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Beyond Updates: Why a Round of Updates Isn’t a Genuine Team Building Activity

Writer's picture: Yaniv NizanYaniv Nizan

Updated: Jan 4


image showing a round of updates in zoom with text saying “not a team building activity” over it

In workplace dynamics, fostering strong teamwork is paramount to achieving shared goals and maximizing productivity. Middle management is often expected to have weekly meetings with their team to

improve collaboration. One common practice in those weekly meetings is the "round of updates". Despite its prevalence, a mere exchange of updates is not an actual team-building activity. Here are seven reasons this approach lacks the substance to forge genuine team cohesion.


1. Superficial Interaction:


A round of updates usually involves each team member sharing their recent tasks, achievements, and challenges. However, this limited exchange often results in a superficial understanding of each other's roles and contributions. Actual team building requires a more profound connection, where individuals can understand their colleagues' strengths, aspirations, and how their work aligns with the bigger picture.


2. Lack of Personal Connection:


Genuine team building goes beyond work-related discussions. It involves forming personal connections, understanding each other's interests, and recognizing the uniqueness of team members. A round of updates tends to focus solely on work matters, leaving out the opportunity to bond over shared hobbies, experiences, and values.


3. Minimal Collaboration Opportunity:


While updates can shed light on individual efforts, they seldom encourage collaboration. Team building thrives on collaborative activities that challenge members to solve problems, share ideas, and leverage diverse perspectives. A mere update session lacks the interactive elements that stimulate creative thinking and cooperation.


4. Failure to Build Trust:


Trust is the cornerstone of effective teams. Building trust requires open communication, empathy, and transparency. An update-focused gathering might inadvertently perpetuate a culture where team members only share positive news, fearing judgment or criticism for setbacks. Update-centric meeting hinders the development of trust and mutual support necessary for a high-performing team.


5. Neglecting Conflict Resolution:


Conflict is a natural aspect of any team, arising from differing viewpoints and approaches. Authentic team building equips members with conflict resolution skills, allowing them to address disagreements constructively. In contrast, updates-centric interactions often sidestep conflicts, leaving underlying tensions unresolved and potentially damaging team cohesion.


6. Missing Diversity Celebration:


A strong team encompasses diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. Proper team building celebrates this diversity and seeks to capitalize on it. A round of updates, however, may unintentionally focus on homogenized achievements, undermining the richness that diverse viewpoints bring to the table.


7. Limited Engagement:


Team building activities should be engaging and enjoyable, encouraging participation from all members. A round of updates can feel monotonous and repetitive, leading to disengagement over time. Engaging team-building experiences, on the other hand, infuse energy and excitement, leaving a lasting positive impact.


Team Building Path Forward:


While a round of updates keeps team members informed, it falls short of achieving the deeper goals of team building. Furthermore, a meeting is a very ineffective medium for communicating updates. To cultivate authentic teamwork, organizations should consider a holistic approach that involves interactive exercises, skill-building workshops, off-site experiences, and opportunities for shared decision-making. And at the same time, updates are better communicated by asynchronous, written mediums.


At Synq Up, our mission is to eliminate pointless meetings so our AI meeting export can help teams offload the updates from their weekly meeting to a written format. While, at the same time, assisting them in selecting and preparing for purposeful team-building activities that foster genuine collaboration, communication, and camaraderie.


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