>Team building > Rally of Excellence 
Rally of Excellence - Learning to grow as a Team
Overview
The Rally of Excellence is a fun and informative, adventure course comprised of a series of short challenges (30 mins) and surprises designed to reinforce team spirit and effective team work.
The teams must use all their individual and collective skills to confront the challenges in store. Each activity is designed to test different qualities underlining the importance of complementarity in a team.
At the end of each challenge, the participants will discover the secret and then analyse the difficulties they met. The conclusions they draw can then be immediately applied to the next activity.
Any group of any size can play the Rally of Excellence, the teams are mixed, that is to say, formed regardless of the participants' positions, age etc...
The activity
There are three stages :
- Participants read the rules and get ready (5')
- Action (15')
- Analysis (10’)
Each team is equipped with a road-book which lists the different challenges and problems they will face. There can be as many as 10 and they change every 30 minutes.
The Rally of Excellence takes place over one or two days.
At each challenge one of our facilitators explains the rules, checks the points scored and analyses the experience with the team.
There is a general feedback session at the end of the seminar where all the participants have the opportunity to share their experiences and discoveries, the difficulties they faced, how they overcame them.
Some of the challenges
The Maze
You are lost in the jungle and you come to a marsh, possibly filled with quicksand. You have to find your way across !
Pressurised by time constraints and organisational challenges that force you to choose between talk and action, you discover what communication and preparation really mean.
It emphasises :
- Solidarity
- Effective communication
- Observation
- Discipline
The Track
The idea is simple : there are two skis and the team members stand with one foot on each ski. They have to move along a route, respecting certain rules.
They must be properly prepared right at the beginning because if they are disorganised or unsynchronized, they'll be in for a few surprises !
It emphasises :
- Synchronising efforts
- Apprenticeship
- Trust
- Mutual help
- Concentration during action
The Target
The participants must control their movements to hit a certain area on a target. Each has a means of action and can influence the others’ actions, but optimum results can only be achieved if everybody works together, listens and is aware of what the others are doing.
It emphasises
- The importance of a common objective
- The choice of objectives and the appropriate strategy
- Clarity of communication
- Real time monitoring
- Sharing the same vision
- Agreement on a common method by the group
- Managing interactions and how they affect results
The Squares
Two climber's ropes suddenly cross on a very narrow path. They have to find a solution so that each climber can continue his trip.
It emphasises
- An objective must be clear and generally agreed upon
- The method must be effective, known and followed by all
- Communication must be open, direct and calm
- Leadership and motivation
The Tower
You are lost in the jungle. You know that a plane will arrive in about half an hour so you must build a tower with a flag on top, so that the pilot can find you.
It emphasises
- A common vision and a common objective
- Vision and Leadership
- Team perseverance
- Creativity
- Risk taking
- Agreement on how to proceed
The Architect and the Mason
The architect describes a drawing to the mason which the Mason has to build with different pieces. Of course, they can only talk !
It emphasises
- Verbal Communication
- Accuracy of words
- Method
- Checking that the other has understood
- Proceeding step by step
The Dark Room
You have to find the colour and shape of two missing elements from amongst a number of different elements. The team must find out their shape and the colour soley through communicating and listening. Easy ? Don’t be so sure !
It emphasises
- The role of a common language
- Accuracy and quality of the communication
- Understanding the other’s point of view
- The importance of checking the hypothesis
A Special Mission
This event deals with a theme specific to your company : it consists of creating the most beautiful and original T-shirt illustrating, for example, what team spirit represents in your company.
It emphasises
- A common vision
- Conveying a concept
- Imagination and humour
- Creativity
The Analysis :
Throughout the activities, commitment, motivation and performance are put to the test and evaluated. Each team has its own scoring sheet and is able to calculate its score during the challenge.
Forms must be filled in at the end of each game, during the debriefing. If not, no points will be scored.
Setup
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The Rally of Excellence requires as many areas (rooms) as events. A specific area must be found for the Track.
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At some time in the seminar, a T-shirt show will take place. The teams will then explain their ideas on their chosen topic.
