Your most ambitious workplace team building ideas are probably shaped by many great expectations–expectations from your staff regarding their performance, and expectations about increasing profits over the course of the next fiscal year.

But as you may recall, in Charles Dickens’ book Great Expectations, Pip’s appointment with destiny–an appointment that changed the whole course of his life–started in a graveyard. And as his values changed, so did his expectations.

Workplace team building plans, no matter how lofty, are often derailed by office politics, Type-A executive-wanna-be’s, and project deadlines. When the pressure increases and the heat builds, that’s when the noblest workplace team building plans and the greatest expectations can wind up in the graveyard of hardcore corporate reality.

Charitable workshops are a team builder’s dream because they neutralize the hierarchical tension of the boardroom and provide an evenhanded platform for everybody–from the mail room clerk to the CEO–to show off their creative talents, problem-solving skills, and the humane attributes they cannot risk displaying at work lest they be branded as weak.

The holidays can be a precarious season in corporate America. The planning for and participation in the typical office party are often dreaded traditions–but you can’t let your indifference or irritation show.

The gap between big business and the limited resources of the masses has both widened and deepened. So the ticklish matters of community goodwill and bridge-building have never been more critical. Charitable workshops are the perfect outreach vehicles because they make companies look good, and can do so much good for needy families in their cities.

The most effective workplace team building workshops can make it easier for people to lower their guards, and get to know each other on a more personal basis while working on a project that will be donated to someone in their community who really needs a helping hand.

Whether you build a bright red wagon and fill it with goodies at one of our Wagon Builders Holiday Team Building Workshops; or assemble a lovable stuffed animal tucked into a colorful new backpack during one of our Rescue Buddies Stuffed Animals Team Building Workshops–you’re guaranteed to build healthier relationships among your colleagues.

And  by partnering with social service organizations, homeless shelters, police, and firefighters, the goodwill you’ll generate in your community will be priceless.

Best of all, you and your coworkers will make this holiday season a happy memory for a needy but deserving child. These are great expectations you can bank on and that’s workplace team building at its best.