Because Cueist has emailed me for a few years, I was going to write about something he mentioned in one of his emails awhile back about food (yum!). But I asked him real quick, "Hey, do you still do traditional team dinners in Vegas before the team event starts?"
He replied, "Sorta. We do a team dinner at some point during the event."
Once I knew that, I was ready to blog!
I was going to share how cool I thought this was. A lot of teams could really learn from this.
Team building is HUGE. It's really a kinda new concept in the corporate world. Nowadays you hear about 'leadership retreats,' or work place teams going to Escape Rooms (working together to get out of the room), outdoor friendly competitions, or even just events out of the office that get the members together building bonds and friendships. It really can be helpful!
So, to hear his team had dinners before Team events in Vegas was something I really wanted to showcase as an example you all could maybe do with your teams as well.
Getting together before an event really sets the whole mood. Of course, please be careful who you invite. One year my team had a team dinner and then I got a text, "Hey, team (insert a ladies team name here) is coming with us." Well, myself and another teammate didn't necessarily get along with everyone on that other team. So, instead of it being a bonding event, I chose to not go to avoid uncomfortableness, and my other teammate sat at the end of the table not engaged. Had it just been our team only, the whole dynamics would have been so much better. So, be careful - think of the PURPOSE of the dinner. Was it to just eat with friends? Or have a team building moment?
So, that's what I was going to write to you all about, that I thought would be very helpful.
But wait, there's more!
Cueist, I now realize, is more talkative than Danielson or Katniss. I mentioned last month someone had emailed me a novel. Well, that person happened to be Cueist. I just didn't know at the time he would be my next undertaking, err, project via my blog. Well, his characteristic of writing novels is already flowing over to this first topic, lol.
After I emailed him, "Hey, do you still do traditional team dinners in Vegas before the team event starts?" and He replied, "Sorta. We do a team dinner at some point during the event."
The next day, I hear from him:
"So, uh, I just thought about something...is this my first Cueist assignment? LOL. If it is, then I'd like to expound on my previous email. :D :D :D "
Oh shit....
And then here he goes...
(while I'm picking on him and trying to be funny, you will LOVE this additional information and you can tell already we will be learning so much through him!)
"Yes, we do a team dinner at some point during all tourneys that we travel to as a team. Obviously, that's state and national events, however, we have actually traveled out of state a few times as a team as well and did team dinners then, also."
(Hey, wait. His team has gone out of state for team events? I might have to delve into that some day.)
Back to his dissertation:
"My first experience with full team dinner was w/ a new team I had joined many years ago [a REAL good team he joined], and it was a little awkward b/c I was the youngest on the team by a longshot. LOL. However, the captain made it a point to include me (and my girlfriend) in the conversation throughout the dinner. It was super cool of him to intentionally do that. The whole team (and spouses) all laughed a lot, shared war stories, etc. It really helped get everyone comfortable before the "battle" of the tourney. As you know, tourneys are a grind, so it's nice to have a relaxing night with the guys before we're consumed w/ bad rolls, run outs, and the ups/downs of tourney play."
Cueist continued, verifying the importance of Team Building:
"Ever since then, I've made it a point to try and keep the team dinners going after I started my own team. Even though we're all already friends and see each other weekly for league, it's still nice to hangout without a pool table around. It really helps the team 'gel' together."
And then he said, "Ok, I'm a little more satisfied w/ that answer to my publisher. LMAO."
And we are, also, Cueist!
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