Blog Archives

Team Tower Turning (with Videos)

3/26/2023

(About a 10 minute read.)

A friend and fellow team builder, Linda Williams, recently showed me her version of Team Waterwheel (from the book, Cup It Up: Team Building with Cups which Linda edited). She adapted Waterwheel for a training with over 300 people. Her design purpose was to work on the concepts of 'planning' and 'task implementation' with participants from a world-wide organization. I've used it now over a dozen times and I really like the versatility and outcomes.

Linda provides a set of directions (PDF download below) for each Tower Turning team that includes general info and some goal setting (Tower Height Goal and a Building Quality goal - which is the number of 'collapses' the team will allow themselves along the way), and Team Tower Build Operational Procedures. There is also a Team Tower Turning Reflection Questions handout for you - a variety of questions to choose from to bring out the learnings from the experience (these Reflection Questions could also be given to each group to work through on their own during the designated reflection time).

Team Tower Turning Participant-Directed Handout

teamtowerturning_2023.pdf
File Size:	81 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Large Group Facilitation: When Linda worked with the group of 300, the participants were seating at round tables. All the building supplies and instructional handouts were preset at each table. During her introduction to the activity she used slides to emphasize the main points (some of her slides at the right) - one of the slides had an embedded video of the 'turning' process. My largest 'turning' group so far has been 72. I didn't use technology, just verbalized the instructions and showed them an example of how to start and how the turn is done.

Here are the basics of the activity to supplement the handout:

Needs & Numbers: You'll need 12 plastic cups and 15 - 4 by 6 inch index cards for each group of four to six participants.

Time: This one can take up to 40 minutes depending on the amount of time available for the reflection phase. Breakdown: 5 min. to introduce, 10 min. of 'required' planning time to read through the 'Operational Procedures' and set Goals, 12 min. of building time, and at least 10 (to 20) min. of reflection time.

Note to Facilitator: It is important to include enough time to debrief the activity with your participants. See the sample Reflection Questions in the handout to consider including in your after-activity discussion. Feel free to modify or add questions that will best suit your participants and the desired outcomes of your session.

Group Reflection: Read through the Reflection Questions in the handout to see the learning possibilities in the activity.

Why I Like Tower Turning:

Easy to find and use props (and there is so much more you can do with CUPS!)
Self-Directed instructions provide more decision-making and problem-solving for a group.
There is a clear picture of success and failure - when the tower falls, the group has the opportunity to identify and then solve the falling problems.
It can be scaled to almost any size group (if you have the cups and a way to project your voice).
When I want to go deeper, I have groups take about 5 to 10 minutes to identify the attributes of a good working team and write these findings on the index cards (you'll need some markers). And then we can use this attribute 'data' to consolidate a take-away list of behaviors the whole group wants to focus on after their team building program.

Let us know how this one goes for you! Leave a Comment below.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

P.S. Tools for Team Builders Bonus Video: Tube Turning

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Fast Ball to Innovation

3/16/2023

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(About a 12-minute read.)

After circling up 12 to 18 people, each standing on their own game spot, and handing a safe tossable to one of the group members, I share four simple rules to Fast Ball:

Every person in the group must toss AND catch the object at least once.
Tosses can be made to anyone other than to yourself, and the player to your left and to your right.
After tossing the object you must occupy the spot of the person you tossed it to.
No two or more people can occupy the same spot.

Simple. Right? Not usually.

If you've been following the FUN for a while (even recently at the OnTeamBuilding blog), you've seen Fast Ball before. I posted the adventure back in October of 2017 connected to an inquiry I received from a friend and fellow team builder related to participants feeling "tricked" by their facilitator during Fast Ball. Go through the OnTeamBuilding link above to find out my three approaches to tricky activities. I wanted to keep the activity here at the FUNdoing blog and revisit it with a deeper dive.

If all you need is the activity you've got it - give it a try. It's a 'tricky' one. If you're up for growing some dendrites, grab a beverage and join me for the dive.

All About Fast Ball
I use Fast Ball with groups of 12 to 18 participants (adults) who are interested in exploring creativity and innovation. Mental Models, assumptions and Phantom Rules become a part of the conversations as well. Groups will form a particular way to 'do' the activity based on how they define one of the Rules, then must redefine (a method of innovation) the rule in order to be successful.

Fast Ball has turned out to be an interesting discovery. At first the solution seems to be quite straightforward. However, its simplicity “is an outward semblance that misrepresents” (disguises) the true nature of the activity.

Let's look at more specifics about setting up the activity.

Activity Objective: Move a safe tossable object (e.g., tennis ball) to each person in the group as quickly as possible.

Facilitated Objectives (Concepts you can practice and talk about): Innovation, Creativity, Mental Models, Phantom Rules (false beliefs), Cooperation, Communication, Brainstorming, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Goal Setting, Failing Forward (trial & error).

Needs & Numbers: One timing device and one safe tossable object is needed for a group of 12 to 18 participants. If game spots are available, have one for each player. (This one can be done without spots.)

Time: 15 to 30+ minutes (depending on the level of commitment)

Procedure
Circle up your group of players for directions. (Note: A circle formation is not required for the activity, but don’t reveal this fact - let your group discover this.)

Explain that everyone is standing on their 'spot.' If physical game spots are not being used, simply tell everyone, “where you are standing when you catch the tossable object is your spot”—and say no more. (Note: This “spot” concept is an important factor for this activity.)

Once participants are standing on their spots, hand the object to someone in the group. Inform the group that this will be a timed activity. The time starts when the first toss is made and stops when everyone is standing in the spot of the player each participant tossed the object to (e.g., if you toss to Peter, you need to end up standing on the spot Peter was standing on when he caught the object).

Safety: I have not observed any physical safety issues during this activity as the solution does not require fast movements. However, I have seen some groups get really frustrated. Be sure to monitor the communication so that you can step in (to facilitate) if emotional safety is being compromised.

Facilitation: Some groups may have a few questions before they get started. Most can be answered by referring back to the rules. When asked, “Do we have to stay in a circle formation?” I will respond with a question, "Will you be breaking one of the rules if you're not in a circle?" Sometimes I'll make a small card with the rules on it and hand it to my group after explaining them. Then I can refer them to the card, "Check your rules." (The visual resource is also a nice way to connect with the 'visual' learners.)

Sometimes when I hand the tossable to someone in the group, it's a random choice; other times, I choose a person who might benefit from a leadership experience. However, this does not guarantee this person will assume a leadership role.

Spoiler Alert! (If you want to try this one first, do not read on.) You might be asking, “What’s the big deal? Seems like a pretty easy task.” Here’s the rub—if players choose to move to the spot (Rule 3) of the players to which they have tossed immediately after their toss, the activity will not end; it becomes a perpetual loop.

Think about it. No spot can be occupied by more than one player (Rule 4), so movement would have to be continuous. Now, look at Rule 3. It says, “After tossing…” but it does not specify precisely when after tossing. So, the solution, following the rules (as far as I have determined to this point), all tosses should be made first AND THEN everyone moves to their designated spot - time stops! Hmmmm. Tricky? Or simply a 'problem' to solve? (If you think about it even more, all problems are tricky - that's why they're problems.)

Observations/Questions (Behaviors to look for, then talk about)

What was your initial reaction to the activity after it was presented? Did this reaction change over time? Why?
How were you limited during this activity? Who gave you those limits? (Note: Limits other than the rules for the activity could be considered “phantom rules.” Who set these rules?)
Think back to any of the planning sessions you had, what did they sound like? Look like? How were ideas shared during the planning session(s)? How could the planning session(s) have been more effective?
What were some of the challenges you encountered during the activity? What were some of the surprises you encountered? Describe what happened within the group when the challenges and surprises were encountered.
Did anyone foresee the solution to this challenge? If so, why was this foresight not shared (or heard)? And if it was heard, why was it not considered?
Did anyone feel “tricked” at any time during the activity? Explain how you believe you were tricked? Where do you think this feeling comes from? How might this feeling help you? How might this feeling hinder you?
Are we able to foresee the outcomes of all that we plan? (Of course not.) What are some behaviors you would like to consider keeping when unforeseeable instances occur? And, what behaviors would you like to avoid during such instances?

Variations:

Hand everyone a spot. After the directions are given, have the group decide what configuration they want to make. A circle is still a possibility but not a requirement. I have seen two lines facing each other, which avoids possible complications of rule two as tosses are made across to the other line. A scattered formation is also interesting—no one is directly to the right or left if set up with this in mind.
Fastball can also be a good group goal-setting activity. There have been instances where I impose a goal of a very low time to (hopefully) get the participants to make a shift in thinking.

We'd love to hear how this goes for you. Leave a Comment below.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Snowball Pick-N-Choose (with Video)

3/2/2023

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(About a 7-minute read.)

'Pick and Choose' was one of my go-to's when I was getting started in the adventure education world. I first discovered it in the 1984 edition of Silver Bullets, by Karl Rohnke (it was the first 'Adventure Games' book I encountered in 1990). Over the years it solidified in one of my mental models that we always use buckets and tennis balls (cause that's how I learned it). Here is the Silver Bullets picture that's imprinted in my mind:

To make a relatively long story short (and you know I love long stories), I ran into a variation of Pick and Choose involving marbles and tape. I made the jump to 'paper snowballs' after an 'Ask' podcast I did with Michelle Cummings (Episode 57: Team Building with Paper) and a new mental model was born - Snowball Pick-N-Choose.

Snowball Pick-N-Choose

Set Up: The picture below is the set up in the video (above). This is a good configuration for a group of up to 10 players. IMPORTANT NOTE: I used a combination of targets - hula hoops and masking tape - in order to demonstrate options. If I'm traveling light and playing inside, I'll just bring paper, masking tape, and an activity rope. The hoops are great if you have them on site or if you're okay traveling with them.

If you have a larger group of 11 to 14 players, add another Snowball receptacle behind the line and more Snowballs - about 3 Snowballs for every player in the group (e.g., 12 players 36 Snowballs divided between the two receptacles). Then your first target row will have four targets, the second row will have three targets and the third row will have two targets.

Distancing: The first row of targets is about 8-feet from the throwing line, the second row is about 13-feet from the line, the third row is about 18-feet from the line. NOTE: Paper Snowballs do not go very far when thrown. An 18-foot distance to the highest points is doable, but not easy.

Scoring: You can choose any combination of scores for your targets. My first row is worth 15 points, my second row is 30 points, and the third row is 50 points (I want to make the farthest target(s) enticing). I put little point markers (index cards) at each distance but it's not necessary.

Objective: Score as many points as possible in 90-seconds. (Karl's original version is 2-minutes, which can be a good cardio workout if needed.)

Play:

The configuration of the equipment may not be changed. Only the Snowballs can be moved (by being thrown).
A team will require at least two roles to be covered during play - Throwers and Retrievers. (Other roles can be created if needed.)
Throwers must stay behind the throwing line and only the Snowballs (paper) can be thrown.
Throwers can only take Snowballs from the receptacles behind the throwing line.
There is no limit to the number of Throwers.
Retrievers can move anywhere - near the targets and behind the throwing line - around the playing area to pick up Snowballs.
Retrievers may not 'influence' Snowballs into the targets.
There is no limit to the number of Retrievers.

Allow time for your group to plan and practice before each attempt. Be sure they understand and follow the rules. You can keep and call the time. And I like to record, in big numbers on flip chart paper, the scores of each round. Three or four rounds work well to notice some change in a groups process.

Why I like This One

The rules are super-simple.
To be successful a group must realize they need a lot more retrievers than throwers (but everyone wants to be a thrower to get points). How do they go about letting go of the glory for the good of the group or goal?
Its high energy in short bursts. Does/Can everyone give their all in that short burst?
'Problems' are easy to identify (there aren't that many) and solve - if people are willing to do the hard work (running around).
Hard work is involved. What else is hard work for people? What can be good about hard work? How do we want to handle hard work together? What's possible when we work on something together that is difficult?

Wonderings

Will a group uncrumple the Snowballs (paper) and make paper airplanes to fly into the distant targets?
Will a group uncrumple the Snowballs (paper), tear them in half and double their throwable Snowballs? Will a half-Snowball make it to the farthest target?

Have fun out there my friend!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Team Tower Turning (with Videos)

Fast Ball to Innovation

Snowball Pick-N-Choose (with Video)

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