In this vein, then, of contributing to a developing "cyber-fieldbook" and
as my first contribution to "Practical Tools and Applications" or whatever
this thread or process may be called, I'd like to offer the following
little "tool."
This is a "team-developing" exercise. I ran into it in a workshop--I
suspect it was taken from another source, perhaps a workbook someone had
or an activities book. If any of you know who developed it, please share
that. All I know is that I've used it several times, with a number of
nonessential modifications, with great success.
I call it "Building a Square," but others of you may know it by other
names.
This activity needs some room to work in. I like to use it outside, when
possible, or in a large space indoors.
You need a length of rope (I usually carry 2 or 3 40-foot, or 12-m,
lengths around with me) for each group of not more than 10 or 12 people.
Ask the people, or each group, to line up in a rank (standing next to one
another) holding the rope in their hands.
Tell them that you want them to turn this rope from a line into a square,
working together, with their eyes closed. (I've tried it blindfolded, but
prefer for the sake of safety to just rely on the honor system--peer
pressure seems to take care of the process).
I like to have one or two "guides" for each group, just to keep them from
getting into some trouble while their eyes are closed.
Inform the group(s) that when they think they have the best square they
can build (with their eyes closed!) to lay the rope down on the ground and
then open their eyes.
This activity takes about 15 - 20 minutes to set up and complete. The
debrief can take another 30+ minutes, and the metaphors that develop from
the activity can be used frequently and for a relatively long time.
The debrief, of course, starts with celebrating their success at building
the square. Without fail, all the groups have been very happy with their
success on this (and we don't use any benchmark data to ruin their joy).
Then we begin sharing the experiences involved in this very focused
activity. With the eyes closed, of course, they are relying on other
sensory data. Leadership ebbs and flows--communication (talking and
listening) become critical for success. Developing collaboration skills
and exercising them becomes imperative to successfully completing the
task. So-called body language is of little use, so better oral
communication results. Clarification and inquiry become more pronounced.
I like to use this exercise near the beginning of an all-day or half-day
workshop in team skills or team learning. It's a good warm-up, develops
communication and success quickly, and, as I said, the metaphors and
experiences are referred to throughout by the participants. It's a great
action knowledge event.
It's also quite insightful and useful for the facilitator to "see" the
participants in this activity.
----
well, not as professionally described as those in the fieldbook, but I
hope for any of you who haven't ran across this one before that you'll
find it useful.
regards,
Doc
-- "A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually." -Abba EbanThresholds <http://www.thresholds.com> Meeting Masters <http://www.thresholds.com/masters.html> Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Astoria, Or & Olympia, WA USA ICQ# 10849650 voice 360.786.0925
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>