Team building helps companies in a variety of ways. Depending on a company’s needs, a Magnovo workshop can help improve everything from communication skills and leadership to authentic job ownership and creative problem-solving. Some of our workshops are designed to make generalized improvements in these areas, while others focus on specific events that are occurring within the company. This was the case when a team of 30 women from Amazon participated in the Bike-a-Thon we staged for them in Palo Alto, CA. Management wanted to commemorate International Women’s Day with a women-only event. They also wanted an organization that dealt with women’s issues to receive the donated bicycles. Of course, the team members also experienced a great deal of skill building the process, with everyone leaving satisfied with the results.

The Amazon Team Comes in Ready, Willing, and Able

Thirty women were in attendance when we brought a Bike-a-Thon to the Amazon office in Palo Alto. It was a diverse and enthusiastic group, one that was very pleasant to work with and obviously ready to learn. They were also eager to donate a big pile of bicycles to the Children’s Health Council, which provides counseling and support to local children and their families. We could tell the workshop would be very productive from the enthusiasm and energy on display.

The Amazon team did not disappoint. We divided the group into smaller teams and they jumped into the workshop with both feet immediately, putting their great attitudes into action right from the start and coming more and more together as the day wore on. The workshop began with a few customized warm-up exercises and mini-games. These ‘icebreakers’ included instructive versions of activities like Do What I Say, Air Counting, Flip the Cup, Dice Bank, and Group Writing.

These warmup activities served their purpose well, largely because the women came into it with an assertive yet teachable attitude. After the warm-up games, our facilitators coached the different teams through the parts-gathering phase and into the actual assembly.

A Satisfying Workshop and Learning Experience

Not surprisingly, the assembly phase went very smoothly. The participants had a great deal of fun and achieved their goal of donating a number of shiny new bicycles to the Children’s Health Council. Management was satisfied with the results as well. They wanted us to help tease out the group’s teamwork potential. And with a lot of help from the women from Amazon, this potential was on full display.

This was truly a great workshop. It was equal parts instructional session and celebration. The celebration of International Women’s Day was a shared experience and our facilitators learned just as much from this great team as vice versa. The belief here is that these women will be ready for whatever challenge is next on their horizon.