Back

The Best team member

You are here: Home / Free Games & Activities / Leadership & Management Activities / The Best team member

The Best team member

The Best Team Member – Team Building Activity

Category: Games & Activities

Estimated Time: 20–30 minutes

Group Size: Teams of 4 to 5 members

Learning Objectives

  • Increase awareness of the critical role of interpersonal (soft) skills in effective teamwork
  • Help participants understand the balance between technical skills and interpersonal traits
  • Encourage reflection on how soft skills contribute to team performance, collaboration, and innovation

Materials Needed

  • Blank flipchart sheets (one per team)
  • Markers
  • Timer or stopwatch
Facilitator Tip: Before starting, align on quick definitions—technical = task/role-specific knowledge; interpersonal = behaviors that enable collaboration (listening, empathy, reliability). Edge cases can be discussed in the debrief.

Setup & Instructions

  1. Split participants into teams of 4 to 5 people.
  2. Distribute a blank flipchart sheet and markers to each team.
  3. Explain the task: Brainstorm as many qualities as possible that define the best team member ever. Encourage specificity and real-life examples.
  4. Give teams 10 minutes to complete their list.
  5. After brainstorming, ask teams to review their list and categorize each quality into either technical skills or interpersonal traits.
  6. Instruct teams to calculate and visually present the percentage of technical versus interpersonal attributes, optionally using simple pie charts or bar graphs on their flipchart.

Trainer Tips

  • Use probing questions to help teams generate meaningful and concrete qualities, e.g., “Think of someone you admire – what makes them a great team member?”
  • Encourage quieter members to contribute by inviting their perspectives.
  • Walk around and listen in to groups, providing gentle guidance if discussions stall.
  • Define and provide examples of technical versus interpersonal skills if participants struggle with categorization.
  • Encourage creative presentation of categorizations with colorful charts or diagrams for visual impact.

Debrief & Discussion Questions

  • What did you notice about the balance between technical and interpersonal qualities?
  • How do interpersonal skills influence your experience working within teams?
  • Can you share examples where strong interpersonal traits improved or poor ones hindered team success?
  • How can teams actively cultivate these interpersonal traits?
  • What role do you think organizations should play in developing these skills?

Variations & Customizations

  • Leadership Training: Ask teams to describe the “best leader.”
  • Customer Service Workshops: Replace the focus with “best service agent” or “best frontliner.”
  • Sales Training: Adjust to “best sales rep” or “most effective salesperson.”
  • Adapt for virtual teams by using shared online whiteboards or collaboration tools.

Related Training Material Packages

Get Started with The Best Team Member Activity

Use this insightful activity to highlight the importance of interpersonal skills and spark meaningful discussions in your training sessions. Combine it with our comprehensive training packages to build stronger, more connected, and high-performing teams.

Download Building High Performing Teams Package

Training resources from TrainingCourseMaterial.com — instant download, fully editable, trainer-friendly.


Frequently Asked Questions

How should we handle qualities that fit both categories?

Pick a primary category based on the intent of the quality and note it as a borderline case during debrief.

What’s a quick way to calculate percentages?

Count items per category, divide by total items, then multiply by 100. Optional: weight the top five “most important” qualities.

How do we prevent this from becoming a popularity contest?

Ban naming individuals. Focus on behaviors and evidence. Ask for real examples to validate each quality.

Can this be done remotely?

Yes—use a shared whiteboard or doc for brainstorming, breakout rooms for categorization, and a poll to visualize percentages.

Suggested tie-breakers if teams “finish” early?

Prioritize the list, create a quick pie chart, or rewrite top qualities as observable behaviors (“I will…” statements).

36 Full Courses & 6 Mini Courses.

39 Full Courses & 6 Mini Courses

Get all available programs
& save ...!!

Price: $4499.95 $2995.95

Great Value For Money

Read More
Train The Trainer + Presenting With Impact

The Presenter-Trainer Package®

Train The Trainer

Presenting With Impact

Price: $359.95 $299.95

SAVE $59.95

Read More
Retail Excellence Series

Retail Excellence Series®

3 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Frontline Retail Selling Skills

Retail Sales Planning & Forecasting

Passionate Retail Experts

Price: $539.855 $349.95

Pay for 2 Get 1 Free

Read More
Sales excellence series

Sales excellence series®

3 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Sales Management

Professional Selling Skills

Sales Territory Planning & Routing

Price: $539.855 $349.95

Pay for 2 Get 1 Free

Read More
Call Center Excellance Series

Call Center Excellence Series®

4 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Handling angry and difficult callers

Call control

Find a way to say YES!

Successful telephone debt collection

Price: $719.95 $449.95

Pay for 2 programs and Get 2 programs Free

Read More
Communication Excellence Series

Communication Excellence Series®

4 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Communicating with clarity and impact

Negotiating for results

Conflict resolution

Presenting With Impact

Price: $719.95 $449.95

Pay for 2 programs and Get 2 programs Free

Read More
Customer Service Excellence Series

Customer Service Excellence Series®

5 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Vision, Energy & Passion To Serve

Pathways to service excellence

Find a way to say YES!

Passionate Retail Experts

Setting others up for success

Price: $899.75 $599.95

Pay for 3 Get 2 Free

Read More

Find Out
Your Leadership
Style

Instant Download Training packages

All you need
to deliver a great training!

Our training material packages come with all you need to provide
a professional and accelerated learning solution with

training-materials-slides2

High Impact
Power Point Slide Deck

To support immersive learning, a high impact professionally designed power point slide deck to engage trainees at all levels.

training-materials-student-workbook2

Student
Workbook

A comprehensive reference workbook you can give out to your class participants as a quick future reference.

training-materials-trainer-guide2222

Trainer
Guide

With step-by-step clear directions with tips and suggestions on what to say and how to present each slide.

excercise-sheets2

Activity
/Exercise Sheets

Various training material and support documents to help you both explain and debrief the different exercises, activities and games Plus a fun final Jeopardy style review game as a fun ending for your training program.

additional-documents2

Additional
Support Documents

To ensure you have all you need to deliver a complete and professional training program, additional supporting documents are included with each full course material package. From training evaluation forms to 5 different certificate templates that you can edit and hand out to your participants at the end of your training.

job_aid_forms2

Job Aids
& Forms

Specific forms designed to extend and reinforce the training that participants can utilize back on the job to help them apply the new learned concepts (Select training material packages)

Get all our training Packages
and Save!

Save over $1500 and Get each full program for under $99.00 & 6 Mini Courses free