What kind of Team-Building and Workshops does Dr. Harms offer?

Several people sitting on the ground holding up a sign that says team building.

Below are examples of team‑building activities and workshops designed to support stronger, more unified teams. Our goal is to help your people move in a shared direction that meaningfully benefits your organization. We collaborate with you to create experiences that align with your mission, reinforce your values, and strengthen your team from within—so your company can grow, perform, and lead with greater impact.

Team‑Building Activity:

Communication Styles & Assertive Collaboration Lab

Purpose: To help teams identify their communication style—assertive, passive, passive‑aggressive, or aggressive—and learn how to shift toward assertive, emotionally intelligent communication that strengthens collaboration and reduces workplace reactivity.

Overview: This interactive session blends social‑psychology principles with practical workplace application. Participants discover how their communication style shows up under stress, how it impacts team dynamics, and how to adopt more assertive, grounded patterns that support clarity, trust, and connection.

How it works:

Communication Style Overview (10 minutes) Team members complete a brief self‑assessment identifying their default communication style. Each style is explained through a psychological lens—how passive avoids conflict, how aggressive overpowers, how passive‑aggressive masks frustration, and how assertive communicates needs clearly and respectfully.
Scenario Round (10 minutes) A realistic workplace scenario is presented—missed expectations, unclear roles, or a stressful client request. Small groups discuss how their identified style typically responds.
Fun Style‑Guessing Game (10 minutes) Team members act out each communication style using short, workplace‑based scripts.
- One round might show a passive response to a missed deadline.
- Another might demonstrate an aggressive reaction to unclear instructions.
- A third might highlight passive‑aggressive behavior in a team conflict.
- And finally, an assertive, emotionally regulated response. Teams must guess which style you’re demonstrating and explain what cues helped them identify it. This creates laughter, insight, and instant recognition of real workplace patterns.
Live Interaction Exercise (10 minutes) Team members practice responding to the scenario using their natural style. You observe patterns such as hesitation, defensiveness, indirect comments, or over‑assertion.
Style Debrief (10 minutes) I will share observations and connect them to psychological concepts like emotional regulation, attribution bias, and stress triggers. Participants see how their style influences team trust and productivity.
Assertive Rebuild & Practice (10 minutes) A simple assertive communication framework is taught such as clear needs, respectful tone, regulated emotion, and collaborative intent. Teams re‑run the scenario using assertive communication, experiencing firsthand how it shifts the dynamic.

Outcome: Teams leave with:

awareness of their communication style
the ability to identify styles in real time
tools to shift toward assertive communication
strategies for reducing reactivity
improved clarity, trust, and collaboration
a shared language for healthier workplace interactions

Team‑Building Activity:

The Collaboration & Problem‑Solving Challenge

Purpose: To strengthen teamwork, adaptability, and collaborative problem‑solving by helping participants understand how their interpersonal habits, assumptions, and communication choices influence group outcomes.

Overview: This activity blends soft‑skills development with light psychological insight. Teams work through a hands‑on challenge that requires clear communication, shared strategy, and emotional regulation. As they navigate the task, you highlight how cognitive biases, stress responses, and group dynamics shape decision‑making and teamwork.

How it works:

Warm‑Up: Collaboration Check‑In (10 minutes) Participants reflect on how they typically contribute in group tasks: leading, observing, organizing, supporting, or troubleshooting. These tendencies are framed through a social‑psych lens—how roles emerge naturally and how they shift under pressure.
The Challenge (10 minutes) Teams receive a creative, time‑bound problem to solve. Examples:
- Build the tallest free‑standing structure using limited materials.
- Solve a multi‑step puzzle where each person holds only part of the information.
- Complete a task where communication is restricted (no speaking, only gestures). The challenge forces them to rely on clarity, cooperation, and adaptability.
Hidden Twist: Bias & Assumption Round (5 minutes) Midway through the challenge, a new twist is introduced—new rules, unexpected constraints, or a shift in available resources. This reveals how teams react to uncertainty, how quickly they adapt, and how assumptions influence their choices.
Observation & Insight (10 minutes) I share what I've observed:
- Who took initiative
- Who hesitated
- Where communication broke down
- How stress influenced decision‑making
- How assumptions shaped strategy You connect these behaviors to concepts like cognitive bias, groupthink, emotional regulation, and role flexibility.
Rebuild & Re‑Run (10 minutes) Teams repeat the challenge with a new strategy informed by my insights. They practice clearer communication, shared leadership, and more intentional collaboration.

Outcome: Teams walk away with:

stronger collaboration and adaptability
awareness of how assumptions and stress shape decisions
improved communication under pressure
tools for clearer, more coordinated teamwork
a shared experience that builds trust and cohesion

½‑Day Workshop:

The Adaptive Communication & Collaboration Intensive

Purpose: To strengthen adaptability, emotional awareness, and collaborative problem‑solving by helping teams understand how flexibility, listening, and interpersonal awareness shape effective teamwork.

Overview: This workshop blends soft‑skills development with psychological insight. Participants learn how adaptability, emotional cues, and interpersonal habits influence collaboration—especially during change, stress, or uncertainty. Through hands‑on activities, guided reflection, and structured practice, teams build stronger communication, clearer coordination, and more resilient working relationships.

Workshop Flow (½ Day – Approximately 3.5 Hours)

1. Opening Session: Adaptability Check‑In (20 minutes)

Participants reflect on how they typically respond to change—jump in, hesitate, over‑plan, or seek reassurance. These tendencies are framed through a psychological lens, showing how cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation influence teamwork.

2. Core Activity: The “Blind Build” Collaboration Challenge (45 minutes)

Teams are tasked with building a simple object (a shape, structure, or layout) using limited materials. There is a twist: Only one person can see the final design. They must guide the team using clear, calm, adaptive communication—no touching materials, no taking over, no frustration‑based shortcuts.

This activity highlights:

listening skills
clarity under pressure
emotional cues
adaptability
shared leadership

I observe communication patterns, stress responses, and collaboration habits.

3. Debrief & Insight Session (30 minutes)

I walk the team through what you observed:

Who adapted quickly
Who froze or hesitated
Where communication broke down
How tone influenced teamwork
How assumptions shaped decisions

I connect these behaviors to concepts like cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and interpersonal awareness.

4. Micro‑Lesson: The Soft Skills Triad (30 minutes)

I teach three core soft skills that elevate collaboration:

Adaptive Listening — hearing what’s said and what’s implied
Clarity Under Pressure — communicating needs without urgency or reactivity
Collaborative Intent — shifting from “my idea” to “our outcome”

Participants practice each skill through short, guided exercises.

5. Application Round: Re‑Run the Challenge (45 minutes)

Teams repeat the build challenge using the new soft‑skills framework. They experience firsthand how adaptability and emotional awareness transform teamwork.

6. Closing Integration: Action Mapping (20 minutes)

Teams identify 3–5 ways to apply these skills to real workplace situations—meetings, client interactions, conflict moments, or cross‑department collaboration.

Outcome:

Teams leave with:

stronger adaptability
clearer communication
improved listening
reduced reactivity
better collaboration under pressure
a shared language for soft‑skills growth

Full‑Day Workshop:

The Emotional Intelligence & Leadership Effectiveness

Purpose: To strengthen leadership effectiveness, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal effectiveness by helping participants understand how self‑awareness, regulation, and relational skills shape influence, collaboration, and workplace culture.

Overview: This full‑day experience blends soft‑skills development with accessible psychological insight. Participants learn how emotional cues, mindset patterns, and communication habits impact leadership effectiveness. Through interactive activities, guided reflection, and real‑world application, teams build stronger confidence, clearer communication, and more grounded leadership behaviors.

Workshop Flow (Full Day – Approximately 6.5 Hours)

1. Opening Session: Leadership Presence Check‑In (45 minutes)

Participants reflect on how they currently “show up” in professional settings—calm, reactive, confident, hesitant, directive, collaborative. I introduce the concept of leadership presence and how psychology shapes it: emotional regulation, cognitive bias, self‑concept, and social perception.

2. Core Module: The Emotional Intelligence Foundations (1 hour)

I teach the four pillars of Emotional Intelligence (EI):

Self‑Awareness
Self‑Regulation
Social Awareness
Relationship Management

Participants complete a short EI self‑assessment and identify their strengths and growth areas.

3. Interactive Activity: The “Pressure Scenarios” Leadership Lab (1 hour)

Teams rotate through stations with different workplace challenges:

A frustrated client
A miscommunication between coworkers
A sudden change in expectations
A team member shutting down

Each station requires participants to respond using emotional intelligence tools. I observe tone, body language, regulation, clarity, and leadership presence.

4. Debrief & Insight Session (30 minutes)

I share observations and connect them to psychological concepts like:

emotional triggers
attribution bias
stress responses
interpersonal perception

Participants gain insight into how their reactions influence trust and collaboration.

5. Midday Break (Lunch)

6. Afternoon Module: The Leadership Communication Toolkit (1 hour)

I teach three core soft‑skills frameworks:

The Clarity Model — communicating expectations without ambiguity
The Curiosity Model — asking questions that reduce defensiveness
The Regulation Model — responding instead of reacting

Participants practice each tool through paired exercises.

7. Team Challenge: The Leadership Relay (1 hour)

Teams complete a multi‑step challenge requiring:

clear delegation
emotional awareness
collaborative decision‑making
adaptive communication

Each step is designed to reveal leadership strengths and gaps. I introduce small “stressors” to simulate real workplace pressure.

8. Integration Session: Leadership Identity Mapping (45 minutes)

Participants create a personalized “Leadership Identity Map” outlining:

their core strengths
their communication tendencies
their emotional triggers
their leadership values
their growth goals

This becomes a practical roadmap for ongoing development.

9. Closing Round: Commitment to Action (30 minutes)

Participants identify 3–5 leadership behaviors they will implement immediately. You guide them through a short reflection on how these behaviors strengthen team culture, communication, and organizational resilience.

Outcome:

Teams leave with:

stronger emotional intelligence
improved leadership presence
clearer, more confident communication
better regulation under pressure
enhanced collaboration and trust
a personalized leadership development plan
practical tools they can use immediately

Contact Me

I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities.

30 min. Free Consults Let's connect.

Email: lovenlifeworkplacesolutions@gmail.com

Text first please: 720-260-4537