4 Responses

1. Ask them
   You could try asking them in advance to consider what awards they would give to each other along the lines of the Oscars…collate the answers and kick off the event with a few jokey awards with token “gizzits”. Then move onto some more serious awards if appropriate before looking forward to the future.
   Alternatively one that often works qyuite well is the Blue Peter cartoon drawing thing of “what were we then?”, “what are we now?” and then “what do we want to be next year?”

2. An Awards mural
   Get a really big roll of paper around 5 – 6 feet wide. In pairs, team members lie on the paper and their partner draws around them. have paints and pastels available. They each then paint theur partner, making them recognisable through dress, characteristics etc. The mural goes up on the wall, and everyone then takes pastels etc and writes how each team member contributes to the team; what they do well; what they like about them; achievements etc. The comments need to be written in BIG letters and be colourful. Debrief the exercise iscussing all the team achievements. Put the finished nural up in the workplace – along a corridor etc. Needs a whole morning to do this and a space where they can make a bit of mess and spread out.

3. reviewing success – an index to about 25 methods
   I have an index to various methods for reviewing success at: http://reviewing.co.uk/success/index.htm
   The section on appreciating success is perhaps closest to what you are looking for. It describes 5 methods and provides related links to other websites.

   good luck!

4. A Thinking Environment
   Jackie,
   Working recently with a fairly dysfunctional, non-communicative team, some of whom did not want to be on the training, I started them off in pairs, each in turn having three minutes talking , without interruption, on something they did personally that contributed positively to the team.
   Five times I stopped the process because different pairs kept starting a dialogue.

   NOT interrupting meant, I said to them, the the listener just listened. They did not need to agree, understand, seek clarity, accept, nothing except listen with real attention, respect and fascination.

   I them had each pair break up and form quartets. Each of the foursome would then share what they had heard from the partner they had just left.
   I pointed out that this was gossip but it was quite different than the malicious and ill-informed gossip that was so common in many places (including theirs!).

   Later, I gave them post-cards and asked them to writeo n idea that, if they had it in their power, they would do to make the team more effective.
   I collected, shuffled and redistributed the cards, and the people, and had them think of ways that the suggestions could become reality.
   They were not allowed the luxury of negative downers.
   Then each small group pinned their suggestions around the walls for people to read, if they wanted to, during the next tea-break.

   I then had them back in pairs and sharing for three minutes, two minutes on what they’d learnt or realised from the last exercise. Then one minute each way expressing appreciation for what their partner had just told them.

   There was a great dal more than this, of course, but these simple little exercises had a powerful and profound effect on most of the people in the room.
   Some realised they nenver listened, others had found it so difficult not to interrupt that they couldn’t really register anything that was said to them.

   The atmosphere in the room was charged with a kind of excitement. people were letting others finish their sentences, were asking questions before jumping in with an answer or another point of view.

   There was much, much more to the day, of course, but we covered much of the criteria you give in your message. It was celebratory and fun, as well as educatinal and practical.

   Hope this is useful.

   Michael M