We’re running with a twitter thread around the link of #baaadteambuilding, with a goal of identifying and playing with some really bad team building frameworks like “herding sheep like dogs” (seriously) or “horse whispering” — there are all kinds of examples, even from my own blog (here).
I was looking at one of my Santa illustrations and thinking about what it might reflect to people and it spun my thinking into a Good News / Bad News kind of framework:
We have Santa and the reindeer ready to go. We have a cargo loaded, representing round wheels for the rest of the world. There must be some sense of accomplishment. We have Mrs. Claus with a plate of cookies! We have what appear to be happy elves.
But, we have a sled on Square Wheels (well, they do work on snow) and we have the Big Boss pushing people to get moving, maybe not recognizing any incremental successes. We have apparently unengaged wagon pushers and the leader is actually blocking progress. The reindeer may be indifferent to this whole adventure since they have not yet contributed anything.
- From a team building perspective, how did we do?
- Do they feel that this is a success, or that there are lots of unfinished things to do?
And like in most debriefings of activities and actions, I am guessing that there are a mix of issues and ideas, good accomplishments and challenges remaining. Will the team be motivated to succeed?
In the next few days, we will be adding a whole series of Santa-based illustrations similar to the above along with a few storylines about business process improvement and how to engage and motivate people. Subscribe to the blog if you would like to keep informed of our progress toward Christmas…
For the FUN of It!
Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools. Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant.
Connect with Scott on Google+ – you can reach Scott at scott@squarewheels.com
Follow Scott’s posts on Pinterest: pinterest.com/scottsimmerman/
Scott’s quips and quotes on Poems on The Workplace is here.
Square Wheels are a trademark of Performance Management Company
LEGO® is a trademark of The LEGO Group
1 Pingback