To foster an effective team, you need to make sure that your team members trust each other
. In an office, they need to trust that their co-workers will get their work done. On a sports team, they need to trust that the other players will protect and pass to them. One way to help your team gain a sense of mutual trust is through team building activities. While any positive group experience can increase the level of trust, there are certain trust exercises that you can run to help your team trust each other quickly.
One of the first trust exercises you should try is trust walks. This involves one person closing his eyes while the other person guides them through the space. The guiding can either be done through touch, words, or both. The goal is to have the person with his eyes closed trust his leader enough to confidently walk around in the dark. This can be modified for a larger group by having all the group members hold hands and walk around together.
You can also try trust falls. Again, these can be done in a partner situation or a large group. In a large group, you can have one person stand in the middle of a circle and fall to the side where the other group members will catch him and prop him back up. Trust falls can also be done from the top of a table if your group feels really comfortable with each other.