The Benefits for Strengthening Team Bonds

For too long, we've had to sit through team building seminars where our personalities are matched to a colour, trust falls are abundant and the meeting rooms are stuffy. Today's corporate teams crave actual connections and experiences, not cheesy icebreakers and forced activity.

Adventure therapy, once reserved for rehab and recovery, is gaining traction in the corporate world as a powerful tool for bringing people together, strengthening bonds and allowing corporate groups to think creatively, as a unified force.

For modern companies looking to allow their staff to grow instead of stifling them, adventure therapy is becoming the ultimate tool in team building. But what exactly is adventure therapy, and is therapy the right option for your next corporate retreat?

Traditional, adventure therapy has been used to treat addiction and trauma recovery by blending outdoor activities, guided reflection and encouraging emotional growth.

It's easy to see how therapy with a superb success rate and a wide range of benefactors has become a method for personal growth outside of the arena of traditional therapy, and the corporate implications speak for themselves.

The corporate world has been looking for more progressive and useful team building opportunities, and adventure therapy ticks almost every box. As colleagues and employees face challenges revolving around activities like:

• ​Navigational hiking
• Kayaking
• High ropes courses

They learn to communicate in new ways, collaborate effectively and push their limits to new heights. This kind of emotional learning does infinitely more for a group of individuals than any pop-psychology conference could ever achieve.

This is not just about getting fresh air, this is about fostering emotional intelligence, adaptability and stronger interpersonal dynamics; all crucial elements in the high-pressure business world.

Now, it may appear as some kind of gimmick that you could send your employees off to an outdoor centre for the weekend and receive them back on Monday as a more effective team.

However, when you consider the real world benefits of your staff working as a team, problem-solving and actually enjoying themselves, it starts to make a lot more sense.

Here are just a few benefits of encouraging your team to strengthen their bonds in a practical, outdoorsy and challenging environment. Your team will become more adept in the following ways:

Boost communication

Communication is one of the biggest issues facing any team, in any working environment. It can be the downfall of an empire, or it could be your biggest strength as a company unit.

Allowing your team to develop their own channels of communication, learning how to assess situations and how to organise themselves appropriately, is one of the biggest wins you could possibly hope for.

Build trust

Trust follows swiftly behind communication as one of the most important factors of building a good team; how can there be a bond without it?

Learning to trust the methodology of your peers is crucial in how you will work together as a unit, so why not trust your team in abseiling from Millers Dale Bridge. What better way to strengthen a bond than during adrenaline pumping abseiling in the Peak District.

Increase resilience

Resilience in any team will directly impact the success you can enjoy, largely because things aren't always going to be good, even for the best teams on earth. Hard times will come, and if your crew can keep getting up, keep swinging and keep creating, then you'll all be better off for it.

Tackling tough situations, like navigating through technical terrain safely as a team, can translate directly into the business world, having allowed your people to learn not to give in to pressurised situations.

Improve wellbeing

As we advance as a society, wellness is an increasingly important part of life. The people you employ and work with will be at their most effective when their wellbeing is high.

Spending time in nature, being active and working with people in a fun and challenging environment is one of the very best ways to ensure your staff are living their best lives. Allow the nurturing effects of nature to boost morale, strengthen bonds and increase your workforce's happiness.

Encourage leadership growth

If you're looking for future leaders, trying to help people develop into new roles, or simply looking for strengths within your team, then watch them interact in an adventurous setting and learn more than you ever could in a boardroom.

Different people will have different skills sets depending on the situation and some could surprise you. Allow your team to step up to the plate in a natural way and develop their sense of leadership orienteering in the picturesque Peak District National Park.

The UK has established itself as something of an outdoor enthusiast's dream destination in the last few decades; we have mild weather (not too hot, not too cold!), incredible landscapes and unparalleled accessibility, and nowhere embodies this more than the stunning Peak District.

After a short drive from major cities like Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and even London, you can find yourself in an adventure paradise with:

• ​White water rafting
• Climbing
• Hiking
• Mountain biking
• Wild camping
• Waterfalls
• Gorges
• Mountainous peaks

When you couple these possibilities with the history and gorgeous accommodation in the area, you begin to understand why businesses all over the UK are choosing the Peaks for their next team building retreat.

Everything from small leadership offsites to full-team getaways can be catered for, with many of our properties offering flexibility, on-site activities and space for workshops, group sessions and team dinners. It's a short drive from the office, but a world away from the boardroom.

Adventure therapy is not a one-size-fits-all kind of deal; the best retreats will mix challenge with inclusivity. Physical ability should never be a barrier to participation and those in your team may well have never tackled anything like this before.

Working with a company to provide an activity package that suits your team is a superb idea to maximise everyone's experience on the trip, but for now, here are a few adventure activities that suit a wide range of physicalities and abilities:

Guided hikes and navigation challenges

These adventures cater to many different levels of ability and are a tried and tested corporate adventure. You can tackle any level of difficulty on the route, including orienteering or path finding objectives to test the group and even add more extreme elements to the route like a rock face to scale, or a gorge to pass through safely. You can cover all bases and ability levels with a well organised hike in the Peak District.

Canoeing or Raft Building

This is the ultimate problem-solving exercise. Asking your team to organise the construction of a floating raft or the navigation of a technical river set can produce incredible results.

Pressurised decisions will directly impact the end result and working as a team will be the most crucial element of a time-constrained challenge. You'll be able to observe your team in a thrilling environment and success could mean the strongest bond possible.

High ropes or ziplining

As we already know, trust plays a crucial role in any business environment, but fear can have a huge impact on people too. Indecision, in-fighting and poor decision making all stem from trust, fear and a lack of confidence, so why not inspire your team with an adrenaline fuelled high-ropes adventure?

They'll learn to push themselves outside of their comfort zones, where they can learn to trust themselves and their cohorts.

Bushcraft or survival skills workshops

If you're looking to learn the absolute maximum about your team, then bushcraft and survival can be the ultimate test of resilience, adaptability, resourcefulness and teamwork, as well as being a great time.

Work with our local facilitators who understand corporate dynamics, can tailor sessions to your goals, and give your team the adventure they need to unite; whether it's breaking silos, sparking innovation, or simply helping teams unwind and get along, there are experts out there who can help you to develop team building ideas into incredible reality, including our in-house catering and experiences team who offer event planning services.

With hybrid and remote working on the rise, the increase of daily screen time and the isolation of the modern work environment, burnout and stress are on the rise in the workforce. Teams are craving authentic moments of connection, wellness opportunities and the chance to escape the office and experience something real. Swapping the mundane corporate training days for an outdoorsy adventure might just be the smartest investment your business makes this year.

This blog post was written by freelance writer Kate Shepperd. You can follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter).