Build Your Team: Breaking the Ice

Build Your Team: Breaking the Ice

NDOA Winter ConferenceJanuary 28, 2014

The Alford Group

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Ice Breakers & Team Building

WhyHowWho

WhenWhat

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Characteristics of Highly Effective Teams

• Clear unity of purpose• Self-aware about own operations• Atmosphere tends to be informal,

comfortable, relaxed• Lots of discussion, virtually

everyone participates; free expression

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Characteristics of Highly Effective Teams

• Disagreements happen, are viewed as healthy dialogue

• Criticism is frequent, frank & relatively comfortable

• Most decisions are made when there is general agreement

• Leadership shifts from time to time

Sources: The Human Side of Enterprise, Douglas MacGregor; The Wisdom of Teams, by Kaztenbach and Smith

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WHAT

Both lead to creating a positive environment for learning & addressing the issues of the day

Team BuildersHelp a group work together

more effectively and improve performance and productivity

Encounter Groups, Sensitivity Training, & Primal Therapy, oh my!

Ice BreakersWelcome & warm up the conversation among participants at a meeting and ensure they feel comfortable and enjoy their interaction and the session

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WHY – Ice Breakers

• Help people:get to know and/or learn

more about each otherintegrate & connect relax & feel more comfortable

• Start conversations & enhance communication

• Build trust & break down barriers

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WHY – Ice Breakers

• Encourage receptivity to both listening & contributing

• Encourage people to break out of their own department or clique

• Energize & motivate participants• Inspire creativity & imagination

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WHY – Team Builders

• Enhance cooperation• Form cohesiveness• Build rapport• Promote problem

solving & decision making

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WHO

• Use Ice Breakers & Team Builders with people:who don’t know each otherwho would benefit knowing more about

each otherwith different perspectives &

viewpointsfrom different departments & different

levels in an organization

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WHEN

• Warm up & relax the group• Get acquainted/learn more about

each other• Energize – or quiet – the group• Keep participants present &

engaged • Segue to a new topic• Prelude to challenging topics 

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HOW

• Have a clear purpose in mind • Establish objectives & desired outcomes• Determine what is appropriate for group

size & makeup• Make sure exercises end with valuable

learning

Remember – more than just a game; can be a catalyst for positive change

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Tips & Hints

• Be sure to:Choose exercises relevant to your

objectivesKeep ice breakers simple; team

builders can be more complexMake them fun & engagingPractice in advance Finish each exercise while people are

still enjoying itBe ready to improvise & have a back-

up plan

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Tips & Hints

• Try not to:Do something that could embarrass or

offend anyoneMake people uncomfortable Underestimate the time requiredLimit exercises to beginning of meetingForce people to participateMake exercises excessively competitiveDo too much

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Line UpHigh level objective:  This ice breaker is a simple, fun, fast way to get a group up and

moving around so it’s especially good when the energy level is low, such as right after lunch.

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Line Up Directions

• Divide the entire group up into smaller groups of about 8 people; try to make the size of the groups as even as possible

• Have each group form a line• Tell each group to line up in a new order such as:

– Height, from shortest to tallest– Date of birth, from 1 to 31 (if there is a tie, the earlier month in

the year is first)– Shoe size, from smallest to largest– Alphabetical – by first (or last) names, or by mother’s first

names, or by grandfather’s last names, or by the name of the street where they live (numbered streets are last), or by whatever other alpha order you can think of

– Number of years in their profession– Age, from youngest to oldest– Any other order you think up!

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Line Up Follow-Up/Observations

• If you have more than one group, give a small prize to each person in the group that finishes lining up correctly first

• Even though this ice-breaker is mostly just fun, if you want to build in some learning you can ask participants how it felt to “win” (by being the first group to line up correctly) instead of “lose.”

• You can also ask participants how it felt to be at the “front” of the line versus the “back” of the line and what they noticed about who took the lead in getting people to line up correctly and about the other dynamics of the group as they were trying to line up correctly.

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 BelongingnessHigh level objective: This team builder provides an opportunity for a working group to go deeper, get to know each other, build rapport, and find

both commonality and distinctiveness.

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 Belongingness Directions

• Everyone forms a circle.• Ask for a volunteer to stand in the middle of the

circle.• The person in the middle begins by naming

something s/he has never done before.• Anyone in the circle who has experienced that

“something” in the same way will join the person in the middle.

• Work around the remaining circle one by one and provide an anecdote (or tell in one brief sentence) something related to your not having experienced that “something”.

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 Belongingness Follow-Up/Observations

• Works best for “smaller” groups of 10-15 participants; each participant can elaborate

• Can be modified for larger groups of up to 30 participants (limit amount of sharing)

• Can be used at the beginning or logical mid-point of a meeting/retreat

• It is best to begin with a “light” subject as the group becomes familiar with the exercise

• Do encourage everyone to participate but don’t force anyone to join in if for any reason they are not comfortable

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 BelongingnessFollow-Up/Observations

• Be careful about introducing “hot button” topics as a team builder. This exercise will not take the place of good working relations, nor will it solve interpersonal conflict, etc. After working around the circle, ask the following questions:– How did it feel to stand alone in the middle of the circle?– When group members joined you in the middle, how did it feel?

(This experience will be different each time: if only a few others join, there may be a feeling of isolation; if many others join, there may be a feeling of belonging or even dominance)

– How did people in the middle feel as the group members around the circle shared their thoughts? Did it develop a sense of belonging? Of isolation? Of understanding?

– What opportunities would a feeling of isolation present for the team?

– How could this exercise be utilized to “go deeper” with our work team? What are some potential future topics?

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This or That

High level

objective:

Getting acquaint

ed

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This or That Directions

• Divide the entire group up into smaller groups of about 8 people; try to make the size of the groups as even as possible

• Have each group form a line• Tell each group to line up in a new order such as:

– Height, from shortest to tallest– Date of birth, from 1 to 31 (if there is a tie, the earlier month in

the year is first)– Shoe size, from smallest to largest– Alphabetical – by first (or last) names, or by mother’s first

names, or by grandfather’s last names, or by the name of the street where they live (numbered streets are last), or by whatever other alpha order you can think of

– Number of years in their profession– Age, from youngest to oldest– Any other order you think up!

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This or That Potential Questions

Lighthearted

• Doctor or Dentist• Fruit or Vegetables• TV or music• Beach holiday or a

mountain holiday• Invisible or mind-

reader• Go without

television or fast food for the rest of your life• Early riser or night

owl• PC or MAC• Left or right• Spender or saver• Scary movies or

romantic comedies• Summer or winter• Miserably Hot or

Miserably Cold• Fly or drive

• Outside or Inside• Watch the movie or

read a book• Dog or cat• Tent or Hotel• Winter Olympics or

summer Olympics• Beer or Wine• Red Wine or White

Wine• Sail Boat or Power

Boat• Roller Coaster or

Ferris Wheel• Basketball or

Football• Surf or Turf• Water Ski or Snow

Ski• Messy or clean• Boxers or Briefs -

Just kidding!

More serious or workplace related content• Knowledge or Imagination• Detail oriented or big picture• Lecture or discussion• Deaf or Blind• Stranded on a deserted island

alone or with someone you don't like

• See the future or change the past• Liberal or conservative• Plan or build• Formal or informal• Do it today or wait until tomorrow• Marathon or Sprint• Introverted or extroverted• Ok to be interrupted or Prefer

people to wait

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Web of StrengthHigh level

overview: An exercise to close or begin a session that

visualizes the importance of

individual strengths. By focusing on

individual strengths and capacities we build community. This exercise will

help the group realize the

importance of each member's

contribution and the value of

affirming each other.

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Web of Strength Directions

• You will need a ball of yarn• Ask the group to gather in a circle.• Choose a member of the group and give them an affirming

comment regarding their contributions.  Then toss the ball of yarn to that person while holding the end of the string.

• Ask that person(who caught the ball) to repeat the process remembering to hold onto the string.

• Repeat until everyone in the group has been affirmed.  The last person may feel uncomfortable affirming you so be ready to move immediately to the next step.

• Ask everyone to pull tight and express what they see   "a web".

• Suggest to them that this is your web of strength.• Ask 3 or 4 random people to let go of the string.• Ask everyone to share what they just saw happen.

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Web of StrengthFollow-Up/Observations

• An opportunity exists for meaningful closure to a meeting.

• Group exemplifies personality tensions and conflicts.

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Thanks for learning with us!

The Alford Group

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