Team Building Events Changed My Life

I had always been a quite a shy wall flower, feeling constantly self conscious and uncomfortable around people I didn't know very well. It began to get to the point where I felt it was holding me back as I was avoiding social situations. My new job was what really helped me get out of my shell, as after I joined the company on a graduate scheme they suggested we all started considering doing some team building events. At first this terrified me, the thought of being with all those strangers, but oddly enough it ended up changing me completely.

The day was based around the television program The Apprentice and although I was absolutely terrified at first of being made to look silly or failing a task for a team, I soon learnt that's not what team building events are designed for. My work colleagues were all really friendly and I realised that we were all in the same boat. I even met a woman who was even more nervous than me! It began to put everything into perspective as I understood that this was meant to be fun and help us get on for when we work alongside one another.

Our first challenge was to design a product and as this was similar to our new job, I found that I had easily got the skills that would enable our team to do well. Unlike the TV series that likes to highlight individual's failings this whole team building event's ethos was to focus on the positive achievements in each task. This made me feel really confident and able to concentrate on my skills rather than panicking about being singled out. I soon realised that my team were really funny and that I really got on with them, I was genuinely looking forward to working in a professional environment with them.

By the end of the day we were all new friends and ended up continuing the day and going to the pub after! I felt so happy that I could now call these people my friends and we all agreed that the experience had definitely made coming into a new job easier. Since then I have really got on well in my job, so much so I am now a manager myself! We have some new staff starting shortly and after such a great time I am now looking for team building events locally so I can give my new staff the best start possible.