42 | MAY 12 • 2022 

A

s COVID-19 health restrictions ease, 
more and more businesses are turn-
ing to team-building events to help 
improve employee communication, motivation 
and confidence.
After two years of pandemic living and 
working, businesses that are slowly bringing 
employees back to an office or an onsite work 
environment encounter various challenges that 
team-building events may help solve. Many 
employees, especially those hired during the 
pandemic, may not have had a chance to meet 
in-person until recently.
“COVID-19 fundamentally reset how, where 
and even when employees operate,” explains 
Ann Arbor-based entrepreneur Ethan Linkner, 
co-founder and managing director of Mudita 
Venture Partners. “Developing relationships 
through team-building is an easy way to build 
trust, regardless of location or a face-to-face 
interaction.”
At TreeRunner Adventure Parks in West 
Bloomfield and Rochester, the goal is just that: 
to set the stage for employees to reconnect, 
grow their relationships and, most impor-
tantly, develop trust as Linkner says. Multiple 
times a week, both locations host team-build-
ing events at their forested adventure parks to 
integrate people back into the workforce and 
build cohesion.

BUILDING TRUST AND 
CONFIDENCE IN NATURE
Jeremy Fishman, president of TreeRunner 
Adventure Parks, is no stranger to building 
teams. He was the director for the 2019 JCC 
Maccabi Games & ArtFest at the JCC of Metro 
Detroit. The Congregation Shaarey Zedek 

In the forest and trees, 
businesses build trust, 
confidence and relationships.

Building 
Teams

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Companies are turning to 
team building as people 
return to the office after 
the pandemic.

business SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with 
B I R M I N G H A M

 

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