Items needed:

One balloon for each participant, Permanent marker, stop watch

Directions:

1-      Prepare the balloons in advance by writing using the permanent marker a different business area or department or key responsibility that relates to the participants working environment on each balloon. For example one balloon will be sales, another one is marketing, a third one can be HR or use job types for example sales person, CSR, accountant, etc.

2-      Issue one balloon to each participant and ask them to blow up their balloons

3-      Divide the group into teams of 5 to 10 participants depending on the size of your group and ask each team to form a circle

Explain the ground rules of the activity to teams as follows:

-          Each member in each team in their circle is tasked to keep their balloon floating in the air in front of them and keep them from falling on the floor.

-          Once the activity starts, you will be calling out for individual participants from each team to leave the circle and it’s the task of the remaining team members to take over that team member’s balloon and keep it from touching the floor after their team member leaves so the team can stay in the game.

-          Start the game and ensure all teams are keeping their balloons in the air in front of them.

-          Begin calling team members to leave the circle of their team, team member should react by keeping the leaving member’s balloon in the air.

-          Keep calling team members out of each circle until half the team is left in each team’s circle. The remaining team members in each circle have to keep the all balloons in the air including the balloons of those leaving the circle.

Discussion points for trainer:

-          What changes did each team make to compensate when members were called out of the circle?

-          How was teamwork important to keep all balloons in the air?

-          How important is teamwork effort in keeping all functions of the operation working (all balloon in the air)

-          You can make the activity even more challenging by preparing 2 or 3 extra balloons and dropping them in each circle while the participants are doing the activity and discuss how they felt after adding that complication?

-          This is also a great activity to use with almost any group to stress and demonstrate that everyone’s role is important, but the most important role of each one is to ensure the team’s success, even if it means picking up the work of others.