So we sit down and chatter a bit, and then the facilitator asks us to observe ourselves. Without fail, everyone was busy putting things back in their original positions. Shoes were put back on, ties were re-tied, rings went back on the correct fingers.
The point of the exercise wasn’t teamwork at all. Rather it was to recognize that change is exceedingly difficult, and we all have a tendency to go back as soon as possible to “the way things were.” We have to commit to internalizing what we learned and making an effort to use it, or we’ll just slowly creep back to “normal.”
It was one of those “aha” moments for many of us and led to a very good session.
That was a good a-ha moment, and a very valid point. I have done that icebreaker, but I’m not sure if that point was made.
I just remember finding it extremely awkward to be paired with a partner of the opposite sex and looking at each other that closely. There was no attraction on my part, but I just found it awkward.
While I’m here, I’ll share some of my admittedly hard core HR reactions to a couple of these. I would stay away from the origin of the name, because that can make people feel like they are being asked about race or nationality. I’d also stay away from the scar, as it may relate to a disability. I wouldn’t use those unless I was doing icebreakers in a group that doesn’t worry about equal employment laws and isn’t known to be sensitive about those issues.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t do the yarn thing, or anything a that smacks of being a “team building exercise” or any of that other TQM team bullshit. Don’t try to force some degree of intimacy by putting people on the spot by asking them to reveal anything about their personal lives.
I suggest food and alcohol as icebreakers. Get people together for a nice breakfast or dinner.
While I did ask for suggestions and I appreciate the input, I don’t know where the hate for the yarn deal comes from! I did in fact do the icebreaker yesterday. The group was lovely, nice folks, very social. I did a variation of a Jeopardy! game where I gave them Harvard and Boston centric questions (to half) and the answers (to the other). You then had to interview your match, and I threw in Hello Again’s first record bought question. Went great.
Another facilitator friend of mine did one with pipe cleaners (you had to sculpt something of meaning to you). That went well. I still think that it’s a matter of how you as the facilitator sell it. A poor facilitator can make the “name and where you’re from” icebreaker bad if they’re not into it.
delphica got the vibe of the group exactly right - deans, associate VPs, and chairs who were too happy to drop the “I’m in charge” facade and have a little fun. (There was alcohol and dinner later the evening, which made it even more fun later.) Off to the next session this a.m…
wow—you learn new stuff every day !
I had no idea that grownups play games at work with yarn and pipe cleaners.
I just don’t get it… Are we talking about a convention of Harvard deans, or a convention of Sunday school kindergarden teachers?
Me, I work in civil engineering, ya see. When I meet fellow professionals, we don’t play with toys. We talk about steel beams and concrete. And at the annual professional society conference, we , well, act like adults, and try to learn new stuff, so we can make a profit for our companies, and keep informed on new technology. And then for a good time we go out for drinks , ya know, like adults do sometimes.
If anybody EVER tries to hand me a ball of yarn at work, he’s gonna get teased and given a wedgie. By a whole roomful of adults.
It’s not the yarn thing per se. It’s the waste of time, it’s the idea of being treated like a child, it’s the idea that there are arbitrary hoops to jump through entirely unrelated to the issues at hand.
I’m a busy guy. Tell me what I need to know and let me get back home. If you feel you have to entertain me, do it over dinner. I do have to eat, and while I’m eating I can pretty much ignore you.
Well, there you go, I guess. I suspect some of you wouldn’t have been at this conference to begin with. It’s a middle-management leadership development course. Soft skills leading teams are pretty important. We have engineering deans, finance people, research scientists… the whole cross-section of folks in academia. All are working in new positions of leadership at their respective campuses.
So it’s not like the annual convention of electrical engineers. It’s expressly about leadership. I present and publish at professional conferences, and they go a lot like chappachula’s description.
I think some of you might do well to not be so dismissive of different ideas. Variety is the spice of life. An icebreaker that is a little different than what you’re used to isn’t going to cause you much harm.
I guess I would ask the questions “what’s inherently childlike about using yarn and pipecleaners?” and “what is so damaging about the possibility of looking a little less like the button down professional for a few minutes of your life?”
Actually, the icebreaker isn’t an arbitrary hoop. The groups have to work together on a simulated task a few hours later. Having a connection to members of the group facilitates the working process. A sense of humor can help defuse tense situations and conflicts.
Yes, you’re busy. So busy you can post repeatedly to a thread about an activity that doesn’t interest you a whole heck of a lot.
You’re busy at a conference that you elected to attend (via an application and a lot of cash). Again, the purpose is not solely entertainment. We’d hire a band if that was the goal. And frankly, if you had that attitude, I’d probably suggest that you just eat and not bother with what I’m doing. Your fellow group members could let you know how that worked for them.
At least I have a better understading of what’s wrong with middle management. Instead of learning to address issues of labor and productivity and process-improvement, they’re pawing at balls of yarn like kittens.
The last time I was involved in a really structured team building activity, it was two teams of us who had to draft plans for a tall structure built using some kind of long thin beams and some kind of joint - we didn’t know what we’d have for beams and joints. Turned out to be raw spaghetti and marshmallow. My team lead refused to deviate from our spec even though it was not marshmallowcentric and we lost. The whole thing devolved into a food fight after my team started testing the structural integrity of the other team’s building by throwing spare marshmallows at it. It was really successful at breaking the ice and getting us to bond, but I suspect management is never doing that one again.
I like the first album you bought suggestion, and might pass it along to my boss, who is generally very good with the icebreakers and likes to have a number of them in her arsenal. I’m definitely a fan of structured ‘play’ to get people comfortable. Carefully chosen structured play, though, as too personal or too lame can definitely have a dampening effect instead. Happy to hear yours went well, Hippy Hollow.
