Let's Think About This for a Moment... (Vol.1)

(About a 5-minute read - and some thinking time. This is a migration and updated post - it was first shared at the FUNdoing.com Blog. We are moving theoretical posts to OnTeamBuidling in an effort to organize content.)

Purpose Statement: The "Let's Think..." series is meant to be a reflective tool for team building educators. There are lots of 'right' answers to the questions or statements. Considerations are subjective and relative to each educators environment, program boundaries and their training. A 'hat-tip' goes out to Jim Grout and the High 5 Adventure Learning Center - their "Caught you Thinking" process always keeps me thinking! 

I have an open document on my computer and one on my phone called "Running Notes" - these documents contain random thoughts I have about anything from team building activities to recipe ideas. Recently, I was reviewing these notes and had a few entries I marked as, "thoughts to work through." I thought it might be interesting to see what your thoughts are on these thoughts: 

• Where is the best place to stand when giving a group directions? What are the possibilities?  What are the pros and cons of each possibility? 
• What should we "look like" to our participants? (I'll leave this metaphorical consideration open for interpretation). 
• How long should we let an activity run/play out? What are some reasons for playing shorter? Reasons for playing longer? 
• What are the pros and cons of "qualifying" concepts when you are with a gorup? For example, "Leadership is important if you plan to be successful." Or, "Trust is necessary for success."

This FUNdoing Post (that is updated here), also included one Comment from a fellow team builder, P.B. - I didn't want to leave them behind. Again, one person's perspectives. There are many more from many others.
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WHERE TO STAND - I normally have groups stand in a circle with me being a part of that circle, so that they can see and hear me and i can see and hear them. I like to have groups name/categorize the circle and have poses to go with them (superhero circle, airplane circle etc), so that i can shout out the name of the circle and have them form it and know i have immediate attention. Adults posing as airplanes is particularly funny to me.

WHAT MIGHT WE LOOK LIKE - I wear a staff uniform as required but will tend to wear something silly and colorful alongside it but hesitate to address it to allow humor to initially break the ice with a group. But it does depend on the group. Some groups expect professionalism (although in my mind i have fun and play for a profession).

HOW LONG TO PLAY - I try to nip the activities in the bud at the peak of them or just past it, just before disinterest sets in. Im an advocate of a CHALLENGE course and not a SUCCESS course. If a group does not succeed then that leads onto some excellent processing. But ending an activity is a judgement call, some groups want to persevere and get more out of completing an activity and some lose interest and morale. This is definitely an area of discussion that i have thought about a lot and would love extra input on.

What are your thoughts about these questions? What else can we 'think' about? Leave us a Comment so we can learn and grow together. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.