Goldman Sachs conducted a Build-A-Bike® Team Building Event benefiting 20 children in New York and New Jersey. 120 new hires from Goldman Sachs came together in two different Build-A-Bike Team Building Events to enjoy one another, learn some team building and leadership skills and build bikes for children from the Children’s Aid Society of New York. The event was fast-paced and moved quickly for the three hours which culminated in the building of 10 bikes in the morning session and 10 bikes in the afternoon session. In each case the children receiving the bikes were present at the end of each session to receive their new bikes. It was a moving experience seeing the excited kids come in and claim their prize. The young people, newly hired by Goldman Sachs were in New York city for training and this experience showed them the importance of giving back to the community. The different activities leading up to the bike give-away were fun and insightful, but the children receiving the bikes was extra special to the participants.

One of the great things to witness was how well these young people got along, interacted and helped each other in solving the problems and puzzles they faced. They worked together and called on each others strengths when needed. An important part of team building and team leadership is being able to capitalize on one another’s strength and let each person use their abilities for the good of the group. This synergistic effort was obvious in the participants who, although competitive at times, also overcame the competitive struggle to finish the task of building the bikes. The Build-A-Bike Team Building Event was a lot of fun, but also pointed to the lessons that could be taken away.

Thanks so Goldman Sachs for a great Team Building Event and to the Children’s Aid Society for providing a meaningful end to a great day.