The last phase of the team building exercised was to put these
into test; which boosted a sense of competence and proficiency.
All twelve teams had to assign a rider for the chariot and some
chariot men to pull it in a race.
The day winded up with a lot of excitement and stronger team
spirit among all. Company Managing Director, David Savage and
Deputy Managing Director Nigel Poole awarded medals to the
first three teams for their efforts and proven team synergy•
*more pictures available on the company intranet.
24 AKHBAR ALDAR - NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2007