Team Dynamiccs¶

Team Building¶

Team-Building 101¶

What is team-building?¶

Team-building is the process of strengthening relations within a team resulting in increased team effectiveness, motivation, and cooperation.

Why is team-building important?¶

Improves inner-team communication: team-building creates discussion which encourages open communication within the team
Develops problem-solving skills: activities that challenge teams to work together strengthens the team’s ability to tackle a task as a group, building those skills for the “real problem”
Increases comfort zone: team-building encourages team members to be comfortable in a group setting and increases trust in other team members
Encourages creativity: activities that are outside of students ordinary setting encourages students to think outside of the box, leading to new ideas and creativity
Defines team as “fun”: team-building encourages team members to have fun as a team, making the team environment more communal moving forward

When should we do team-building activities?¶

Team-building frequency can very team to team. The following are recommendations for when team-building may be especially beneficial:

When the team is initially formed (start of school year)
When a new member joins the team
When the team has something to celebrate
When the team has something specific to work on, i.e. communication or creative thinking

What are examples of team-building activities?¶

Team-building activities can vary from simple fun to challenges to strengthen specific aspects of the team. Below are some examples of different team-building activities!

Scavenger hunt: Divide team into small groups and give each group a list of items to find or tasks to complete. Groups compete against each other to be the first group done.
Two truths and a lie: Each student tells 3 “facts” about themselves to the group, two of which are accurate, one of which is a lie. Team members try to guess which “fact” is the lie.
Ice cream social or team lunch: Fun, low-key way for team-members to socialize
Blindfold Adventure: All but one team members are blindfolded. The non-blindfolded team member verbally instructs the other team members to complete a task. As an example, lead member (non-blindfolded) leads team members to a playground playscape. Lead member verbally instructs team members one by one to climb stairs and slide down the slide.

Financial Planning¶

Why Financial Plan?¶

Financial planning is an essential first step when preparing for a major project, such as competing in ARC. A financial plan and budget should be established at the conception of a project team and monitored throughout the project completion to ensure the finances remain on track. Financial planning ensure teams are cognizant of and prepared for the costs associated with the project. The categories listed below are important steps of financial planning.

Create a Budget¶

The first step of financial planning is creating a budget for the project. To create a budget, it is important that the team understands all of what will be required to complete the project. This may require the team spending time discussing what supplies will be needed and the cost of such supplies. Other costs such as travel, team building (if sponsored by team), and other supplies the team may choose, like t-shirts, should be accounted for in the budget. A sample budget for a team building an RC aircraft is below.

Note the following on the sample budget:

Budget is broken up by category with a subtotal for each category. This allows the team to easily identify what aspects of the project cost the most.
This team budgets for a contingency fund. This is important to ensure teams have money to support any unexpected expenses or expenses that are over budget. A suggested contingency amount is 10% of you other budget items.

Obtaining Financial Resources¶

1) Brainstorm Sources of Financial Support¶

Once the team has determined the cost of competing, the team will need to consider how they will fund the cost. While some teams may have funding from their school, some may require funding from external sources. Teams in this position should work together to brainstorm sources of funding. Consider local businesses such as car dealers or restaurants that like to support the local schools. Consider also any companies that are involved in UAVs or robotics, like local RC hobby shops.

2) Create a Sponsorship Packet¶

Before contacting local businesses for sponsorship, it is highly recommended that you create a Sponsorship Packet that you can share with potential sponsors. A Sponsorship Packet is a professional document that can be given to potential sponsors that captures the goal of your team and the financial requirements to reach that goal. Here is an outline of what should be included in your packet:

Cover Page: School name, team name, logo, etc
Team Introduction: Team picture, Team details (grades of students on team), Names of key members
Competition Details: Brief description of the competition, Team goal
Last Year’s Competition (if applicable): Team’s results from last year
Sponsorship Details: Benefits to sponsoring the team

Examples:
Company logo on t-shirt
Company logo on competition presentation

Budget: Screenshot of budget
Thank You (if applicable):

Thank you slide from sponsors of previous year’s competition

Note - include your school as a sponsor if they supported your team!

3) Meet with Sponsors¶

Once a Sponsorship Packet has been created, set up meetings with the list of potential sponsors that the team brainstormed. Take each potential sponsor a printed copy of the packet so they can review after your meeting. Thank all individuals for taking the time to meet with you and don’t be disappointed if the potential sponsor is not able to commit to a financial contribution at that time.