When planning a corporate trip, a visit to a trade-show or an incentive trip, for instance, you might not have a lot of time to set aside for team-building: that doesn’t mean you can’t work a meaningful and helpful experience for your team into your schedule. You don’t need to invest in a whole week’s worth of travel and activities to treat your team to a high-impact team-building experience. There’s a lot you can do in one day or even just one well-planned morning. Team-building hiking trips, for instance, are an excellent way to improve leadership skills, trust and communication within your team. All of these skills can be translated into your everyday working environment, as well as help you achieve the goals of each specific trip.
Team-building hiking trips in Italy
There are plenty of beautiful opportunities for team-building hiking trips in Italy. Every region has something to offer: from the mountainous regions of the north to the hills and woodlands of the central regions, from the southern shores of Apulia and Calabria to the beautiful and varied landscapes of the main islands. If you are attending a corporate event in Italy, research hiking trails in the vicinity and chances are you will discover some local outdoor gems for your team to explore. If, for instance, you are attending one of the many trade-shows that take place in Milan throughout the year, you might want to book a day off to visit the area around Lake Maggiore and go hiking on the Borromean Islands. And if you have chosen Sardinia as your next incentive destination you’ll never run out of new trails to walk, on the rough and beautiful shores of the main island and of the small isles that surround it.
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Why hiking is good for your team
What’s hiking got to do with leadership, problem-solving and other workplace-marketable skills? More than you can imagine. For most of us, interacting with a completely natural environment is a relatively uncommon experience and, while it does not require any specific training to be enjoyed, it certainly puts any newbies in an automatic “learning mode”. There is an element of physical challenge to it (which can be modulated to make sure everyone can safely enjoy the experience), and the whole experience is designed to help team members communicate with each other and develop trust. Problem-solving also is required to overcome the little challenges that present themselves while navigating a complex path, particularly if specific tasks are to be completed along the way. Another quality of team-building hiking trips, that is particularly helpful when it comes to getting everyone in the right mindset for a new challenge, is the rearranging of hierarchies and interpersonal relationships that always occurs in a situation like that. Team-building hiking trips are an excellent way to boost the confidence of those team members that tend to lurk in a corner waiting for validation at the office, as well as encouraging empathy in those who are natural leaders.
Plan your next team-building hiking trip!
What do you need to plan a team-building hiking trip in Italy? You should start by selecting the perfect location, based on the region of Italy you are visiting, on the season and on your team members’ inclinations. Never forget that a group has to move at the pace of its slowest member: make sure the trails you choose are accessible to those in your team who have the least experience of hiking and to those who do not exercise regularly. Leaving team members behind on grounds of physical prowess is not a good place to start. Set goals for your team, assign them tasks to carry out during and after their hiking trip, such as taking pictures and creating a small video or a presentation. If the location allows it, you might add elements of orienteering, which are particularly good for leadership training. Above all, you should always make sure that your team members have fun.
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