Episode 13 of the "Lead with Empower" podcast, features Zachary Morello and Dan Jaskot from Empower Leadership discussing some common reasons why participants may not engage in team building experiences and a series of tips and pointers for reengaging them!

Reasons for Participant Withdrawal

● Preconceived Notions: Participants often enter an experience with negative feedback assumptions based on poor past experience with team building or professional development

● Lack of Relevance: Participants may not see a “one-to-one” correlation between activities, such as a “pipeline” game, and their real-world goals, like improving athletic performance or office productivity

● Activity Mismatch: If an activity is too physically demanding for a non-active group, or if the difficulty level is too high or too low for their skill set, they are more likely to check out

● Negative Group Dynamics: When a group is allowed to berate or blame individuals for failures, those being targeted will naturally withdraw.

Warning Signs of Withdrawal

● Group Fragmentation: A larger group may begin “chunking off” into smaller “clicks” or isolated individuals

● Steamrolling: High-energy or “alpha” leaders may dominate the conversation, causing more quiet members with good ideas to feel unheard and stop contributing

● Physical Cues: Facilitators look for overt body language like round shoulders, increased physical distance from the group, and a “shorter fuse”

● Frustration Boiling Over: In extreme cases, participants may storm off or throw equipment

Proactive Leadership Strategies

● Establish Social Connection: Leaders must ensure participants feel valued as individuals before attempting to lead them

● Communicate the “Why”: It is critical to explain that the process of the activity-communication, problem-solving, and building trust is what relates to their actual work

● Present the Energy: Leaders must be energized (“juice”), prepared, and efficient to maintain group attention

● Appropriate Challenge: The difficulty of a task should be set at or slightly above the group’s current skill level to keep them engaged without overwhelming them Reactive Management Techniques

● One-on-One Conversations: When withdrawal occurs, a leader should try to have a private conversation to help the participant connect their reaction to real-world scenarios

● Provide Space: Sometimes the best response is to give a frustrated person room to breathe rather than immediately following them

● Validate Emotions: Leaders should avoid telling participants “don’t get frustrated,” as it dismisses their feelings; instead, they should help them find a “refocus tool” to re-engage productivity

● Role Re-engagement: If a participant does not want to do the activity, they can be re-engaged, in a different role, such as helping the leader “officiate” or observe the group

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