Team Building

by Daveswife 21st June 2011, 5:22 pm

As part of a team of ten ladies who work on their own at various locations on a site, I want to suggest that in the interest of getting to know each other better that we have a weekly crafting session. One lunchtime a week we will sit round and knit and sew and chat about what we're doing. Those of us who are experienced knitters can help the beginners, we can pool excess wool for small craft projects, get ideas from each other, and if one of us isn't into crafts then undoubtedly she will be creative in other ways.

But before I say anything, have you tried this, do you think it will work, have you any other ideas or comments?

by polgara 21st June 2011, 5:39 pm

That sounds a great idea. Would like to be around, but equally I rarely do things like that.

by Sparhawk 22nd June 2011, 11:59 am

Good idea, it has worked for the WI for years on a bigger scale along with jam & cake making too... Laughing

(Ducks & runs for cover!!!)

by Adrian 22nd June 2011, 12:59 pm

Yes, duck and run

Sounds great to me Daveswife. I have no experience of group work, I prefer to craft alone and do not play well with others, but I think its great when like minded folk can get together to work together,,

by polgara 22nd June 2011, 3:16 pm

That makes 2 of us Boss. I always found that in groups people told me I couldn`t do something a certain way, but I did & it worked. Like you I prefer my own company when I am trying to do things, but a lot of people prefer to work in a group.

by Chilli-head 22nd June 2011, 3:37 pm

I am quite happy with working in peace and solitude. But I do really value seeing other's work, talking about it and taking inspiration. I do wish more people would post photos of their work on here ...

But as to the individual question, whether a crafting group would work depends entirely on the nature of your ten ladies ! Can you air the idea in a low key sort of way and gauge enthusiasm of response ?

by Sparhawk 22nd June 2011, 11:14 pm

Yes it would of course be a good idea, it would bring a sence of community, you could introduce each other to your own different crafts, pool resources, & also pass on good places to get information from... Team Building 928403

by Compostwoman 22nd June 2011, 11:42 pm

Sounds suspiciously like this place Spar....!

There are Stitch 'n Bitch groups in the UK...knitting and chat...

Personally I just want to get on and work quietly and not have distractions, but that is just me and my curmudgeonly ways..... Laughing

by Sparhawk 23rd June 2011, 10:21 am

by Daveswife 23rd June 2011, 10:51 am

Thanks everyone for your comments. Most of us are in our 50's and work in our own offices in different locations but walkable distance from each other and we just quietly get on with our work and don't interact with each other in different departments because we don't need to. Speaking for myself, I often feel very isolated being the only admin person in the building where I work and have nobody to talk to! So I was thinking of ways to get the team of PAs together so we can socialise. We need to find various topics of common ground and crafts is perhaps one of them. There will be others!

by Daveswife 4th July 2011, 2:41 pm

Our "Away Day" went really well but clearly everyone worked quite remotely from everyone else so any idea I had of a crafty lunch break once a month wouldn't work.

One of the activities in team building which we did coincidentally paired me, the fattest and oldest of the group, with the two youngest. I proved to myself that not only can I walk faster than I thought I could but when pushed I can keep up with girls almost 40 years younger than me.

I cycled to the venue and also learned that I can cycle 5.5 miles without feeling knackered, but add these two activities together (ie the fast walk for 30 minutes and the round trip of 11 miles cycling) and the next day I could hardly walk.

Not as fit as I thought I was, eh!

by polgara 4th July 2011, 2:49 pm

Instead of a lunch, why not have a sort of "drop in & chat" with cofee or tea, or bring your own lunch & chat?

by Daveswife 4th July 2011, 3:24 pm

Hi Polgara,

Exactly the sort of thing I had in mind. Turn up with your packed lunch and some knitting or crocheting, whatever, and we'd sit round and chat. Just an excuse to be sociable, really. However although I thought we all worked fairly close, it turns out that the ladies in the group are spread far and wide with, in some instances, a couple of miles between the sites where we work. And a lot of us work part time so finding a mutually convenient day when everyone is actually working could be difficult.

Guess I'll just have to sit in my office and knit on my own, with the radio on "for company"! (sound a bit sad, doesn't it!)

by Sparhawk 5th July 2011, 2:04 am

Thats a shame, such a great idea, how about trying to get a couple of people that work regular hours to say something like...

"I work on a Thursday & have my lunch between 12 & 1 if anyone wants to get away from work drop in for a crafty type chat..."

(Obviously alter day/time to suit...)

Anyone that would be interested would make the effort I'm sure, perhaps if people wanted to join in they would do it in their own time too...

by MrsC 5th July 2011, 7:44 am

I realise logistics can be difficult, but I'd definitely say it's worth asking people if they want to get together somewhere convenient. I go to many knitting groups that meet in local cafes or pubs and I'm looking at starting regular craft nights with some of the girls from my NCT group too as we realised many of us had similar interests and all of us wanted the opportunity to get together and do them with other people rather than sitting on our own.

Mrs C x

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