Team Building At Its Sticky Best

By Rich Anderson, executive coach with HTG Peer Groups

We talk a lot about building a team.  There are plenty of fun, engaging group activities you can use to build your team. The Marshmallow Challenge is one of the best. This TED activity is simple. 

In eighteen minutes, teams try to build the tallest free-standing structure using 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of string, one yard of masking tape, and one full-size marshmallow. The marshmallow must crown the top of the structure.  Teams of three or four persons work best.   

As the teams work feverishly, you wander about observing and taking notes. Which team is doing the best and why? Which team is not doing so well? Why? How are the team members interacting? Who takes over and leads each team? Why? What seems to improve their efforts?  What undermines their efforts?

Your instructive post-activity de-briefing is important as you shed light on the individuals, teams, leadership, group interaction and processes. Highlighting humorous moments makes this a memorable event.

Try the Marshmallow Challenge with your team, and then send me an e-mail at randerson@htgpeergroups.com and let me know how it went. For full details see this great TED talk and activity: http://marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.html

Rich Anderson is an executive coach with HTG Peer Groups where he is most energized by helping people around their priorities. He also presents leadership workshops and seminars including team personality and judgment assessments and training. Prior to his affiliation with HTG, Rich was a private practice attorney where his practice included advising small business owners from startup through succession, estate planning, and conflict resolution.  Rich also served four terms in the Iowa Legislature. You can reach him at randerson@htgpeerpgroups.com.