It is challenging to keep your team engaged when you do not see each other in person every day. To help with this we thought we would share a few ideas on how to add zip to your virtual meetings and have a little fun in the process!
- Whip Around and Pass It!
The iLead team uses Whip Around and Pass It! regularly in our meetings and workshops. It allows everyone an opportunity to share and requires everyone to be an active listener.How it works: As the meeting leader, select a fun topic to kick off your meeting. Tell everyone you want them to share a few thoughts about the topic – perhaps “share your favorite breakfast.” When they are done sharing (bagel with cream cheese, smoothie, Coco Puffs, etc.) they will “pass it” to another person. At the end you have information you can build upon and have fun with during your meeting – “Do you really eat Coco Puffs?”
At the end of your meeting, ask participants to share two words describing how they feel about what they learned in the meeting. As the facilitator you would say, “Shaniqua, let’s start with you. Please share two words about a key concept, a take-away or something you are feeling, then pick someone to pass to.”
Shaniqua shares, “My two words are Uplifted and Challenged. I pass to Sarah.” It would then be Sarah’s turn to share.
Sarah shares, “I feel pumped up, and a little overwhelmed. I pass to Larry.” After hearing what Sarah shared, it could be a signal you need to follow up with her to see why she feels overwhelmed and to offer guidance or assistance.
- Virtual Encouragements from Around the HouseIf you have attended an in-person Leadership Challenge® Workshop with iLead Consulting & Training, you have had the opportunity to Encourage the Heart of other participants by using the Encouragement Table. When we moved to a virtual training environment, we felt it was imperative to continue this tradition using items found around our homes – and yes, we have had some great encouragements!
Some of the best encouragements have included using a replica John Deere tractor, a bouquet of fresh flowers, heart-shaped chocolate candies, a pinata, and even a bowl of rocks!
We challenge you, at your next meeting, to utilize items found around your house to uniquely and specifically Encourage the Hearts of your team members. Believe me – they will quickly catch on and join in on the fun. For this exercise, the wackier and weirder the encouragement, the better!
- It’s All in a NameUse this fun activity to learn what your team members value as they use descriptive words and beliefs to define the letters in their name.
Each participant will need a piece of paper, and a dark pen or marker.
- Ask each person to write his or her name down the left side of the paper.
- Next to each letter of their name ask them to write a word or adjective that begins with that letter and describes his or her personal beliefs. For example, the name John might look like this:
J – Jogging
O – Over-achiever
H – Hard working
N – Never Ending - Ask each participant to select one letter of his or her name acronym to share in detail (more if time allows).
- Summarize with these questions:
- How was this exercise helpful as you work to clarify your values?
- Were you able to learn something new about a peer’s beliefs and values?
Please give these activities a try and drop us an email to let us know how they worked out. We are hoping for smiles all around – PLUS better teamwork at the end of the day!
The activities Whip Around and Pass It! and Virtual Encouragements from Around the House were created by iLead Consulting & Training. The activity It’s All in a Name was adapted by Kim Gibbons from The Leadership Challenge Activity Book, contributed by Jan Miller, Ed.D. and Denise Knight, Ed.D
