December 2024
Teamwork & Transition
“Unity is strength...when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
– Mattie Stepanek
Bridge Building Exercise:
Materials needed
Marshmallows, Spaghetti, Bus Tubs, Sticks of Butter (or something to test the strength of the bridge)
Divide your team into groups of 3-4 (Ideally people that don't normally work together)
Give each group a bus tub, 30-40 pieces of spaghetti and a 20 large marshmallows (feel free to add some small marshmallows for fun)
**Tip: Out of the bag the marshmallows will probably be too soft, open it up the night before to let them dry out and harden up.
Instruct teams that they need to construct a bridge across the width of the bus tub using only the spaghetti and marshmallows. The bridge that can hold the most sticks of butter will be the winner.
Give teams about 15 minutes to construct their bridge. Then go to each one and have them place sticks of butter on their bridge until it fails.
Discussion:
What worked well?
What didn’t work well?
What would you do differently?
Symbolism:
Next, read the following paragraph about bridges to the team. Then have them get out pen and paper for a writing exercise. Give them the three prompts one at a time, or you can put them all on a slide at the same time and have them answer the questions. You can have them think of a personal and professional example for each, or if you would like it to be more focused on work, then encourage them to keep their examples related to the job.
Bridges are built over rivers, roads, and railroads to allow people to cross over, connecting two pieces of land or different sides. Metaphorically though- bridges stand as physical manifestations of our innate desire to connect, to overcome obstacles, and to journey towards new horizons. They are a conduit for connection bringing two things together that were previously separate. Bridges are liminal spaces, meaning between two things. The familiar and the unfamiliar, the old and the new, the past and the future. We don't spend too much time on bridges, we don't live on them, work on them or throw parties on them. Bridges instead provide us with the passage to transition from one thing to another. And because of the possibility of new beginnings, bridges can provide us with hope. The opportunity to explore something new and to open us up to possibilities and things we didn't know previously existed. The unknown can be scary though and that is the reason many people never cross the bridges that open up in their lives. As you think about connection, transition, and hope - Where do you need a bridge in your life?
Reflection Prompts
Connection: What two disconnected things do you need to connect?
Transition: Where are you trapped and need a path forward?
Hope: What fears do you need to conquer to move forward?
Once everyone is done writing, go around and have people share an answer the wrote for one of the three prompts.
SPREADING JOY
This month, we have included some holiday MIBEO cards in your envelope to use with your teams if you’d like?! There should be enough to get you started, however if you need to print more, we have included a downloadable file:
