Are the folks on your teams experiencing any of the following characteristics?
- Frustrated with change and ambiguity
- Stuck in ruts of “the way we’ve always done it”
- Strangled in poor communication and unclear roles
- Boxed in and unable to discover new options
- Bored with self-managed teams, empowerment, projects or processes
- Begging for something different to “jumpstart” their collective genius
- Bogged down with internal difficulties, hidden agendas and lack of accountability
- Tongue-tied when challenged to defend their actions or present results to management
Now there’s a solution! Expose your team to a little bit of TeamProv™!
TeamProv™ (an exciting new concept developed by Master Team Facilitator Cher Holton) is based on the skills used successfully by improvisationalists around the globe. It helps your team members:
- Develop creative problem solving skills and the ability to “think outside the box”
- Explore options, expand perspectives, and reach better solutions
- Adapt to change quickly and positively, and thrive in uncertainty and ambiguity
- Strengthen the ability to communicate under pressure
- “Think on their feet” and “shoot from the hip” (planned spontaneity)
- Build trust, interdependence and camaraderie
Here is one great activity you can use with your team right away, to help them TeamProv™:
IT’S A DRAW!
Purposes: Stimulate creativity and free-flow of ideas; generate potential solutions that go beyond conventional thinking; build teamwork skills.
Team Size: Works best with teams of 4-7 per group. It can also work with a larger team, but you will need bigger paper so everyone feels like they have space for creation.
Resources needed: Lots of chart-size paper; a variety of colored pencils, markers, crayons, and/or paints. Tables with lots of space for movement is helpful to the process.
Process:
- Create working teams of 4-7 per group. Each group receives a healthy supply of drawing implements (pens, pencils, markers, crayons, paints, etc.) and a few large chart-sized pieces of paper.
- Invite each team to create their “masterpiece” with team members alternating turns, each person adding one line or feature to the drawing at a time.
- (Optional but powerful) This activity is to be done without talking.
- When there is a long hesitation, the drawing is complete.
- Next step: Without talking, the team creates the title of the artwork, with team members alternating turns and adding one letter at a time until a title is written at the top of the drawing.
Options: This can be a “free idea” activity or you can assign a topic for the drawing that relates to the issue being discussed. For example: “Your team is creating a picture that demonstrates exceptional customer service.
BONUS! Download a complimentary copy of TeamProv-Article (a great article published in Pfeiffer’s Annual) which includes some actual games Cher uses, to teach your team how to TeamProv™ for success!
