Organising team building sometimes begins with an available date or an activity idea. These are useful starting points, but they do not explain why the company is bringing its team together. Without a clear intention, preparation can be reduced to a logistical checklist, and participants do not always understand the purpose of the invitation. Setting an objective does not mean turning the event into a management exercise or announcing a measurable performance target. It means choosing what you want to bring into discussion and enable people to experience. Through rowing, cohesion, communication, trust and coordination can become tangible. Preparation connects these dimensions to the real context of your group.
What situation is really driving your project?
Start by describing what is happening within the team. A change in remit, the arrival of new colleagues or a desire to reconnect do not carry exactly the same intention. Keep it descriptive: you do not need to identify a serious problem to justify a group experience. Time together can also reflect a desire for recognition or discovery.
Separate facts from interpretations. Saying that several people barely know one another is not the same as declaring that the group lacks cohesion. This distinction makes discussion with the organiser easier and avoids assigning a negative identity to the team before the event even begins. The project becomes clearer when management can explain why it is proposing this moment and what it hopes to open up, without presuming what participants should feel.
How can you choose a sufficiently precise intention?
An objective such as ‘strengthening the team’ can be a starting point, but it deserves to be made more concrete. Do you want to help employees get to know one another better, discuss communication or experience a shared commitment? Choosing one main intention helps avoid accumulating incompatible expectations.
You can frame it as a question: how do we adjust when we depend on others? What makes trust easier? How does everyone find their place in a collective movement? These questions guide an experience without imposing its conclusion. It is more honest to aim for exploration than to promise that every conflict will be resolved or that every team will become more effective. The organiser can then clarify what the format can address and what falls outside its scope.
Who should take part in defining the objective?
Management or HR often leads the organisation, but their perspective does not necessarily represent everyone’s expectations. Making room for some participant feedback can help build a more appropriate project. This consultation does not need to gather personal or sensitive information; it can simply focus on what would make the experience useful or enjoyable.
Pay attention to how questions are asked. An employee should not have to justify expressing a reservation. The company project must remain separate from individual assessment. Sharing the chosen intention then helps avoid the impression of a hidden objective. The team can understand that it is being invited to discover and reflect together, not to undergo a personality test or demonstrate loyalty in an unfamiliar setting.
How should you communicate the objective to Nicolas Coassin?
The proposal request form allows you to specify a main objective and add a message. Use this space to describe the context, approximate number of participants, proposed format and preferred timing. A short but concrete description is often more useful than a series of keywords.
Bespoke team building is designed to be tailored to the company’s objectives and the desired level of cohesion. This does not mean that every request can be accepted as it stands. Practical arrangements, supervision, duration and participation conditions are agreed during discussions. These discussions help clarify the project and identify its limits. They may also lead to choosing another format, such as an initial discovery day rather than a challenge, if that intention better matches the group’s starting point.
How can you maintain continuity between preparation and debrief?
A clear objective can provide a guiding thread after the experience. During the debrief, return to the initial question and compare it with what participants actually experienced. Did the group discover a way of communicating? Did it notice what helps with coordination? The answers may differ from what the organiser or management imagined.
Keep this openness. The purpose of the experience is not to confirm a theory prepared in advance. Participants may bring another relevant topic to light. Management can then decide with them what is worth taking back into work. Plan a simple way to receive these observations without announcing an automatic transformation. The objective has fulfilled its role if it has helped build a coherent framework, make the invitation understandable and open a shared experience to discussion.
What are the key takeaways?
Do you need several objectives to justify an event?
No. One clear main intention can be enough to guide preparation and avoid spreading expectations too thinly.
Can we define our objective during a discussion?
Yes. Present your context in the proposal request; the discussion helps clarify the objectives and the proposed format.
Which format should you explore for your team?
Discover the format linked to this reflection, then request a proposal for your company.
Read the frequently asked questions to prepare for your project.