Michael McMaster stated:
>I am about to do some work
>with large groups (200-300) to engage them in transformational
> education and am looking for design and/or technology assisted ways
> which support impactful work with large groups...I am not looking
> for content but for process, environment and display support.
Adventure-based Mega-Intiatives for Teambuild - when the team is very big!
The process which my clients invite us to use with both small and large
groups (i.e. 50 to 300 participants) is called experiential training and
devlopment. Our team of facilitators will custom design a series of
problem solving tasks which replicate the interpersonal dymanics and
organizational processes undergoing change. The same sets of skills and
behaviours that are necessary for the organization/team to be successful
during the transition (i.e. shift to cross-funtional teams or a
restructure) are the skills and behaviours needed to be successful during
the experiential initiaitive (i.e sharing information/ideas throughout a
group of 200, prioritizing components for the completion of a complex
large group adventure challenge).
As a recognized leader within the experiential training field (having
served the past few years as Chair of an international professional group
called EBTD - Experience Based Training & Development), I have been heard
on more than a few occasions imploring my colleagues to resist the
temptation to take the easy way out when our clients come to us and ask
for a "team building" program for groups larger than a few dozen. Too
often, most experiential program poviders would explain how to handle
these very large groups by suggesting to get plenty of props so as to
permit the use of the same tried & true activities in multiple small
groups. The only difference from their canned small group programs being
that many groups are doing the same activities in isolation of all other
groups; then at the end of the day, after a report out by the smaller
teams has been made to the large group, a line dance or lap sit is used as
the culminating "big team-bonding" activity.
I say it time and time again, as a community of practitioners, we can do
better than that. If the client's team is 234 people strong, then the
intervention should focus on learning at that level. Consultants using an
experiential model for facilitating transformative learning (espaecially
when "teambuilding" per se is a training objective), should be able to
design a process that invites, no - requires, all 234 people to actual
perform as a team.
Here are a few examples which CATI has implemented, as a means to
replicate some of the conceptual discussions taking place during our
clients annual conferences:
1) We worked with 250 participants in Disney World for a half day during
which the senior partners from around the world were put into several
mixed groups which simultaneously worked on sub-components of the same
mega-adventure task. The biggest challenge was creating a communication
system which allowed for the integration of the small groups' efforts. An
overall measure of success was evaluated by how well the entire large
group shared resources and information - excactly what the delegates had
been flown into Florida to duscuss for a week. Long before I had heard
abourt the Open Space Technology by Harrison Owen, we were using a similar
process "ad hoc" for debreifing these types of complex intiatives.
2) During the morning several smaller groups of 10 to 20 participants
solve many different group initiatives to acquire resources (i.e. barrels,
rope, planks, helmets and harnesses) that will be used by the entire large
team in the afternoon. Over lunch, technical workshops (rope lashing
techniques, high angle rescue, search patterns, first aid) are provided
for leveraging new information, consultation and requisit skills. Theses
skills sets are then applied by the various cross-functional Search &
Rescue teams that go into the field after lunch to locate, treat and
evacuate across a pond the search and rescue victims hidden over lunch. A
debrief of small groups can occur in functional teams with an emphasis on
what each area needs and can offer to be successful during
cross-functional projects at work.
3) If this stuff interests you, ask me about the 3 "world records" my last
client just set in Halifax, NS this week. Monday, we had a team of 180
people from across Canada at their annual Divisional conference all
working on three mega-initiatives: Bob Sleds, Trolleys and Towers of
Hanoi. That is what CATI does better than any other provider of
experiential training services in the world - replicating the
interpersonal and organizational dynamics needed for large
divisions/organizations to be success in using their teaming skills. Of
course, the magic is not in the activtiy but rather how the experience is
processed. Here is more about CATI, if your interested.
See you on-line, Tim
*************************************************************************
How does the experiential training approach work?
There are numerous elements involved in an experiential training
program which place it apart from conventional forms of organizational
development, management education or leadership training:
EXPERIENTIAL:
While working under hands-on conditions, people often learn best
by doing. Teams must make decisions based on the information presented by
the facilitators. Most importantly they act on their decisions.
DRAMATIC:
The exciting and emotional nature of these activities focus
attention and sharpen minds. Because CATI activities often utilize
perceived risks, although the activities are very safe, people remember
what they learn.
NOVEL:
Because of the unique context and uncertainty of outcomes for
these activities, no one in the group is considered to be an expert.
Adventures tend to equalize people and breakdown the hierarchical barriers
and apprehensions which often exist in teams with a "chain of command."
CONSEQUENTIAL:
Errors have potential ramifications in adventures (the team will
have difficulties if they do not work well together), unlike in a
classroom simulation (where play money is lost). Furthermore, success and
failure is supported by those who really matter (colleagues and one's
self).
METAPHORIC:
Adventures are a microcosm of the requirements needed and changes
taking place in every organization. The behaviors demonstrated by
individuals and groups during these activities are parallel
representations of the way they act and what happens in the professional
situations.
TRANSFERABLE:
Testimonials by past participants support the utility of adventure
training and research studies substantiate that new learning does indeed
show up when the team is working on "real time" projects or issues.
People refer back to their experiences and approach their role at work
from a fresh perspective.
What is CATI?
CATI, the Corporate Adventure Training Institute, is a non-profit
research centre based at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
CATI has been in existence since 1990. Within the field of experiential
training, CATI is considered to be on the leading edge in terms of its
custom designed training processes and its research studies.
Who makes up the CATI team?
CATI is staffed by a pool of facilitators who represent a diverse
collection of trainers and experiential educators. Many of the
facilitators are involved in other professions on a full-time basis. With
a facilitation team drawn together to match the specific needs and profile
of each client group, CATI facilitators can bring their own unique style
and experience to the each program.
Of paramount importance to CATI is the acknowledgment that our
facilitation team will never fully understand the culture and history of a
client's organization to the degree they do. Therefore, CATI facilitators
approach each client interaction with an open mind and a questioning
attitude. After all, we do not hold the secrets to improving your team's
effectiveness. CATI's job is to draw out the insights and wisdom residing
within your team.
What the CATI program can do for organizations:
Based on our work with hundreds of client groups, we encourage
participants to commit the time for a off-site residential experience, as
this will significantly increase the impact of a team building program.
However, in a single day an awareness building program can produce
tremendous insights. For those organizations committed to significant
change, by offering a strategic training process, CATI can serve as the
catalystic tool for team &/or organizational transformation. Of course, a
thorough needs assessment conducted by our staff, permits the creation of
a custom designed training program to meet the specific goals for each
client group.
-- Tim Dixon, Director Corporate Adventure Training Institute Brock University St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 (905)688 5550 3120 e-mail:tdixon@arnie.pec.brocku.ca