Time required
Approximately 15 minutes, depending on group size.
Materials required
Blank pieces of paper, one for each person.
Instructions
Provide advance notice to team members that you will be doing a team-building activity that will include having each team member share what they value in their co-workers in one sentence or less.
This activity is not recommended for a dysfunctional team. It is intended for an average or good team that may want to improve cohesion.
- At the meeting, provide blank pieces of paper to all team members.
- Ask each team member to write their name in the center of the sheet.
- Then ask them to circulate their paper to the person to their left.
- Ask team members to write about a work-related strength or characteristic they value in the team member whose name is on the sheet. Length is no more than one sentence and as little as one word. No one is to sign their name to what they write.
- Circulate the sheets of paper around until the one with their own name on it arrives back to each person.
- Ask each person to add one thing they value about themselves as a team member.
- Once everyone is done, ask each participant to share any one item from their sheet.
If someone would rather pass, allow this.
The objective is to improve each team member’s ability to acknowledge the strengths of others, and to become aware of the characteristics others value in them. The effect on a person of seeing the strengths others attribute to them can be quite motivating.
To wrap up, you can instruct people to take their sheet with them and be aware of how they might continue to look for characteristics they value in others. Let them know you may do this activity again in a few months.
Find more activities like this at Team building activities.