Library of facilitation techniques

A positive and uplifting icebreaker that encourages team members to reflect on achievements, recognize each other’s contributions, and build a culture of appreciation.

It has been used as a part of training of facilitators and as part of team building.

A Reflective Teamwork Activity (RTA) involves participants creating a checklist and then evaluating their performance by using the same checklist they created.

Here's an outline of this activity: Participants are organized into groups of five. Members of each group are randomly assigned to the roles of a manager, an assistant manager, and three employees. Each participant prepares a list related to a different management topic. The manager has the lengthy task and additional supervisory responsibilities. Other group members have simpler tasks. After the list preparation activity is completed, a debriefing discussion relates the manager's behavior to the items in her list.

This process is intended to involve the team in shaping its own work environment and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

This can be used as a teambuilding activity or a way to introduce participants to each other.

Holloway is a cooperative maze that only opens for a team that talks. Your group steps into a shifting labyrinth to find glowing sigils, none of which will lift for a single pair of hands — so you split up, call to each other across the walls, and describe what you see. Roughly once a minute the house rearranges itself, wiping the map in your head, and the only way anyone leaves is together.

This exercise can be used as a warm-up for project and other planning processes. It can also be used in team building.

Story is told one word or one sentence at a time

This tool guides your team through the process of writing a remote working charter, defining the guidelines and behaviour expected of people working at a distance. Team members reflect on their own remote working experiences and use that insight to create a shared charter for the group / organisation.

Would the team be a computer, it would need circuits (meaning information) and processors (meaning routines) to operate their activities.

This sequence allows the team to set up or revisit their information flow and team routines.

Information is power. If you want to empower your team, you need to give them the possibility to get the right information at the right time to operate their activities, but also to develop and grow as a team.