Continuing Studies Centre for Intercultural Communication International Graduate Student Preparation Program

Team Building & Leadership Activities

Objectives - Identify and explore issues related to Team Building & Leadership Materials - String or yarn THE KNOT (warm up) 8-20 people/group 8-20 minutes Divide students into 3 groups o Groups stand in a tight circle with shoulders together o Everyone puts 1 hand in the middle and takes a hand from someone across the circle o Everyone puts the second hand in the middle and takes a hand from someone across the circle o No one should be holding the hands of the person beside them, or both hands of the same person Each group unties the knot as far as they can o The hands cannot break contact, but can rotate grip

SPIDER WEB 12-15 people 25 minutes Goals Problem solving Manage Differences (size, disposition, strength, etc.) Quality issues (what qualifies as a web touch) Ethical issues (calling a touch when you see one) Team work & Leadership

Object The explicit goal of the game is to pass each team member through the web without touching it (make openings different sizes, so that there is a hole large enough for everyone to go through) o NO diving through the web!!! o Reminders to protect head and neck if lifting members Building the Web Find an area with trees or poles 8-14 ft apart Tie 2 pieces of string between each tree one just off the ground, one approximately 5 ft off the groud

Continuing Studies Centre for Intercultural Communication International Graduate Student Preparation Program Thread string around these pieces to form a web with 2 more holes than there are people per team Some of the holes should be easier to pass through, others more difficult

Team Instructions Goal: To get the highest final score you can. Specifics: o A point is scored each time a person passes entirely through an opening in the web without touching it. o Once a person goes through an opening, the hole is closed. No one else can go through that hole. o If each person in the group scores, all the holes reopen and can be used again to score additional points, if time permits o You may use the openings between the ground and the string, and between the wall and the string o If any person touches a string at any time, the team must start over: their score is returned to zero o You may not alter the web in any way o You may not go over or around the web o The team with the most points at the end of the 25 minutes wins Debrief Questions How were decisions made? Who influenced the decisions and how? How could better decisions have been made? How was conflict managed? How did people feel about the decisions? How satisfied was each person with the decision (ask each participant to rate his / her satisfaction out of 10, then obtain a group average and compare / discuss with other groups' satisfaction levels) What have you learnt about the functioning of this group? How would you do the activity differently if you were asked to do it again? What situations at work/home/school do you think are like this exercise?