The aim of the exercise is to see how leadership, communication and participation happen in teams.

Procedure

Before the exercise begins, the facilitator constructs a “sculpture” made from different colour drinking straws in a separate room. The large group is divided into teams of five or six people and each team is given the same task. They must complete an exact replica of the sculpture in twenty minutes. To do the task, each team is given the exact number of straws of each colour needed. They can move freely between the two rooms, but the original sculpture must not be touched at any time, during the exercise.

After twenty minutes (or so) the exercise ends. Then each team is asked to reflect on the experience with the following questions as guidance -

1. How do you feel now that the exercise is over? What other feelings did you have during the exercise?
2. What helped or hindered you in getting the task done?
3. How did you relate to one another in the team?
4. Was the exercise easy or difficult for you personally? Why?
5. If you were doing the exercise again, what might you do differently?
6. What have you learned about yourself in a team? Or what have you learned about how teams work, from the exercise?

Each team should be given about twenty minutes to reflect and discuss the above, and then each reports back on their experience in an open forum.

Time 1 1⁄2 hours.
Materials Drinking straws, preferably a table for each sculpture, two rooms.