Warning! Do not use this event with groups already in serious conflict.
Now, saying
that, this can be an extremely fun event for the right team.
Instead of feeling frustrated, many teams will feel the challenge
of an incredibly hard event.
Be careful
with this event. It is best used in a few types of scenarios:
You
have a high-performing group that needs to be challenged
and understand that there is a need for constant improvement
in communication and accomplishing difficult challenges
as a team.
You
have a malfunctioning team that will not discuss any of
the hidden or unspoken rules about what is happening. However,
everyone points the finger at someone else about WHY the
group cannot work well together.
You
have a new team or group. This event will show them the
value of good communication AND actually practicing it.
The power
of each person to influence the success of the team
is never clearer than in this activity. The team members must
work through frustrations and differences of opinions
to solve this magically difficult event.
Overcoming
frustration and resisting the temptation to blame
each other will be key to moving the bar in the direction
you choose. People can find themselves sacrificing their integrity
and doing the opposite of their intention.
This is
an exercise that you may have to stop in the middle to debrief
and discuss what is happening, then try it again. This can
be used with the same team or group EVERY week. Sometimes
they will be successful, other times they will fail.
Brief
Overview of Let Go My Ego:
Participants
pick a partner to stand across from to create two lines.
With index fingers at waist level, a bar is placed upon
the fingers. The bar must be lowered below the knees while
all fingers must maintain contact with the bar.
Sounds
simple, right? It's not.
As you
can see in the right picture, the bar immediately goes up!
Communication:
This
is where many teams fall short. Good communication is the
real 'win' on this exercise, not actually lowering the bar.
If the team can treat each other with respect and maintain
open lines of communication while failing, frustrated and
somewhat stressed, the team is in great shape.
This
problem is exacerbated because each individual is in fact
doing their part. Each individual is fulfilling their role
and responsibility and yet the entire team is failing to
meet the goal. This is where much of the stress and frustration
will come from because many individuals will assume that
someone is NOT fulfilling their responsibility.
Problem
Solving:
Since
the exercise is almost impossible, it will be necessary
for the team to try it several times. As the ideas are thrown
around, many will simply be discarded without discussing
them. A potentially important point of discussion is how
the group arrived at a solution and whether any good suggestions
were not discussed and why.
Because
this event is so difficult, the problem solving and strategizing
may become an important aspect for the group to focus on
instead of the event itself. This is especially true if
the group does well with the communication aspect.
Be sure
to have enough time to debrief the exercise and discuss what
has happened. If there is not enough time to thoroughly discuss
the breakdowns, you should not utilize this event.
If Let
Go My Ego gets too serious, stop the event and remind everyone
this is supposed to be fun. Use this event as a 'safe' exercise
to discuss some of the difficulties that are also happening
at work.
This event
will challenge all groups and will unlock many of the 'unspoken
rules' to will get the group talking.
Have
fun and dont blame it on Let Go My Ego!
Listen
to an impromptu audio clip describing the benefits of the
Let Go My Ego team building activity...
And what’s more, you are also entitled to 100% Lifetime Money Back Satisfaction
Guarantee. Details.
Questions? or if you would like help in selecting
an event, please do contact us at 800-513-8759.
Our representatives will be more than happy to help you.
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