Building and motivating a team doesn't have to be an abstract thing. There are many practical activities you can do to get the cohesiveness and motivation you are looking for. Let's look at 5 practical activities you can do to build a healthy and motivated team.

1 – Icebreakers

Even if teammates potentially know each other, they still might be holding tight to their comfort zone when a new team is created. You need to break the ice with some simple methods. I like forcing people out of their comfort zone. I would usually pair two people together and have a timer set for three minutes. Each person talk about themselves for three minutes continually. Then they would switch for another three minutes. We go around the group until everyone has introduced themselves to everyone a personal level.

2 – Pitch Meetings

I worked as an entrepreneur for many years. During that time I frequently assembled teams to get my start up companies off the ground. I would pull together people from different backgrounds to work for a common goal. Within the first few days or weeks of having a new team I would do a company pitch exercise. I'd give teams of three or four people 15 minutes to come up with new ideas and pitch it to the rest of us. We would play the role of the investor. This got them working together and thinking creatively. This did well to set a highly creative and entrepreneur mindset that continued onward.

3 – Entertaining

Everybody likes to let their hair down and party. Even incredibly busy, tired, and sometimes overworked team members need activities to bring them together. Why not assign random Teams the job of throwing a small weekly party. This keeps teams working together as a group albeit for a different goal. Plus it's fun! It breaks up the monotony that can sometimes set in when trying to achieve a big goal.

4 – Exercise

Make them run! Okay not necessarily 'make them run', but some form of exercise can do wonders when trying to bring people together. Exercise can stimulate endorphins in the brain which helps bond people who experience them together. Endorphins also help to remove stress, so you may find them much happier team members when they get back from the exercise you so graciously dictated to them. They'll most likely bond over the common enemy who made them get out of their chairs and move their bodies, that would be you, but t's all in good fun and when you reward them for participating in your exercise routine they will love you again.

5 – Practicality

At the end of the day, the best team building exercises are the practical ones. Taking people away from their daily tasks to participate in team building exercises can create a lot of cynicism amongst your people. Think about it, they want to be working hard to make their goals and quotas and when they are off doing a scavenger hunt or some other cockamamie thing you have concocted they're going to be upset. Keep your exercises to enhance team building short, sweet, and memorable.

About the Author: Jacob Kache is a freelance writer and expert in business and finances. He has received many accolades for his work in teaching employee recognition.