A Team Exercise: “I give …; I wish …”

The aims of this team exercise are to:

  • Strengthen connection and relationships
  • Learn more about individual strengths of team members
  • Offer help to each other
  • Normalise offering and asking for help; and as a result of all of the above …
  • Increased individual and team performance

A few points that you might like to share, to introduce this exercise:

  • High performing teams share their strengths so that they can all perform at their best individually and as a collective team
  • This is an opportunity to learn more about what others would like to develop/learn/
    do more of
  • It’s also an opportunity to ask for help. At this point I ask the following questions, asking for a show of hands in response:
    • “Who here would readily offer help?” (Generally, everyone puts their hand up)
    • “Keep your hand up if you readily ask for help.” (Generally, there tend to be fewer hands that remain up)
  • I follow this with a rhetorical question such as “why is that so?” and a comment such as “Everyone here is willing to help, so it’s a safe environment to ask each other for help.”

Instructions for the exercise:

  • Have 2 flip charts ready for the sticky notes below; one flip-chart with the heading, “I give …”; the other flip-chart with the heading, “I wish …”
  • Invite everyone to share on sticky notes:
    • On one sticky note: 1 or 2 strengths that individually, they bring to this team, that they are willing to share =  “I give …”
    • On a different sticky note: an area that they would like to develop/learn/do more of, that they are willing to share = “I wish …”
    • Suggest that it’s important that everyone writes their name on each of these sticky notes so that fellow team members know:
      • These are your strengths and can connect with you to learn more about them/from you
      • Who the wish belongs to, so that they can help you in achieving your wish
  • Invite your team to take 5 minutes or so to read all of the sticky notes and to:
    • Connect with another team member that they can ask for help from, or that they can offer help to (another 5 mins or so)
  • Invite everyone to:
    • Take a photo of the gives/wishes so they can connect further, outside of this activity
  • Debrief with questions such as:
    • What did it feel like to connect?
    • What was the impact on the energy in the room as team members connected?
    • What did you learn from this exercise?
    • What did you learn about yourself?
  • Collect all of the sticky notes, type these up and send to all as a reminder