When you are starting a new journey with a group, it is often a good idea to spend the first moment meeting each other, ‘breaking the ice’, so the following interactions are more spontaneous and friendly.
It might be a moment of teambuilding, which literally means creating or fostering the team spirit. Now feeling part of a team is expecting to be supported by your fellow comrades as well as helping them when it is needed. It is based on empathy and trust.
So, designing a teambuilding experience is all about stimulating empathy. It is crafting a shared experience for each member to recognize his/her feelings within his/her partners.
We have designed such an experience with our Tetrix cube and we thought it might be a good idea to share it with you. Here is how it goes:
The space is wide open with no chairs or desk. What you see is mainly a large pile of cubes, sort of welcoming totem, waiting for you.
When newcomers go through the door, they feel a bit confused. This is where the experience begins…
First, they have to crack the enigma: ‘Where are the chairs and those whiteboards we have been promised’?
Ultimately, they will guess that the cubes are the answer but how does it work? Can we sit on it? Does it stack? They have to examine together this bizarre piece of furniture until the expected ‘hoooo, but we can actually build things!’ happens, followed by a round of applause and excitement.
Of course, before going any further, there are negotiations on what they should build. Should it be a whiteboard wall or rather a table? The group discusses, compromises and finally takes the cubes and starts building.
In a matter of 10 minutes, this group has been through a little adventure. Not quite a donjon quest but a positive first shared experience. They found answers, they laughed, they negotiated and decided collectively what was the best set-up for them and they finally built it.
Genuine team building.
This collective moment works even after two or three times.
The enigma has been cracked but it will be replaced by more architectural audacity 😉
