As the debate rages about whether or not you should bring whole self to work, it's still important that you know at least something(!) about your team.
Building trust is still a foundational part of working with people. And a little can go a long way. People that work at high-trust companies experience less stress, are more productive, and stay with their current company longer.
Small steps such as simple questions can help create connections, empathy, and ultimately trust with each other.
Below you'll find some of our favorite get-to-know-your-team questions for team building.
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Kick off your next meeting with one of 300+ icebreaker questions to help everyone feel more connected and engaged.
What’s the furthest away from home you’ve ever been?
What was a silly fear you had as a kid?
How do you know when you’re stressed?
What is a passion you want to pursue one day?
What do you admire about who you were as a child?
What is your earliest childhood memory?
What’s your favorite song, and why?
What does your name mean?
You’re stranded on a desert island. What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?
What’s the last dream that you remember?
What have you read or watched recently and enjoyed?
What’s one of your all-time favorite movies?
If you could be a guest on a TV show, which show would it be?
What is your favorite meal?
What helps you wake up: coffee, tea, or something else?
How would you describe your personality to a new friend?
Have you ever taken a personality test? What did you learn?
When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
If you had to move to a different country, where would you go? What would you miss?
What professional skills would you like to develop next?
What’s one skill that you’ve improved in the last year? How did you do it?
What does your ideal workday look like?
What seemingly tiny thing are you especially grateful for?
What’s one thing you enjoy about your home or neighborhood?
What’s your favorite charitable or non-profit organization? Why?
Where do you get your best ideas?
What distracts you from doing your best work?
What non-work activity makes you lose track of time?
What about the future excites you? What about the future are you nervous about?
How do you recognize when you’re stressed?
What would you rather hear first: good news or bad news?
What’s a current trend you find interesting?
Do you have a favorite sports team?
What's your favorite band or genre of music?
What's your secret talent or hobby?
What are your favorite family traditions
Do you have a dream job?
Is there a historical figure or artist who you admire, and why?
Which cartoon character or fictional character has qualities that you admire?
What’s the weirdest food you've ever experienced?
What was your worst haircut? What would be your ideal superpower?
What's something you've always wanted to do but never have?
What's your favorite place to go on vacation?
What's a country you've always wanted to visit but haven't?
What is your spirit animal?
Are you a dog person, cat person, or neither?
What's your favorite thing to do on a weekend?
What's a hobby you want to pick up but haven't yet?
Do you prefer working alone or in groups? Why?
Do you prefer structured or unstructured days?
Are there specific times of day when you're more productive?
Do you like working on multiple projects at once or focusing on one thing at a time?
When was the last time you took a mental health day from work - and how did it make you feel afterwards?
How comfortable are you with change - both at work and in your personal life?
What is something about yourself that you're proud of? (Professional or personal)
What is your current obsession?
What is your favorite emoji?
The importance of get-to-know-you questions
Believe it or not, those sometimes awkward icebreaker questions can help you and your team make great strides in establishing the sense of belonging that underlies all great teams.
These get-to-know-your-team questions are powerful because they provide team members an opportunity to share small slices about their lives. of themselves.
As you continue, those answers create a fuller view of who that person really is. And as you build trust and your skills together, you'll create a high-performing team.
How to create a trustworthy environment for getting to know your team
- Folks need to know that they’re not being graded or judged through these questions.
- There’s no smartest person or wrong answers.
- No competition: Questions shouldn’t put co-workers against each other—they’re meant to build camaraderie.
- Teamwork builds when there is goodwill within the team members and participants.
- The right questions can prompt very real and very powerful shifts in the ways we think and the dynamics of our teams.
Get To Know Your Team with Range
The best way to get past the awkwardness of icebreakers is to integrate them into your daily flow of work.
Range helps teams check in asynchronously and run more collaborative meetings.
- Deepen team connections
- Save time
- Have fewer meetings and waste less time with async check-ins
- Reduce meeting load by keeping every team member informed and connected
- Easily share your work plan and what you accomplished
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