Find It With Style

Looking to something different with your team? Would you like to play a bit with high tech and high touch? Try geocaching. It’s orienteering with a flair! Teams get a GPS hand held device, although team members can also use their smart phones. Apple’s iPhone has a great app. They are given a set of instructions for how to operate the device and additional instructions on what the goal of the exercise is all about. The goal is to find a series of hidden “caches” specifically designed for you particular outing. These caches can have very particular meaning and be anything you want them to be. For example, teams can search for their own accomplishments, new product ideas, team norms etc. They use the device and their team wits to create a strategy and then execute against it. Creating sub-groups intensifies the experience by adding the possibilities of collaboration and competition.

It’s fascinating to watch LIFO styles interact with instructions. The high Controlling - Taking types want to get the GPS and start running. High Conserving - Holding typically want more information. High Supporting - Giving team members are the strategists. They want to get it right. High Adapting - Dealing folks just want to have fun. So we have some interesting choice points in terms of the design. Sub teams can be formed with all the same styles, or max mixed. I find it best to create groups randomly by counting off. I leave the sorting of styles to Karma. Doing LIFO styles first followed by a geocaching event has enormous potential for a high energy team learning experience.

I like to design four parts to the exercise:

1. Receiving the instructions
2. Sub-team strategy session - How do we go about doing the tasks. How do we win?
3. Execution - Doing, recovery, redoing etc.
4 Debriefing - Telling the stories of the hunt.

 In a few hours teams can have a powerful team learning experience while having a lot of fun together. A skillful debrief really adds to the experience by helping teams talk through the experience and go deeper, collecting insights about team development, leadership, follower-ship and style difference. I like to add the Drexler Sibbet Model into the mix because it helps reinforce an understanding of how high performance is created and sustained. There are lots of variation to this theme. Geocaching can be combined with a trip to retail stores to find the best position of products. Teams can be given small video cams and be tasked to create a short video highlighting learnings during their hunt.

Look for new and innovative ways to create deep meaning for your teams that focuses on their particular products, services, markets, or industry. If you’d like some additional information, contact me. Have fun with this one!

Comments

[Marcia Johnson]

I love this. Interactive and fun! Great Job!