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 People retain about 20% of what they read and hear, 40% of what they observe and 90% of what they experience. |
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Experiential Learning Activities
Based on the principals of
experiential education, these activities are a highly interactive, engaging, and effective means to learn and develop the skills demonstrated by high performance teams. By actively raising issues in abstract situations, organizational dynamics, and individual strengths and weaknesses are highlighted. When behaviors are revealed within these new contexts, participants can more effectively recognize and modify their actions.
With the assistance of our professional facilitators, experiential learning activities can serve as the basis of a focused high performance team building program that will deliver a higher level of impact in terms of developing skills, establishing new processes to support new behaviors, and creating action plans to apply what was learned to real life, on-the-job situations. Alternatively, experiential learning activities can be delivered to provide a fun and meaningful break at a meeting or a conference.
Headbands
In this highly interactive and powerful activity your team will be challenged to relate to each other in an assortment of engaging activities. Unbeknownst to them, each member of your team will be donned in a headband that will give others insight into the rules of engagement they must abide by through the activity. What follows is powerful exploration pertaining to the influences of interaction and effects on individuals.
Project Egg
The group is presented with a simulation in which they develop and market a new product under stringent parameters. They must coordinate their efforts to create a device that will protect eggs from breaking after being dropped from a significant height. However, this is not the typical eighth grade science project. To be successful, the team must delegate assignments, manage within a tight time frame, set appropriate milestones, communicate, and collaborate across functions while also paying attention to shifting customer needs and other significant changes.
Magnifying Glass
In this challenging activity every member of the team holds an integral piece of the big picture, literally! Creating an atmosphere of mystery, each of the participants are handed a single picture that no one else can see. Within three rounds of information sharing, the entire team must determine the sequence the pictures in the correct order. Will the shared vision develop into the big picture book?
Islands in the Stream
The group is divided into sub-groups representing line workers, middle management, and executive management. They are charged with the task of all reaching the same destination from various locations. Each group must overcome certain obstacles while assisting each other in achieving the project goal. This complex activity will provide insight into the roles and responsibilities of executives and management in working with co-workers and subordinates while emphasizing the necessity of understanding the competencies of individual team members and the critical value of effective communication.
Information Swap
Attempting and completing a team initiative will allow your group experience, thus becoming a great resource. But when the success of others becomes the burden your team must bear, will you have all the right information? In this highly engaging activity, no team can stand alone. Every group’s ability to ultimately succeed is contingent on another team’s experience and how they relate it.
Customer Connection
Your team needs to get their new product out of the warehouse to the costumer as quickly and efficiently as possible. The demand for this product is enormous and it is up to you to streamline quick and efficient techniques which will ensure safe handling while meeting the growing demand. Knowing the competition can’t be too far behind; time is of the essence.
4-Station Structure
Each team is equipped with engineers, project managers and builders. The engineers will be given detailed information on the new project which other team member will be privy to, a view of the specialized 4 Station Structure. The goal of the team is to recreate the original structure as quickly as possible following very detailed and often confining guidelines. Movement is limited, communication is challenging and roles are continuously redefined.
Object Retrieval
The golden egg will need to be rescued and returned to the museum, preserving its pristine condition, and your team has been charged with successfully swiping it from the un-rightful possessors. Your specially trained tactics team will need to draw up a flawless plan to put an end to the treachery only making use of their limited resources. In this extraordinarily challenging initiative, time factors in as plans are constructed, roles are defined, trust reaches peak levels and stealth is the name of the game.
Using Your Noodle
In this exciting sequence of energizers, activities, group challenges and initiatives, participants will surely learn how to use their noodle. Each activity utilizes colorful and versatile pool noodles. Challenges vary from moderate pace and highly interactive, to fast paced and riddled with energy! Our Noodle Professionals will create a colorful sequence of noodle based challenges that are designed to meet your team’s needs and to enhance their team skills.
Team Transfer
The objective is for the team to transport the investments of their "number one" client from one account to another. However, all electronic equipment is temporarily down. Team members will have to transfer a series of objects from one site to another, using limited resources. This collaborative initiative will challenge your team from start to end as practices are continually refined.
Kaizen
Time is of the essence, the deadline is looming and completing tasks in a carefully designed sequence is critical. The pace is quick and the pressure is thick. Your team must step up to the challenge and develop techniques that will lead you along the path of continuous improvement.
Cycle Time
Cycle Time provides a unique challenge that draws forth remarkable effort and unparalleled performance. It requires an interesting blend of mental and physical skills to create a solution. Clear communication, well-defined roles and responsibilities, organization, effective planning and teamwork are factors needed to complete this problem.
Spider Web
Your team, on a continuous quest to efficiently move in a forward direction, now faces one of its greatest challenges. A web of set-backs is blocking the path to progress! Having only each other to rely on, they must determine how best to navigate through the obstacles they find on their path. As the team progresses, the obstacles grow bigger. Utilizing the strengths within may be the only way to get through this delicate challenge.
Stepping Stones - Islands Version
This challenging and multi-faceted initiative is enough to make anybody rearrange their travel plans. Groups must maneuver their personnel though a sequence of islands while completing a series of challenges. As the adventure starts, groups will soon realize that getting their team to each island may be the biggest challenge of them all.
Bull in the Ring
Teams will be challenged to transport their product to the marketplace using a highly specialized tool designed to streamline the delivery system. Each member of the team plays an integral role to ensure the quality of the transport allows for successful delivery of your product before the competition catches up. The demands continue to grow and the deadlines get closer as this exciting initiative continues to get more complex.
On Target
After painstakingly researching and developing your new product, it is finally ready to hit the market, now is the critical time to see if your team is On Target! Your department will be challenged to have your product (tennis balls) reach the targeted consumers (buckets) as often as possible, but unless each department in your organization is reaching their targets, your ability to dominate the market will be stifled.
Group Juggle
In this fast paced and hilarious activity, your team will be juggling an assortment of different objects while trying to ensure they don’t drop the ball. As the activity progresses and the skill level increases, success depends on being able to multi-task and to avoid the continuous distractions. The definition of quality now plays a large role in determining the number of tasks which can comfortably be managed by the team.
Cable Synergy
The team is divided into separate "departments" and given the objective of making "money" by crossing thin cables one to two feet off the ground securely strung between trees. Participants must rely on others--first teammates within their own departments, and then eventually on colleagues in other departments--to reach their goals. Effective brainstorming, collaborative problem solving, and finding win-win solutions with co-workers are practiced and refined.
Two Way Acid River
A divided team separated by a large chasm with each team needing to transport personnel to the other side. In this challenging activity the team will be provided limited resources in their attempt to cross the wide span of the divide within a very specific time frame. Drawing on their strengths and depending on each other, the teams must construct a plan before it is too late. As the time ticks, groups must move forward and put all the pieces in place as they try to successfully bridge the gap.
Balanced Success
Sub-teams are given what at first appears to be a simple task. As the activity progresses, the participants find that they must challenge their own assumptions regarding competition, problem solving, and "the way things have always been done." In order to reach and surpass their goal, teams must maintain their cohesiveness under pressure; achieve consensus across multiple work groups; adapt to changing conditions; share best practices; and rotate leadership within the group.
