Do a Silent Line Up
Set a timer, and have people line up in various orders say, by height, birthday, or company tenure—without saying a word. This group activity requires the use of various skills and your team will learn a bit about each other while overcoming the silent line up challenge.
In order for people complete the challenge successfully, they will need to utilize skills such as creative communication, group organization, seeking to understand others, and moments of followership.
The goal of this activity is for people to line up in order, for example, of their birth-month, starting with January and ending with December. The rule imposed is that they cannot talk, and must figure out how to complete the task silently.
Once everyone understands the rules, begin! Allow time for people to work through the task.
Once finished the birthday line-up, ask the group to check their work by saying the month in which they were born. If they are very successful the first go around, give them a harder challenge and have them do it again!
Moment of Reflection
- What did you notice as the line was forming?
- Do you think the group was successful? Why or why not?
- If you would give the group a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) for how you completed this activity, what would it, and why?
- What strategies were helpful for you or the group?
- What strategies were least helpful?
- What principles of leadership/assertiveness/problem-solving, etc… did you see?
- Who did you see “being a leader” during this activity? What specifically did they do?
The topics of this publication: collaboration, teamwork, non-verbal communication, observation skills, creativity, interactions, strategy, adaptability skills
