Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 1 of 8

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1 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 1 of 8 Agenda for One-Day Team Building: As Richard Beckhard noted years ago, there are four issues that teams must address if they are to be effective in their work: * Goals and priorities Roles and Responsibilities Group Norms and Processes Interpersonal Relationships Helping a diverse group of individuals (some or all who haven t worked together before) come together as an effective, productive team is a challenge. Focusing on the four areas above helps set the stage for future productivity. While you can t create a team in eight hours, you can lay down a foundation that will enable employees to begin making decisions while working and learning together, in addition to using basic skills in problem solving. Goals: To create an agenda for one day teambuilding that allows the leader to begin working together with all members as an effective and productive team. By the end of the day, team members and leader/s will be clear about the direction and purpose of the team. Priorities will be agreed to, and all members will be clear about who does what and will understand the importance of each individual s efforts. All members will have a basic understanding of how they will communicate and interact with one another. The agenda suggested here is a starting point for one day teambuilding, and it can be changed, added to or deleted based on the previous work and experience of the team. 8:30 Welcome Leader Greets participants Housekeeping (bathrooms, snacks, parking, any other work related business etc.) 9:00 Basic Ice-Breaker activities** 9:30 Create mission statement 10:30 Break 10:45 Create Groundrules 11:45 Break into small groups of similar work responsibilities; create a list of questions for asking the leader in a later discussion. Meanwhile the leader rotates through the groups answering questions. 12:15 Lunch 1:30 Team Building Exercise (outlined below) 3:30 Break 3:45 Discuss Expectations with Leader (outlined below) 4:45 Evaluation and Reflections of the Day (outlined below) Group Size: You can work with a group of any size to accomplish teambuilding, however, to accomplish the goals suggested here a team of more than employees will require creativity on the part of the facilitator, as each process (as suggested here) will take longer than the allotted time.

2 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 2 of 8 Time Required: 8 hour day, including 1 hour lunch and breaks. Materials: Materials for previous activities mentioned (creating mission and groundrules) Large white paper plates Masking tape Large felt pens Optional: Toys or trinkets to give to participants that symbolize their success crossing the flow (edible treats, real rocks, medals, etc.) Flip chart with rules for team-building exercise written out Multiple copies of Teambuilding Debrief for each participant Evaluation for each participant Physical Setting: A space that is large enough for participants to sit, write, and reflect during the day, as well as move around during larger group experiences. Preferably away from their usual work space so there is less chance for interruption. Process: 1. The facilitator, leader of the team, and other members of the team who agree to participate in a planning group meet before the team-building day and discuss the goals for the day. (See goals suggested above). 2. Create the agenda to address both the goals and the needs of the team members. If there are any work issues that need to be dealt with, try and address these at the opening of the meeting so that the group can set these aside and focus on the information of the day. Intersperse activities to address the adult learning needs of the group. 3. Create ice-breaker activities that will encourage all participants to talk to members that they haven t already and encourage all team members to get to know each other by sharing information. There are many books on ice-breakers. * 4. Once you have agreed upon the agenda for the day, discuss specific ways to accomplish the agreed upon activities (see handouts for each section). 5. Discuss meeting logistics, such as: place, transportation, food, breaks, and schedule at work if others will need to work that day, other resources to help with planning and preparation, etc. 6. Create a timeline of who will do what, and assign dates that each task will be completed. Agree on meeting every other week until the task is completed. Team building Exercise: This is a simulated challenge experience that utilizes participants own communication strengths and weaknesses, problem-solving and decision-making skills. This activity is active, dynamic and hands on and is a great exercise to use upon return from lunch. The exercise is most successful when some of the members of the team have worked together already and are comfortable joking with each other and releasing tension.

3 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 3 of 8 1. Explain that during this activity, the group will spend some time brainstorming about the qualities of an effective team and will then be asked to participate in a simulated exercise wherein they can practice those tasks. They will all debrief after the exercise to reflect on what they have learned. 2. Ask the group to break into groups of 4. Ask them to create a list of all the things teams need to do to be effective (communicate together, solve problems, make decisions, etc.) Have them write these lists on a flip chart. 3. Ask the group to choose 8 key qualities and star those items on their list. Ask each group to read their qualities aloud to the rest of the team. 4. Ask the groups to count off and divide into groups of approximately members (depending on the size of the team you could have one group or more). 5. They are going to be asked to cross a bed of hot lava. The facilitator will have already marked off a starting line (at the edges of the flow) and a finish line, approximately feet apart from each other. Explain that the space between the lines is hot lava, similar to the challenges they face in accomplishing their work. The goal is for each group to cross the lava successfully, without anyone getting hurt or leaving others behind. There are a few rules that they need to know before beginning: The entire group must make it safely to the other side in the time allotted without losing any other group members in the hot flowing lava. No part of a person s body can touch or step in the hot lava (the flow is strong and searing.) In order to cross the lava, the group can use the shards of cool granite (paper plates) that they can step on to cross the lava. Place each plate approximately 1 foot apart so that there are approximately across the hot lava flow. The shards of cool granite (paper plates) must be in contact with a human body part at all times. The shards symbolize the various qualities that help with building a team (the list they just created). If not, they are swept away down the hot lava flow and into the hands of the Volcano Protector (the facilitator.) 6. The role of the Volcano Protector (facilitator) is to offer participants encouragement and cheer them on. It s also your job to grab any cool granite shards that aren t in contact with a human body and hold onto it until the game is over. The Volcano Protector also lets participants know if they accidentally step into the lava, they need to return to the starting point at the edge of the flow. 7. Tell them they have 20 minutes to cross the hot lava flow. (You can shorten this depending upon the time allowed, number of participants and the room set up that allows this. The objective is to practice team-building, communication, and problem-solving skills, not to focus on the allotted time to complete a task). 8. Remember this is a team effort, and that there are many right ways to cross the hot lava. As the facilitator, be vigilant about picking up the shards of cool granite (paper plates) and sending people back to the edge of the flow. 9. When the whole group has made it across the hot lava flow, lead a final group cheer and applause. The group energy will be very high. Some groups aren t

4 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 4 of 8 able to finish during this time, especially if the group is extremely large. It is up to you as Volcano Protector to magically move them across the hot lava flow and congratulate all members with a round of applause. It is also up to you and the planning group if you want to pass out toys or trinkets that symbolize their success crossing the flow (edible treats, real rocks, medals, etc.) 10. Ask the team members to move back into their small groups that they worked with earlier. Hand out the group discussion questions and give them 10 minutes to discuss their responses. 11. Lead the group in a large group discussion, asking for participants to share their experience and insights gleaned as they worked in the small group. At the end of the discussion wrap it up by summarizing their ideas, comments, and reactions and tie it back into the training topic. Be sure and ask questions in the debriefing that evoke deeper answers than yes or no as the insights they are sharing are crucial to their learning experience. Discuss Expectations with the Leader: This is a facilitated conversation between the new leader and employees, similar but condensed version of the New Leader Transition Meeting. 1. Ask the leader to reflect on 6 9 areas that he/she is most passionate and wants to see employees focus on. It is suggested that leaders review a leadership competency tool (see attached) for possible areas of focus. 2. In the team-building day, the facilitator tells the team that while the leader will have time to share his/her expectations, they also have time to share their expectations. (They have a few minutes to create questions earlier in the morning.) Open up this time by letting them know the team has minutes to ask the leader questions about their roles, who will do what and what they expect from their leader. 3. The facilitator should capture these comments on a flip chart. 4. Ensure that all comments and questions are listened to by the leader. Not all comments need to be responded to in-depth, or few employees will have a chance to participate. Encourage the leader to be concise in their responses, yet clear. 5. Then, after time has passed, ask that the remaining time go to the leader who will share their expectations and roles with the team. 6. It is the role of the facilitator to track and record information which has to do with role clarity (who does what) and the acknowledgement of the importance of individual work effort. If the discussion appears to be lagging (as it is the end of the day) a few of these questions can be helpful in jumpstarting the conversation: As you imagine working together in the first week, what questions do you imagine you might likely ask? In your current role, what tasks have you done that you may or may not be doing in the future? Are there tasks that you are doing now (processes, representation on committees, or special projects, etc.) that you would prefer not to be doing in the future?

5 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 5 of 8 Do you have a method for ensuring that each task has at least two members cross-trained to guarantee smooth service delivery? Evaluation: Use this form provided here or one similar to it. Many organizations already have an existing evaluation form that is useful to you and gives you the feedback you need to make changes and improvements to your facilitation, training or planning processes. * Beckhard, Richard, Organizational Transitions: Managing Complex Change, Addison Wesley, New York, West, Edie, The Big Book of Ice Breakers: Quick, Fun Activities for Energizing Meetings and Workshops, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York, 1999.

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7 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 7 of 8 Team-Building Debrief In your small groups, discuss the following questions. a. What role did you play during the activity? 2. What did you enjoy doing the most? What did you enjoy doing the least? b. What did you notice about the different ways people communicated within your group? 5. How did the group solve the problems that came up during the activity? 6. Who took on the roles of leadership during the activity? 7. Who supported the leader during the activity? How did you support acts of leadership? 8. As a team, how do you think the group functioned and why? 9. What did you learn about yourself? About others? 10. What connections can you make between this simulated exercise and building a team?

8 Agenda for One-Day Team Buildilng Page 8 of 8 One Day Team Building Evaluation Goals: By the end of the day, team members and leader/s will be clear about the direction and purpose of this team. Priorities are agreed upon, and all members are clear about who does what and we understand the importance of each individual s efforts. All members have a basic understanding of how we communicate and interact with one another. 1. Overall, did the one day of training meet your expectations and address the stated goals for the day? 2. Was there enough information covered, not enough, or too much? 3. Was there appropriate pacing, balance and variety of activity? 4. Are you pleased with your interactions, the questions you asked, and risks I took? 5. Do you believe you learned something today? 6. Do you have a better understanding of your fellow staff members? 6. What was the best part about the training? 8. What would you have liked to seen done differently or added to this training?