10 Strategic Planning Team Building Activities for Your Employees

Are you looking for some strategic planning team building activities?

In today’s business world, it’s no longer just the leaders who create strategies that their subordinates follow. Businesses now recognize the importance of employees developing effective strategies.

In this article, let’s see 10 team building activities for strategic planning that you can conduct with your employees.

What is Strategic Planning?

In simple terms, strategic planning is the process of setting objectives and developing a plan to achieve them. Having a good strategic plan helps your employees understand their responsibilities. So, they know how their contributions aid in the company’s achievements. Ultimately, this facilitates the alignment of their efforts with the organization’s vision and objectives.

10 Strategic Planning Team Building Activities for Your Employees

Here are some amazing activities to develop the strategic planning skills of your employees.

If you want some activities on goal-setting, you can read this article: 10 Goal Setting Team Building Activities (With Debrief)

So, let’s go!

#1. Brain Mapping

Brain Mapping is a team building activity that encourages collaboration between team members while creating effective solutions.

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials: Computer, Whiteboard/Paper, and Markers

Participants: 2-10 people in a group

Instructions

• Each participant should come up with ideas on how to solve a problem or reach a goal in the company. For example, how can a company increase customer satisfaction?
• The team should then map out all these ideas and create strategies to make them happen.
• Participants can draw the solutions on paper/ whiteboard, or use computers for more detailed plans.
• Once the mapping is completed, they can discuss their plans with others, and come up with the best solution.

Debrief

During the debrief, you should identify any areas of improvement for the team and recognize their successes. Encourage creativity to help foster collaboration between team members.

#2. Fish Bowl

The objective of this exercise is to encourage open dialogue between team members while creating innovative strategies.

Time: You decide

Materials: Fish Bowl/ Container, Paper, and Markers

Participants: 4-8 individuals per group

Instructions

• Each participant should put their ideas into the fish bowl or container.
• The facilitator should ask each participant to take turns and explain their ideas.
• Next, the facilitator can draw the solutions on paper/whiteboard, or use computers for more detailed plans.
• After each idea is discussed, the team should come up with a collective solution that benefits everyone.

Debrief

During the debrief, identify any areas of improvement and recognize effective collaboration between team members. Encourage feedback to create a safe environment for open dialogue.

#3. Collaborative Goal Setting

This activity encourages employees to set goals for the organization and develop plans to achieve them.

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials: Post-it notes, Markers, and Whiteboard

Participants: 4-6 people in a group

Instructions

• Divide the participants into smaller teams.
• Give each team a goal or initiative to focus on. For example: “Develop strategies for increasing customer engagement”.
• Each team should brainstorm potential strategies for achieving that goal. Then, they can analyze the merits and demerits of each strategy, and decide on the best ones.
• Finally, let them present their strategies to the other groups.

Debrief

In the debrief, discuss how the team worked together to develop goals and strategies, as well as any new ideas or perspectives that arose during the activity. Celebrate successes and brainstorm solutions for potential challenges encountered.

#4. Elimination Match

In this exercise, the participants should use their strategic planning skills to complete some tasks before the opposing team.

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials: Set of cards with individual tasks related to strategic planning

Participants: 2 teams of 4-5 people each

Instructions

• Divide the participants into two teams of equal size.
• Each team will receive a set of cards that represents a specific task related to strategic planning. They can be creating a budget, developing a marketing plan, identifying potential risks, etc. As the facilitator, you should provide further instructions to the teams such as the specific requirements for each task or any time limits.
• Now, the teams must try to finish the tasks as quickly as possible. After completing a task, they must place the respective card on the table. The first team that completes all the tasks will win the game.

Debrief

Discuss how teams used strategic planning skills to identify opportunities, create plans, and manage risks to complete the tasks quickly. Furthermore, participants should evaluate what strategies could have been employed differently in order to improve their performance.

#5. Futures Wheel

The goal of this activity is to help team members explore potential strategies for different scenarios.

Time: You decide

Materials: Large poster board or Whiteboard, and Markers

Participants: 6-10 people in a group

Instructions

• Ask the group to identify a goal they would like to achieve in the future.
• Each group member lists out 3-5 different steps necessary to reach that goal.
• Now, each group can draw a circle in the center of the poster board or whiteboard and label it with their goal. Also, they can draw a series of circles around the first one and label them with each step necessary to reach that goal.
• Then, they can discuss potential strategies that could be implemented at each step to make progress toward the end goal.

Debrief

As a facilitator, it’s important to ensure everyone understands the goal and the steps necessary to reach it. During the debrief, you should check in with each group member to make sure they understand how their individual strategies contribute to the larger plan.

#6. Lost at Sea Survival Game

This activity encourages employees to strategize and work together to survive in an imaginary “lost at sea” scenario.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Materials: Imaginary items such as a fishing net, a flare gun, a water container, etc.

Participants: Groups of 6-10 members

Instructions

• Divide the participants into teams with an equal number of members in each.
• Ask the teams to envision themselves lost at sea and present them with a set of imaginary items. Some examples of items include a fishing net, a flare gun, a water container, etc.
• Give each team a few minutes to plan how they would use their resources in order to survive until help arrives.
• After the allotted time, have each team present their strategies to the other teams.

Debrief

During the debrief, it’s important to discuss how the teams collaborated and which strategies worked best. Encourage team members to share their thoughts on what they learned from this activity.

#7. Mock Trade Game

In this exercise, employees should participate in a trade to understand the effects of supply and demand on pricing.

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials: Fake “money” (Monopoly money), and Items to trade like pencils, paper clips,etc.

Participants: Groups of 4-6 individuals

Instructions

• Divide the participants into groups of two, and provide each group with some fake money. Ask them to decide on an item that they will trade and set a price for it.
• Have the groups take turns trading items at their agreed-upon prices, allowing them to make profits or losses based on their decisions.
• After trading has finished, have them compare profits and losses.

Debrief

During the debrief, it’s important to discuss how each group was able to maximize their profits or minimize their losses. It is also beneficial to ask the participants what strategies they found most effective in order to gain insights into future trading decisions.

#8. Strategic Terms

The objective of this activity is to help participants understand and apply common terms in strategic planning.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Materials: Index cards with terms related to strategic planning, and Timer

Participants: At least 4 members per group

Instructions

• Divide the participants into groups. Then, split each group into two sub-groups.
• Give each sub-group a set of index cards with terms related to strategic planning such as “Goals”, “Risks”, and “Rewards”.
• Each sub-group will then take turns drawing one card at a time and explaining how it relates to strategic planning. For example, when a sub-group draws the “Risks” card, they must explain how taking risks can help an organization succeed but also carries a certain amount of uncertainty.
• At the end of the game, the sub-group with the most creative explanations for each term is declared the winner!

Debrief

During the debrief, participants should reflect on how their groups worked together to come up with creative explanations for each card and gain new insights into strategic planning. Additionally, discuss successes and ways to apply what was learned in real-world scenarios.

#9. SWOT Analysis

The objective of this activity is to help employees identify internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

Time: You decide

Materials: Whiteboard or Paper, and Markers

Participants: Groups of 6-10 members

Instructions

• Ask the group to identify an area in which they need to implement change or improvement.
• Have each group member list out their own strengths and weaknesses related to the topic. Also, they should identify any external opportunities or threats that could impact their success.
• Ask the group to brainstorm potential strategies based on their strengths and weaknesses, as well as any external opportunities or threats.
• Then, they can discuss the risks and benefits associated with each strategy, and make an informed decision.

Debrief

During the debrief, it’s important to ensure that everyone understands how their individual insights contributed to the strategic planning process. You should also encourage group members to share any additional ideas or questions they may have.

#10. The Strategy Grid

This activity is to help teams focus on actionable items while creating an effective plan for achieving results.

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials: Paper and Markers

Participants: Groups of 4-8 people

Instructions

• The facilitator should draw the grid on paper or whiteboard, with columns and rows representing the goals, objectives, strategies, tactics, and timelines needed to achieve success.
• Team members should then brainstorm and come up with different ideas for each section of the grid.
• Encourage discussions and ask questions to ensure everyone understands the objective of the activity.
• After all the sections are filled out on the grid, the teammates should discuss the best strategies and tactics to achieve each goal.
• Once finished, debrief as a team, highlighting successes and areas for improvement from the activity.

Debrief

As a facilitator, remind the team that communication and collaboration are key to achieving success. Also, encourage the team members to be open and honest in their feedback on what worked well during the activity as it will help them in future planning sessions.

Want Some Unique Team Building Activities?

If you want some unique activities (both in person and virtual) for your employees, you can get my new e-book:

The Busy Leader’s Guide of Unique Team Building Activities: 30 Fully Customizable Exercises That You Can Conduct with Any Group of Employees, Anywhere

Or Want Some Unique Leadership Development Activities?

If you want some unique activities (both in-person and virtual) to make your employees including managers better leaders, you can get my new e-book:

The Empowering Guide of Unique Leadership Development Activities: 100 Fully Customizable Exercises That You Can Conduct with Any Group of Employees, Anywhere

Final Words

Strategic planning team building activities help employees to do proper risk assessments and make better decisions. They also help foster collaboration and communication, which are essential for any successful business. So, try out some of these activities today and watch your team blossom!

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