Survival Shelter Simulation Game

With all of the rhetoric coming from both sides of the Pacific (ironically – peaceful) Ocean at the moment (August 2017) I was reminded of a decision-making game.  This simulation game explores co-operative decision-making and what role our individual values have in that.

Materials Needed

All that is needed is pencil/pen and paper for each person.

Explanation

Participants are told that a nuclear attack is imminent and that everyone will be sharing a survival shelter.  The shelter is equipped with basic requirements for physical survival and health.

Even though it will be cramped it is anticipated that everyone will be able to bring 10 items with them.  Spend 5 minutes coming up with a list of these 10 items – for the purposes of the game, ignore the size and weight of items.

Once participants have their list of 10 items, tell them that there may be a need to prioritise what can be brought into the shelter, so they should spend another 5 minutes listing their items in order of priority from 1-10.  All this is to be done individually.

Then, new information comes to hand.  It is now apparent that time and space will not allow everyone to bring their 10 items into the shelter.  The group as a whole must now decide on priorities, although the exact number of items is still uncertain.  However, it can be assumed to be between 5 and 10 items in total.  The whole group must now draw up a prioritised list of up to 10 items, taking into account each items value to the individual and value to the group.  Voting is not permitted, decisions must be reached by some other method.   Allow up to 15 or 20 minutes for this.

Debrief

Once the group has come up with its list of 10 items in prioritised form, the following questions can be posed for discussion and reflection:

• On what basis were decisions made?
• How seriously were individual priority lists taken?
• Were the items finally chosen done so more for their importance to certain members of the group, or because they were of value to the group as a whole?
• How difficult was it to decide?
• Did everyone have an opportunity to plead for items on their own list?
• Did people listen to what others had to say?
• Were everyone’s needs considered?
• Did anyone think the final decision was unfair?
• How did people feel about the decision-making method used?
• How could the decision-making method be improved?
• How do you think the group would function if this was “real” rather than a simulation?

I have used this, and similar, games many times, and am always amazed at the depth of discussion in the debrief.  Have fun with it.

Climbing a Group Process Ladder

Anyone who gets into community development, social justice or other community work will end up working in groups.  An understanding of group dynamics and group processes can be beneficial.  There are many models that attempt to describe or explain the stages of a group coming together (being born), living together and ending.  One of the earliest, and still useful, is Cog’s Ladder – a model proposed by George O. Charrier (hence the c.o.g.) in 1972 when he was an employee of Proctor and Gamble.

Cog’s Ladder has five stages:

1. Polite stage
2. Why We’re Here stage
3. Power stage
4. Cooperation stage
5. Esprit stage

Let’s look at each of these stages briefly.

Polite Stage

This initial stage is marked by cordiality, simplicity, lack of controversy, and (of course) politeness.  It is a time for group members to acquaint themselves with one another, or perhaps to become re-acquainted.  Most individuals in the group are keen to be liked and not cause waves.  Self-disclosure is kept to a minimum and ideas and actions are simple ones.

Why We’re Here Stage

In this stage people begin to leave aside their concerns about being liked to focus more on the purpose of the group.  There can be much discussion about group goals, agendas, and processes.  If a facilitator or leader is not already present, one may emerge at this stage who will set agendas and the topics for meeting and discussion.  It may also be a stage in which cliques begin to form, although often not rigidly so.  On a personal level, it is the stage at which people will begin to feel that they “fit in” and that the group is one they wish to remain part of.  This stage can see some members drift away.

Power Stage

This is the stage that requires patience and tolerance to get through.  It is the stage at which some group members may attempt to convince, or coerce, others into adopting their solution or way ahead.  There are bids for control of leadership of the group, with others forming alliances around the various power-players.  Many may go silent in this stage, wishing to stay out of the power games.  Conflict in the group rises and decisions taken in this stage may not be optimal.  The unity of the group that seemed to be emerging in the earlier stages dissipates and there is little sense of group identity.  For a facilitator of group processes this is possibly the stage at which your knowledge, skills and wisdom will be at their most useful.  Using this model can help a facilitator remain focused, at ease, and not get caught in a “what the hell is going on” merry-go-round.  it is not a time for a facilitator to step in and save a group.  Doing so could well back-fire.   The needs of the group at this stage are wide and include individual and group needs.  Individually, people may be in need of reassurance, acceptance, being heard.  The group may be in need of reframing its purpose, defining its structure, sharing of skills. 

Cooperation Stage

If a group can enter into a problem-solving mindset towards the end of the previous stage then it will be ready and willing to the cooperative stage.  In this stage, the conflicts of the previous stage are seen as opportunities to learn and to improve rather than as win-lose power battles.  A sense of group identity emerges, and leadership begins to be shared.  Solutions and decisions are better developed in this stage.  Solutions posed in the power stage that were initially rejected or resisted, may re-surface in this stage and be creatively explored.  Hallmarks of this stage are greater levels of listening and accepting of differences.  Once a group gets to this stage it is difficult for new members to fit in and be accepted.  To enable new members to fit in a group may need to go back to an earlier stage and repeat those stages.  Induction and/or mentoring practices may be of assistance in enabling new members to join without the need for the group to go back to earlier stages. 

Esprit Stage

The French word esprit means the quality of being lively, vivacious or witty.  Such liveliness certainly captures the sense of this stage well.  It is a stage at which groups feel as if they could do anything – almost take-on-the-world.  Not all groups reach this stage.  In order to get here they usually must pass through the previous four, including the power stage.  Once at this stage, the sense of cohesion is at a peak with contributions from members building on the contributions of others.  Creativity is high and the group often achieves more than it ever expected to.  Loyalty levels are high and the sense of satisfaction and achievement for individual members can be significant.  It is almost impossible for new members to join at this stage without the group having to go back to an earlier stage. 

Do you recognise these stages?  Have you experienced a group, or groups, that have attained the Esprit Stage?  For a facilitator of group processes and understanding of these stages can be useful.  Remember, however, that this is only a model of group process.  It works well – unless it doesn’t.  There will be times when it doesn’t.  That is the magic of human group processes.  None are ever the same, and none can ever be predicted in advance.  Where this model is useful is in allowing us to become comfortable with a process, including during the times of conflict, turmoil and disruption, knowing that we are all on the same journey.


Play with the ideas, and if you find them useful, it may even be worth outlining this model to a newly formed group early in its life so that group members are also more comfortable with the journey.

What is...?

Remember the child-hood game of saying the first thing that comes into mind in response to a word
provided by someone else?  Well, here is a technique that utilises that idea and takes it a bit further.  It can be used as an ice-breaker or an introduction game.  It can be used to tease out meanings and nuances of concepts and notions, or it can be used to explore some of our deeper beliefs and views.  I’ll outline the technique and then provide some examples for different settings.

Technique

Group members pair off with one of the pair designated A the other B.  Person A is the questioner, person B the responder.  Person A asks person B a question.  Person B responds with the first thing that comes to mind, in just a word or a few.  Person B is not answering with a whole story.  The response is simply the first brief thought or feeling that comes, without any restriction.  Person A then says “thank you” and proceeds to ask exactly the same question again.  Person B responds again with the first thing that comes to mind, again not elaborating or judging.  This proceeds for 2 or 3 minutes with Person A saying thank you and repeating the question.  If at any stage Person B does not respond immediately then both members of the pair should just sit in silence until a response from Person B does arise.  Person A offers no comment or appraisal at any stage in this interaction, although often some sort of empathetic response (a smile, a laugh, a nod) may naturally arise.

After the end of the 2 or 3 minutes, each member thanks the other and then the procedure is repeated, with Person B this time being the questioner and Person A the responder.

There may be a series of questions that are used in this technique, in which case allow a minute or twos reflection before moving to the next in the series.

Icebreaker or Introduction Examples

Some examples of questions for icebreaker or introductory games may be:

• What is here?
• What is funny?
• What is a cat (dog, bird or some other animal)?

Concepts and Notions Examples

Some examples of questions to ask to tease out some of the concepts or notions amongst the group may include:

• What is community?
• What is fair?
• What is equity?
• What is justice?
• What is power?
• What is development?

Beliefs and Views Examples

When it comes to exploring some of our beliefs and views we start to go a bit deeper, so it is important that a level of trust has been built up in the group before asking these questions.

• What is fear?
• What is love?  (Often it can be useful to follow the question on fear with this one on love)
• What is spirit?  What is soul? may elicit different responses.  Find out.
• Who are you?  This last question can go deep within one’s sense of who they are, especially after the first few “surface” responses (e.g. “I am a man,” “I am a woman,” have been said.)

Following the series of questions return to the larger group and ask for reflections, insights, comments.  Did anyone discover something about themselves that they had not been aware of previously?  Did anyone gain an insight useful for the group as a whole to know about?

As you work with this technique you will discover questions that are useful in the group you are working with.  When using the technique to explore beliefs and views it can be useful to ask the participants to spend a minute or two in silence before the questions start.  This allows both members of the pair to become present to whatever may arise for them.  Following the responses from Person B to Person A’s questions it is worth spending another minute or two in silence, to allow for the responses to settle before the pair switch roles.

Remember to advise the questioner in each case to thank the other person before they repeat the question. 


Simple but very effective.

Three Simple Name Games

When groups first form there will be many within the group who do not know each other.  Knowing the names of others in the group is an important first step in group formation.  But many of us are not very good at remembering names, mainly because we do not practise.   However, we do know that if names are repeated, especially if said aloud, then the possibility of remembering those names is increased significantly.  Here are three very simple exercises that groups can use to help participants get to know the names of others in the group.

Hullo Adam, I’m Betty

I’ve named this game after my parents, and because A and B are at the beginning of the alphabet.

Group members sit (or stand) in a circle.  One person starts by saying “Hullo, I’m Adam” (or whatever their name is.  The next person in the circle turns to them and says “Hullo Adam, I’m Betty” (or whatever their name is.  The third person in the circle then looks at the previous two and addresses each of them in turn, saying “Hullo Adam, hullo Betty, I’m Charles” (or whatever their name is)

This continues around the circle, with each person in turn saying “hullo” to each of the preceding people in the circle.  So, for example the sixth person in the circle may say “Hullo Adam, hullo, Betty, hullo Charles, hullo Debbie, hullo Eric, I’m Fran.”  And so on.  This continues until the circle is completed.

If people forget names then the rest of the group should help them out.  This is not a competitive game, with the winner being the person best remembering names.  it is a collective game designed to help everyone in the group begin to know the names of others in the group.

Variation:  When the circle has been completed, the person who began the introductions (Adam in our example) then repeats all the names in reverse order, ending with “… hullo Charles, hullo Betty.”

Bouncing Names Around

This name game needs a simple prop such as a cuddly toy or a small ball – something that can be tossed easily around the group, and easily caught.

The person beginning picks another person in the group and asks them their name (if they do not already know it.)  They then toss the object to that person, meanwhile calling out that person’s name.  That person, in turn, chooses someone else in the group to toss the object to, calling out the name of the person as they do so.  This continues, so that everyone in the group has had the object thrown to them.  Keep repeating this until people think that they have got the name of everyone else into their memory. 

Find Me

This game needs a small piece of paper or a card for each person in the group. 

Each person prints (legibly) their first (and maybe the initial of their family name) name onto a card and places it in a container in the centre of the room.  Once everyone has added their name to the container each member of the group then picks a name from the container at random.  Their task then is to find the person with that name by moving about the group asking others if they have that name or if they know who it belongs to.

Once everyone has identified the person with the name they picked the cards are replaced in the container and everyone draws out another name and attempt to find that person.

There can be more than one person in the group with the same first name.  In order to distinguish between people with the same name the family initial can be used.

Once this has been done four or five times the group returns to a circle.  Each person then takes it in turn to introduce one of the people that they “found” in the previous part of the game.


Have fun with the name games.  Invent your own.  Remember it is not a competition and others should help those who are having difficulty remembering names.

My Participation In Groups (An Exercise)

It is almost a truism to say that no community development work, nor any social justice advocacy works without there being at least one group.  By now the famous quote of Margaret Mead’s exemplifying this is well known:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Humans are gregarious creatures and the way that we express our humanity and our wish for betterment is often through interaction and communion with others.  It would seem important then, for us to understand how we work in groups, both individually and collectively.  Group Dynamics its called.  Here is a simple exercise¹ designed to enable us to work out how we participate and what we need from a group in order to optimise our participation.

Materials:  Not much really, just some large sheets of paper, some pens, markers or pencils.

The Process:

1. Participants take a large sheet of paper each along with something (pen etc) to write with.  The facilitator asks people to spend whatever length of time is needed (10-30 mins) to list down on one half of the sheet how they think they participate in the group.  It may be worth giving some examples (eg questioner, big-picture contributor, humorist, quiet thinker, pessimist, recorder).
2. On the other half of the sheet participants are asked to make a list of those things that they need from or in the group in order for them to participate effectively and creatively.  Again, some examples may be given (eg time breaks, fun, food, sense of achievement, learning, respect).
3. When people have completed their lists, ask them to  consider their lists and decide the most important items from each list.
4. Each participant then spends 2-3 minutes sharing with everyone else the things they consider important from their lists.  They do this without comment from the rest of the group.  The listeners should use this time to practise deep listening.
5. Once everyone has shared their lists the facilitator asks the group to think of how the various needs within the group can best be met.  The facilitator should allow for plenty of discussion here with the eventual goal of the group coming to an agreement on what can be tried within the group.  Arriving at this goal should not be rushed however, as it is the discussion and sharing of ideas here that is of importance, rather than the final outcome.
6. Once agreement has been reached, the facilitator can lead the group in a discussion about the processes, roles and functions that were displayed within the exercise itself.

Notes for the Facilitator:

It is important to keep a positive tone to this exercise and to dissuade participants from accusing or suggesting that others in the group are responsible for their irritations in the group.  Reminding everyone that everyone is there for similar reasons (something that is to be achieved, learned, or researched), and that individuals operate, usually, from the best they know.


1. This exercise is adapted from Resource Manual for a Living Revolution, Coover et al., New Society Press, Philadelphia, 1977

Group Dynamics Needs

Why do groups form?  For some it may be that there is a need for something to be done and the best way of doing so is with others.  Some people may join  groups in order to learn something.  Whatever the reason, how do groups remain together?  How do they ensure that they don’t internally combust, fall apart, and the members go their separate ways, embittered, embarrassed or exhausted.

An understanding of group dynamics can help us to hold groups together.  It is important to understand the three major actions of groups.  The first two are primary, and the third emerges as a means to balance these two.

Task Needs

Groups come together to perform tasks.  They form in order to achieve something, to reach a goal, to create something, or to learn something.

Personal Needs

Groups are composed of individuals, each with their own particular personality, ideas, experience, knowledge, and therefore needs.  Personal needs could vary from a need to belong through to a need to contribute.  Maybe there are needs to be creative, or perhaps to impart a skill.

Maintenance Needs

Holding a group together requires maintaining the balance between task needs and personal needs.  The analogy of a see-saw is helpful.  Task are at one end of the see-saw, personal needs at the other.  The fulcrum that balances these two is the Maintenance Needs of the group.  (see diag)

It is the task of the facilitator of the group to ensure that the maintenance needs of the group are met, so that the tasks of the group are kept in mind and are continually worked on, yet also ensuring that personal needs are met.  If individual personal needs are not met, then people may lose interest and drop out of the group, perhaps taking with them some important skill, knowledge or idea.  It has been said that people join a learning group in order to learn something, but that what keeps them there are the relationships that they make.  This is no different for a group that has a more external, or social change purpose.

So, what are the Maintenance Needs and how does the facilitator ensure that they are met?

Maintenance Needs and Functions

A few of the things that a facilitator needs to be aware of in order to maintain the balance between task and personal needs include:

• Ensuring that all participants are encouraged to participate.  This means that the facilitator must be encouraging, have an open and receptive manner and is aware of equity issues.
• Is able to maintain an open and full communication between participants, including the ability to draw out silent members.  This means being comfortable with different styles of groups working together (including individual time, pairs, small groups, interactive movement, as well as the more traditional full group discussion).
• Being open to the full range of human expression, including feelings, emotions and intuition, as well as intellectual expression.  This may mean specifically allowing for or even promoting the expression of heart and gut “thoughts.”
• Helping to relieve tension by recognising the importance of humour (although ensuring that the humour is not of a disrespectful nature).  The use of ice-breakers and other forms of “time out” activities can be helpful, not just to relief tension, but also to reduce the possibility of boredom or inattention.
• Reminding the group of their goals and direction.  Being able to summarise where a group has got to and then suggesting the next steps is a useful function of a facilitator. 
• Being able to work with disagreement or differences of opinion in a way that respects the individual needs of all yet also recognises the task needs of the group.  An understanding of techniques for doing this are useful skills for facilitators to have in their “tool box.”
• Testing for consensus or agreements.  This helps groups to recognise when and where progress is being made.  If agreements are not reached then it may be necessary to restate the problem. issue, or concern that the group are working on.  It is then important to summarise the steps that have been made along the way, thus being able to clarify sticking points.
• Most of all, the primary function of a facilitator is to listen.  Listen for new ideas, areas of agreement, areas of disagreement, to those who are silent.  Listen for signs of restlessness, misunderstandings, or for discussion dominators.

These are just very very brief explanations of some of the roles of a facilitator who is trying to maintain the balance between task and personal needs.  Each of these roles can be expanded on and the reader is encouraged to discover some of the excellent books or on-line resources on facilitation tat are now available.