Let's Think About This for a Moment...Or Two (Vol. 2)

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(About an 18-minute read)

Are there benefits to 'long-form' team building activities? 

If you've been around the OnTeamBuilding (ideas) and FUNdoing (activities) for a while, you know I like to take deep dives into ideas and activities. Over the last two years in particular I've been encouraging team builders to revisit the concept of 'less is more' and to consider a Stoic practice of 'do less better.' Think about these two ideas for just a moment. What do they mean to you? Less is more. Do less better.

I know, and have lived the argument, that if we do a lot of activities we have done a lot and can justify our time together with our clients - we gave them 'a lot' for their money. (Have you ever been in that position where you want to get that "one more" activity in and then you run out of time to reflect over the program in a meaningful way? So then it's, "Oh, we have time for the 'One Word' Whip." I've been there. I've done the Whip. And what did I miss? What did my clients miss?)

I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this? Before we continue the exploration, let me frame my thinking about activity 'form' (in other words, the length of time it usually takes to go through an activity). I've recently begun using the terms 'long-form,' 'short-form,' and 'mid-form' activities when talking about program design with team builders (it sounds more methodological). Long- and short-form are common terms in journalism, blogging and publishing. Mid-form I made up to designate an amount of time between long and short. In my mental model, short-form activities take 10 to 15 minutes (e.g., energizers and warm ups). Mid-form activities take 20 to 50 minutes. And long-form activities can take 60 minutes or more. 

​As I mentioned above, we are very familiar with short-form and mid-form activities. We like 'changing it up' to keep everyone's attention and meet different learning styles and 'kinds of smarts' - the more we change it, the more people we can connect with - so the argument goes. And it's a good argument. And it works. And what else can we do? I'm suggesting here, more long-form programming. 

How about an example? I invited my friend and colleague Bill (Ph.D.) into my "College is an Adventure" course when I was teaching in higher ed. (The course was for college freshman - I taught college success strategies using team building activities.) I heard about his multiple-session "Swing-To" activity and wanted to learn how to facilitate it. He joined us for three 50-minute class periods and it was well worth the time. The experience was, without a doubt, a genuine example (metaphorically speaking) of getting through college. 

The Swing-To is a version of 'Prouty's Landing' - a swinging rope to a platform activity. Bill used Hula-Hoops as safe landing areas and the apex of our swinging rope was about 25 feet high which gave us a lot of room to swing. The goal was the same for each of his three meetings, "Get everyone into a hoop. Each hoop needed at least one person in it." The only way to get into a hoop was to swing. 

• Day 1: The hoops were at varying distances from the swing-line - one hoop for every two people in the class (a total of 12 hoops). Everyone had to start behind the swing-line. If the ground was touched beyond the swing-line that person went back to the start. During this first day we all found out about our swinging abilities. Lots of touches and returns. Some helping behaviors occurred, but it was really 'every-person-for-themselves' day. By the end of class about half the students were in a hoop, not all the hoops had a person inside. The 'college-related' reflection was focused on individual progress - they worked hard, they tried, but not everyone succeeded. 
• Day 2: The hoops were scattered differently to start - most of them were pretty close to the swing-line. They looked achievable. However, there was apprehension and the class members were talking out their plans in fine detail. However, as time went on Bill started moving hoops further away from the swing-line. The landscape was changing. A sense of urgency overcame the group. They abandoned their planning (and the plans they were making - because now everything was changing). In their haste touching beyond the swing-line occurred. Another change. If someone touched beyond the swing-line, anyone standing in hoops had to return along with the swinger - it was now a group-focused task. The focus began to changed. There was more communication. Much more helping and planning to get the 'less-abled' swingers to the few close spots. Some hoops moved even moved as someone started to swing, which forced a swing back across the line. There was a conscious effort to help  catch swingers and and guide them to spots and catch them to be pulled back behind the swing-line to avoid touches and returns. I remember clearly, near the end of class, one of the students asked Bill if he could move one of the hoops closer to the line. He agreed and moved the hoop. Then others asked. Denied. The class ended. Less than half made it to the hoops this time, but they were actually more positive than Day 1. The 'college-related' reflection was clearer to the students. They were getting and sharing the metaphorical connections more freely - they were 'getting it'.  
• Day 3: The hoops were in a diagonal line across the swing area on this last day - the first one really close, the last one very far away. And there were bowling pins - everywhere. "Things in the way!" Bill said. And these pins........they moved throughout the class. I also took note of what else Bill said (he didn't say much at all the first two days until the reflections). His advice for the day, "Remember what you learned during the first two attempts." (NOTE: Within this advice he was hoping the students would ask him to move hoops again, but they didn't - something that came up in the final reflection.) The swings had to change into arching movement to avoid the Pins. Touches resulted in the toucher going back - not everyone. Lots of catching and now pushing to get momentum. The energy was spectacular to watch, each student wanted to do better and they wanted to help each other do better. The planning was quick (they thought the hoops were going to move, until they saw the Pins moving). They got the less-abled swingers into the close hoops (after learning the arched swing). Then the better swingers maneuvered into the middle hoops. The 'super-swingers' (I called them) tried and tried to get to the farthest hoops without success. Then, with a nudge from Bill, the group figured out a way to get some super-swingers into some of the farthest hoops (I don't want to give away the answer!). By the time Bill called a stop, only two of the 12 hoops were unoccupied and two people were behind the swing line. The reflection about the journey they went through over three days of class and the college journey ahead of them was one of the most memorable experiences in my facilitation career. (A respectful hat tip to Bill, one of my greatest teachers.)

The insights these students had and the connections/transfers they made to life as a college student was exactly why Bill designed Swing To. And designing it to take a long time was on purpose. It takes a while to 'get it' - challenges in life are not always in short-form. It's good to practice for the long-form challenges every now and then. 

I left out a number of the finer details of the activity, but I hope you can see my intent. Over those three classes, think about the 'obstacles' the students had to navigate. Just like college. Think about how they evolved into a group to achieve more success on one particular goal. How does this relate to college? (It's much harder to do it alone.) What are all the things they had to overcome. What was ahead of them, what did they need to overcome throughout their years in college. How long does it take to 'see' and 'feel' what's possible? Can we help our learners practice what it takes? Which leads me to my current interest in long-form team (human) building activities.

Concepts we can dive into with long-form activities: 

• Growth Mindset: In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dr. Carol Dweck says that a "growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others...the passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset." Sticking together with a group through a long-form activity, overcoming obstacles and helping each other to keep going fosters a mindset that will get us through difficult times and learn from them. This brings us right to....
• Grit: Angela Duckworth, the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance tells us, "Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals...it's holding steadfast to that goal even when you fall down...even when progress toward that goal is halting and slow." With long-form activities we can practice some of the behaviors in grit - what do we do, say and think about as we move through an extra long task? And how do we use this practice to prepare for times when it really matters? 
• Self-Talk: Long-form activities can really help us explore self-talk - that dialogue in your head when you're doing things. The longer we are involved with a task or project, the more time our brains have to talk to us. People who focus on the idea of self-talk are usually working towards internal dialogue that is more positive in order to get through difficult situations or see things on the 'brighter' side or see (say) the good things about people instead of focusing on the negative. During long-form activities I will take check-in breaks to ask, "What is going through your mind right now - what is the self-talk in your head?" After some sharing I'll ask if their self-talk is making this experience better or worse and would changing this talk change the experience? In my experience long-forming, "this is really boring" is the most common internal dialogue. I respond, "It can be, or you can see this experience as helping you in some way" (a growth mindset). What are the ways it can help?" Then we're off on the exploration. I also bring up 'getting used to boredom'.... 
• Getting used to Boredom: High performing people, goal oriented people, those passionate about helping others all get used to boredom. The growth mindset says, "This is what I want to be doing and some of the things that need to be done can get boring, if I let them. Or, I can view the repetition and monotony as the steps it takes to get to where I'm going. I find satisfaction in getting closer to my goals." James Clear (author of the bestseller, Atomic Habits) claims that, "Mastery is never an accident...whether we are talking about athletes, artists or academics, the story is the same. If you want to fulfill your potential then you must practice specific skills for a long time with remarkable consistency." And skill building can get very boring, if you let it. So, how do we practice with boredom? Long-form activities? 
• Helping: This is my favorite concept to explore. If we can learn to help, ask for help, and receive help we can accomplish anything we set out to do. And helping, as Edgar Schein says in, Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help, is a relationship. So building strong relationships in a foundation of trust will lead to helping behaviors. I have seen long-form activities bring out the best and worst in people and during this process we get to learn about the needs of others, discuss how we can help each other and then constantly provide the help that is asked for which builds trust and more willingness to help.  

Long-Form Activity Ideas: 

• Pipeline - Rolling a round object down 'channels' to a specific destination. I've done this one several times over 90-minutes. The outside course was fraught with twists, turns, obstacles, ups and downs. And drops? We had to go back to the last obstacle, do it again, then keep going. 
• Stepping Stones - One wooden block for each person. We had to get from one place to another - the course I used during my higher ed days was through campus about 1.5 miles (I measured the distance on my bike). Leadership (the front person) had to change every five minutes and we took 'thinking' breaks every 20 minutes. It usually took two 75 minute class periods. (Adventure Education Curriculum Design class). The 'Why'? Developing positive human behaviors. 
• Moonball - This is hitting a beachball into the air, not letting it touch the ground. I did this one a few times during multiple day trainings with team building facilitators and camp staff. The 'Why'? Sticking with something and realizing the benefits. The task is called "5 by 100." A group has to get 100 beachball hits in a row, five different times. After a successful 100 there is a learning (reflection) session. Then, it's off to do something else. Then, back to 100. Then something else and back to 100. Some of the learning was about how they approached to reality of coming back to the task. Did they look forward to it? Were they dreading it? What was their 'mindset' for the redundancy? 
• Key Punch - A set of 24 numbered spots scattered around inside a boundary area. The numbers have to be touched in order, one person going into the boundary area, touching one number and then exiting so the next person can go in to touch the next number. When I go long-form with this one, I have my group perform the task 15 times (which is often about 25 starts because of the restarts after fouls). With the learning discussions it takes anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. The 'Why'? Mindset! "You can make this the worst experience ever or the most amazing ever, it's up to you."  
• Memory 100 - This activity is relatively new for me, so I've yet to try it long-form (I've done it several times with 36 numbers - lasts about 30 to 40 minutes with good take-aways). It was shared by a FUN follower a couple years ago (thanks Fletcher). Check out the FUNdoing Blog post for complete details. Fletcher shared with me that this one can take over an hour - there are lots of restarts. 

I'd love to add more activities to my long-form list - what do you/would you do in long-form? Please share in the Comments. 

If you made it this far, you just experienced a long-form blog post. Worth it? Waist of time? Benefits? Drawbacks? Did it make you think or roll your eyes? Both? Needed? For what? 

Keep doing the good work out there!

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

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