The Group Trip Challenge

Group Trip is a coordination-based challenge that promotes collaboration and inspires many teamwork metaphors.

In advance, assess your group’s physical abilities and spotting skills as required for this exercise. You need 2 x 100x100mm boards approx 2 to 3 metres in length with 1.5m hand ropes inserted through drilled holes in the boards at 300mm intervals.

This activity demands a coordinated effort and anything less will result in a stumble. To this end, this initiative is ideal for teaching anything related to teamwork.

Clearly identify a uniformly flat area with a starting line and finishing line (approx 10 to 15 metres apart.)
Lay the trolleys behind the starting line.

Challenge your group to use the wooden trolleys to travel from the starting line and past the finishing line without anyone touching the ground. Caution your group that, like dominoes, when one person falls forward (or backward) it is highly likely that this will cause a knock-on effect that will impact others.

Process your group’s experience at the conclusion of the task.

Moment of Reflection

• What did you notice during the execution stage of the activity?
• What frustrated you? Why?
• Which skills are absolutely critical to be successful in this exercise?
• Did you ever think you could not complete this task? When and why?
• At what point did your group realise you could complete this task?
• How might this exercise reflect on how we work as a group/team?

The topics of this publication: interactions, strategy, collaboration, leadership, teamwork, cooperation, integration, adaptability skills, adaptation