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Walking exercise

Goals:

• Illustrates the art of creative leadership.
• Practices giving and taking control.
• Practices awareness and focus.
• Practices collaboration.

Overview:.

Participants walk around in the space. In the first round everyone stops and starts walking when the facilitator claps their hands. In the last round everyone stops and starts at the same time without the facilitator clapping their hands.

Time: 15 min

Number of participants: 6 – 50

Game flow:

Have the participants walk around the space spreading them evenly across the floor. Tell them to stop when you clap your hands and to start walking when you clap again. Do this for a while varying the intervals. Then tell the participants that they have to do exactly the same thing, walking and stopping at the same time without you clapping your hands.

Tips:

It is important that the participants do not talk during the exercise.

Debrief questions:

• What was interesting about the exercise?
• What was different between the first and second round?
• Who was in control in the first and second round?
• Which round did they enjoy the most?
• What does this game reveal about leadership?

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Mirror mirror

Goals:

• Illustrates the art of creative leadership.
• Practices giving and taking control.
• Practices awareness and focus.
• Practices collaboration.

Overview:

In pairs participants mirror each other’s movement. First only one player leads while the other follows. In the last round they give and take control.

Time: 15 min

Number of participants: 2 – thousands (You’ll just need a stage and a sound system so that everyone can hear and see you)

Game flow:

Ask everyone to pair up with another person and stand facing each other. Each pair should decide who will be A and who will be B. Tell them that A is a person looking into a mirror and B is the mirror. B should therefore copy A’s exact movement. After a few minutes tell them to switch. A is therefore now the mirror and B the person looking into the mirror. After B has had a chance to lead for a few minutes, tell them that they have to now both lead and follow at the same time. They are therefore both looking into the mirror and being the mirror simultaneously. Now it gets really interesting. For it to work both need to take the lead and give up the lead, give and taking control the whole time. If the participants trust each other and are completely present in the moment they will go into a state of flow in which control will dissolve.

Tips:

The idea is not that the participants should try and outwit each other by making sudden movements. The idea is that they work together and move like they are one so that an observer wouldn’t be able to see who is leading and who is following.

It works best if the participants make smooth movements, not quick jerky movements.

Request that participants do the exercise in complete silence.

Debrief questions:

• What was interesting about the exercise?
• What was easier, leading, following or doing both?
• Which one did you enjoy most?
• Which one was the most creative?
• How does this apply to leadership?